Art Works Downtown Presents: Shadows

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12pm PST, January 29, 2012
ART WORKS DOWNTOWN PRESENTS:
“SHADOWS”
 
SAN RAFAEL, CA, JANUARY 29, 2012: 
Art Works Downtown announces “Shadows”, a new exhibit in the main gallery at 1337 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA, January 25 through March 22, 2013, opening reception on Friday, February 8 coinciding with 2nd Fridays Art Walk.  (A 2nd reception will coincide with March 8, 2nd Fridays Art Walk.) The exhibit features three prominent, women artists from Marin whose work explores the past, memories and emotions. "Shadows" was chosen as the title to reference the things that lie behind us that we may not always have time to stop and examine on such an intricate level. 
 
San Rafael's Kay Russell is an Associate Artist with Art Works Downtown.  She is an instructor of Watercolor and Drawing at City College of San Francisco.  Her paintings have grown from landscape representation toward the portrayal of spirit and atmosphere.  Russell makes backgrounds for her objects by creating several layers of watercolor monotype textures before starting the painting.  Her gouache, gum arabic and various masks allow her to move freely through the work, emphasizing an unpredictable and exciting process that is about the moment, each action leading to the next.  Russell's current series portrays her mother's old hats, evening bags, family mementos and personal treasures.  A piece entitled, "Dad's Bag" tells a wonderful story of what looks to be a leather shoulder bag detailed with shapes from nature; designs that hint at moth eyes, wings and leaves, suggesting a life of a forest creature or someone who loved nature.  Bursting from the bag is a golden swoosh of light, glittered and full of tiny letters.  We have to ask what sort of magic was inside this special and intimate carryall that held Russell's father's belongings?  Other images have a similar sense that spirit and magic are at work, flowing from the handbags, a boot, a can and other items depicted in Russell's series.
 
Patricia Ancona, also from San Rafael, is an Associate Artist with Art Works Downtown.  Ancona uses everyday objects and the image of the doll to explore psychological concepts in her paintings. Concepts reflect and are inspired by Ancona's personal life experiences, including global realities that affect all of us.  Ancona's images and titles have a dark humor but also elicit a laugh when we connect the title to the illustrations.  "Out on a Limb" depicts a wooden, china doll pierced through the core and hanging upside down from a tree branch.  Ancona's background palette for this emotional series is a mustardy, yellow ochre infused with finely detailed patterns unique to each piece.  "Heartburn" uses a white-faced doll with her chest open showing flames inside her chest as her expression looks sad; stamp-like icons in black behind and around the doll are repeated circles with the flame image inside of them, reiterating the essence of the piece and title in a graphic logo.  The combination of these layers of image and meaning are fun to explore and discover.  Ancona's titles, frequently a simple adjective: "Cornered", "Sandwiched", "Unraveled", cause us to stop and connect with the images on a personal level, all having likely experienced similar feelings at one moment in our lives.
 
San Anselmo-based ceramic artist, Claudia Tarantino, has been working in her medium for over 40 years.  A graduate of Dominican University in San Rafael, she is one of the best restorers of ceramic art in the country, with her own works in museums and private collections.  With her expertise in this medium, she is able to use the unique properties of porcelain to "fool the eye" with trompe l’ oeil sculptures that are unbelievably refined and detailed.  Visitors to the exhibit wonder how in the world she got porcelain to look like a metal pail, or a real pairing knife; they don't believe it's possible.  On a personal level, Tarantino's work reflects her connection with nature, family and history.  
 
This series of "memory pieces" explores the stepping-stones to who we are, and the association of then and now. Tarantino writes, "Boxes of “stuff” collected and saved, containers and tins of treasures too special to discard, photo albums and journals all link us to the past.  We save them, forget them and rediscover them."  As I weave through the gallery space, four sculptures present tins of biscotti.  Black and white photographs (made of porcelain) share the images of three women.  A "wooden" recipe box (also made of porcelain) shares a biscotti recipe, with butter being the first ingredient. There is a deep personal connection to these works for me, as my own mother, Thomasina, is Italian, and she has two sisters.  My grandmother, Josephine, originally from the South of Italy, always made biscotti and Italian cookies.  Tins and recipe cards are something I still hold on to as memories of these special links to my own past, and when I make biscotti during the holidays, the memories flood my own mind.  Don't miss these special treats, now showing at Art Works Downtown, where you may explore personal connections to the past, or find a new connection to our local artists who beckon us to look back with love, humor, color and care.  
 
 
Also featured at Art Works Downtown on February 8 are two events on our lower level, including Ethiopian artist, Beri Ketema's exhibit of pencil drawings in the Underground Gallery, and a group exhibit and "RED-ception" (in honor of Valentine's Day) in the Founders Lounge Gallery.  The RED-ception theme begins in the Marin Jewelers Guild where they have curated art from AWD artists that includes the color red.  This expands into the Founders Gallery this year, where "Bahia Son", a salsa band featuring singer and jeweler, Vicki Marinko, will play from 7:30- 8:30pm during the Jan 11 2nd Fridays Art Walk.  Bahia Son will also teach a FREE salsa dance lesson before they play, from 7:00pm to 7:30.  Art Works Downtown Art Walks always include the chance to wander through two levels of 35+ artist's studio spaces, meet artists in person and learn more about their work.  AWD Studio Artist, Stephanie Jucker, has installed a special window display that faces 4th Street, including purple and pink colored art, clothing and gifts created by AWD artists that are perfect for Valentine's Day.  Don't miss "RED-ception" and all our special events on Friday, February 8, from 5-8pm.
 
For more information, please contact:
Art Works Downtown, 1337 Fourth St., San Rafael, CA  
Phone: 415-451-8119      Website: ArtWorksDowntown.org
 
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