Wayne Shaffer, bronze sculpture

"Horizons of Promise" seeks to explore the story of humanity as eternal students of the land. What happens when the inhabitants of the land quiet down, long enough to listen to the complex ecosystem? Listening allows seeds of creativity to take root, and soon enough, the last frost passes. A broadcast of ideas and messages are born and evolve, promising of expanding knowledge. We are reminded that possibilities are endless. The land teaches us again and again to get outside of our shelters and to get outside of ourselves. We've nothing to lose and something to gain. We have work to do, and we must share this expansion of light, hope and mindfulness.The artists presented in this show have taken a close observation of the landscape's significance. Their works leave us with effects of climatic, geological, textural and architectural meditations inspired by the natural world, and seek to remind us of the eternal legacy of the land.- Lonnie Lee

Morgania More, painting

"I am highly interested in how the process of making a painting affects its meaning - what creates notion of a landscape, figure, etc. These paintings use the notion of landscape as a starting point - however, there are metaphysical landscapes - looking at the landscape as both a physical and psychological place or environment in which experiences, place, actions, and events take place and are given context. I draw from nature, psychology, art history, and formal ordered compositions to material structures - interested in mimicking types of processes that affect and form elements in nature - how do thoughts / ideas get affected by laws of physics, by gravity, erosion, deterioration, etc."- Walter James Mansfield

As Pollock compared himself to nature, Mansfield seeks to work in parallel with "physics, gravity, erosion, deterioration, etc." "Capay Valley" presents an orange-brown view of silhouetted hills and mountains that is overlaid by a bas-relief network of dribbled tan paint suggesting both cracked mud and calligraphy; the eye jumps back and forth between flatness and depth as it does scanning reflective still water. In "Encased Pour," wispy patterns of dark paint have been sanded to form plateau-like stepping-stones lapped by lighter cloudy forms. In "Translucent Blue with Black Pour," the byplay between the background of light blue swaths and the foreground of black cracks suggests mud puddles reflecting radiant skies.- DeWitt Cheng

Cyrus Tilton, sculpture

Sanjay Vora, painting

Luke Heimbigner, bronze sculpture

Potential wall reliefs, trompe-l’oeil masterpieces representing sections of earth (dirt, clay, pebbles) pierced by locust ovipositor tunnels and their glistening bundles of eggs—both beautiful and scary, like human overpopulation and mutation." - DeWitt Cheng on Cyrus Tilton's Potential

Walter James Mansfield, painting

Vessel Gallery, 471 25th Street, Oakland, CA 94612, 510 893 8800 Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11-6PM

"Once we put our calculations aside, the inevitable descent of the sky and visiting memories and the séance of rhythms occupy the home, the head and the world of the mind.” —Arthur Rimbaud, Illuminations

Krowswork is very pleased to announce Illuminations, a three-person exhibition featuring photographs by Varese Layzer, video and installation by RKDB (Bob Beier), and video by Julia Shirar.

For Layzer, it is a Manhattan apartment and its Upper West Side environs. In the case of RKDB it is a dilapidated Ohio Victorian. And with Shirar it is a South Texas town. The places are different, but the works presented by these three artists are connected by a very specific undertaking. They are each attempting a poetic assessment of a space/place of home for which they each must take on a responsibility following the passing of a family member.

The exhibition is titled after a 19th-century collection of poetry by Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), Illuminations. Inherent in these poems is the integration of light as literal imagery and a symbolic goal; the same is true in these visual works where light is an important formal and philosophical component of the works. In Layzer's photographs, the light streams in from building-blocked passages and as well as from oddly arranged fixtures, expressing the conflict between the world outside and that lived within. RKDB's installation moves the viewer from an ornate flickering hallway light to the gracious sun streaming through redwoods. Shirar focuses on a the pulsing tv at a dark motel, evoking a language of both comfort and loneliness. Each of the artists is illuminating a figurative and literal dark corner, one with refreshingly candid implications.

