'The Secret Life of Plants'
Once again I find myself praising Paul Wackers. He continues to impress. This time he's in a group show with Sean Mcfarland, and Johanna St. Clair. The show is amazing. I knew that I would love Paul's paintings, but really, all the work in the show is of such a high level that I find myself unable to pick a favorite.
Sean Mcfarland's dark photos are a departure from the polaroid series that he's been showing recently. He has presented six photos here. They have a magnetic mystery that even while standing in front of them I kept wanting to get closer and closer to them. I've been finding myself drawn to dark images lately. Images that dramatically change based on the light. Sean's photos go from complete black to a glowing resonance of muted color. I don't know how Sean does it, but I like the results.
Johanna St. Clair has painted three oil on panel works that focus on the chaos that nature can be. I've seen Johanna paint natural scenes before, but not with this intensity. The leaves in the painting titled 'Abutilon' (shown above) have a great play between dabs of paint, and fine detail. I find her work to be so refreshingly different. Set apart from the trends that often plague young painters. She's not afraid to fill up the space with detail edge to edge. The results are beautiful. I'll be looking forward to seeing her future works.
Paul Wackers was recently awarded the '08-'09 Tournesol Award at the Headlands Center for the Arts. This is his first showing since receiving the award. In this group show he has presented three works. Two works on panel, and a big beautiful diptych on paper. The diptych, titled 'Hallucinatorium' (shown above) is Paul's first work on paper to be shown. Beautifully framed, and a good hefty size, I was a bit surprised to see it not sold. I imagine this has more to do with our nation's failing economy than the price being too high. Paul has continued to impress me with his paintings of settings as still lifes. There's always something unsettlingly beautiful about his works. He's able to set the scene for something that is either going to happen, or has happened, but what it is, or was, is often unclear. That kind of mystery will continue to keep me at attention.
'The Secret Life of Plants' has brought together three artists with undeniable talent. Each creating works that kept my eye from wandering, and kept my feet from walking past them.
The show was curated by Dan Carlson. This is Dan's first curatorial project. In addition to curating the show, Dan has installed a garden in front of the gallery. Two massive planter boxes that are planted with an interesting pallet of plants, that the local bees and butterflies were enjoying while I was there. In addition to being an upstart curator, Dan Carlson is a garden designer. His company, Wigglestem Gardens, has designed plantings for The San Francisco Botanical Garden, as well as the Conservatory of Flowers.
The show ends on October 31, so if you haven't seen it in person, I strongly recommend going. This is one of my favorite gallery shows of the year. Well done.