Although approaching a difficult and personal topic, Layzer, RKDB, and Shirar eschew simple nostalgia and explore with formal vigor the energy of these respective spaces and their particular residue of memory. These artists use their art to validate the inherent complexities of a life and the place in which it was lived. And vice versa: the artists each deftly use the personal and emotional static and ambiguity that inevitably accompanies this remembering and assessing in order to create artworks that are universal memorials worthy of living itself. The work succeeds by a sophisticated metaphysical language of distance and understanding whose result is visual poetry.

Join us for a festive event this Friday, April 6th!

Photographs by Lucy Im in the gallery, installation by Elise Morris in the Project Space. Plus walk around to see artists hosting open studios.

Music by DJ Vinnie Esparza and Tamales by Tina Tamale!

FM is proud to present Jason M. Aumann's Impermanent, Imperfect, Incomplete

Pulling from historical photographs native to California Jason Aumann builds engaging imagery that forces the viewer to fluctuate between curiousity and the ephemeral nature of memory. In Jason's own words:

"The title of this exhibition refers to the three marks of existence in Buddhist philosophy. This notion contends that true appreciation of beauty comes from the understanding and acceptance that nothing lasts, nothing is perfect, and nothing is finished. I identify with this vision and apply it conceptually and aesthetically into my art practice. I work from found California snapshots from the turn-of-the-century and extract from them traces of the past, everyday and universal. I bring these images forward, and through a stranger’s perspective recreate them in a future state of decay. Through this transformation, I explore our desire for remembrance against our temporal limitations, and reveal a beauty only found in the truth of the transience of all things."

• 483 25th St., Oakland, CA 94612
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Manna Gallery will offer for April a survey of recent works by sculptor Dan Weber. This exhibition opens on First Friday, April 6 and continues until Saturday, April 28. Mr. Weber will host a reception on Saturday, April 7, from 3 to 6 pm. When he will be available to talk about the development of his work. Manna Gallery hours are: First Fridays, 5 to 9 pm, Fridays and Saturdays, 1 to 6 pm and by appointment.

Mr. Weber's April solo show is a survey of recent sculpture ranging from small, finely crafted wooden fetishes, to selections from his series "vessels", to abstract surreal constructions. All of his work is characterized by a playful sense of humor and appreciation of the absurd.

Mr. Weber has this to say about his work: “I still recall, when I began my playwriting career, sitting in a small theater considering the set on the stage - a marvelous bit of forced perspective architecture that, beneath the blue stage lights, was absolute magic.

Years ago I shifted from playwriting to sculpture, yet my work is still informed by my association with the set designers, those wonderful artists (and sculptors). Both set designer and sculptor have to consider the three dimensional world, the 360 degree perspective, and how to imbue each piece with that subtle and difficult to explain bit of 'magic' that resides within every good set and every good piece of sculpture.”

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Waving goodbye, giving a thumbs up, blowing a kiss–all are simple gestures that are widely understood social cues. Beau Geste, or “beautiful gestures”, looks at the way people communicate in the absence of language, highlighting the graceful subtleties in everyday expressions.

Whether an unconscious action or a deliberate pose, the varied ways in which people move through their routines can be like a choreography of sorts. Character can be defined and a mood conveyed through a look, a slight arch of the brow, or even a sideways glance. Join us as we focus on the figurative manifestations of the studio, including artwork by William Scott, George Wilson, John Martin, Ron Veasey, Kim Clark, Terri Bowden and many more.

"Savior, Scarecrow & Spirit of Ancient Past" a new series of sculpture by Joe Kowalczyk

For March FM is proud to present Joe Kowalczyk’s (Ko-väl-chick) “guardians" a series of figures (animal, human, & myth) engaged in contention.

“Within the guardian theme I explore representations of protection, strength, and courage. I’m interested in whether those conditions exist in reality or strictly within the mind. Are we as strong as we believe we are? What exactly does it mean to protect or be protected? What is it that we feel we need to be protected from?”

Each figure embodies an iconic portrait. Some are beasts, while others are children in disguise. Some are poised with integrity, while others stand as a broken ideal. Although this series is an eclectic assortment, each piece illustrates a struggle. All show dualities that can be found within ourselves.

Come see INSIDE OUT/Occupy Oakland @ Classic Cars West Gallery

the inside out project is a creation of the artist JR, recipient of the 2011 TED Prize. You can visit the Inside Out website, (Insideoutproject.net) to see stunning examples of some of the projects that are popping up in over 9000 locations all over the globe. This project began with one wish" I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project, and together we'll turn the world....INSIDE OUT."- JR

ALSO FEATURING:

Oaktown Indie Mayhem presents: Diary of a Scapegoat. An art show highlighting and analyzing various struggles of the people, within our communities and with our government. It features a broad range of work by local artists Ernest Doty, Basic Lee, Night Owl, Eddie Colla, Lea Bruno Photography, Andrew Susich, Marlin Watson, Ondr, and Abby Martin of mediaroots.org.

Also showcasing in conjunction with the show, is a mural by Ground Score Collective, comprised of Ernest Doty, Thomas Christopher Haag, and David Polka.

For more information on the artists, check out oaktownindiemayhem.com

above: Works by Catherine Roberts Leach (left) and Anne Subercaseaux (right)

Shadow + Structure, on view at SLATE contemporary for most of March and April, brings together the work of two artists, Anne Subercaseaux and Catherine Roberts Leach, both of whom have bodies of work that focus on the interplay of light and form. In Subercaseaux's Reflections on Crossing Series, she isolates fragments of photographs taken while crossing the Bay Bridge to create compositions for her oil paintings on canvas. Her images capture the flickering rhythm of light and shadow that accompanies our movement through the urban environment. Small references to the road—a drainage grate, shadows of a guardrail—anchor the viewer in a concrete world which is otherwise communicated on a purely abstract level. Subercaseaux's more recent work, which takes patterns from the shadows of leaves dancing on the ground, turns to the natural world, but continues to reach out to make the immaterial material.

Catherine Roberts Leach's vision is similar: her eye is constantly looking for the small part of her environment that captures her attention and holds together as a complete artistic composition. Her subjects are often also transient and shifting, but a strong architecture is clear. Leach is chasing light as much as shadow, but color takes a more prominent role, as does texture. With no staging or manipulation, Leach reminds us to stay present and open our eyes to the extraordinary beauty of the most simple and ordinary moments, to the caress of shadow on concrete, or the gentle shift of light across a floor.

In the hall at SLATE we are also showcasing work by two emerging photographers: Christine Navin and Jen Zahigian. Navin focuses on the patina of an aging urban and industrial fabric, while Zahigian captures a vintage American past that has largely been eclipsed. While the feel of these are very different from one another, both pay tribute to the past with a combination of romance and nostalgia.

Johansson Projects presents Hymns to the Moon, where sublime omens haunt everyday spaces, both of the landscape and of the imagination. Robert Minervini and Tadashi Moriyama depict visions of a timeless future.

Moriyama's works swarm with details in their depiction of the last judgment for the digital age. Weeds, wires, blood and guts coil around classical sculpture, original sin and corporate headquarters. At the crux of his painted paranoia, viewers are struck with, surprisingly, an overwhelming sense of euphoria. Even amidst all the anxiety and desire, in the heat of the moment there is a great togetherness. His animations follow un-phased individuals reacquainting themselves with the new landscape we have cultivated. The combination of lunar energy and digital power leads them to a strange state of enlightenment.

Minervini sheds light on the aftermath of some unnatural disaster, presenting it in all of its jaded beauty. His apathetic dystopias are drenched in the washed-out neon hues of Sunset strip. He paints lo-fi Vanitas that reek of expired mortality while retaining a California cool. There is a hallucinatory quality to the works; they bridge the ancient past with a dystopian future while seeming to hover above the present as if in a ghostly dream.