Following his solo exhibition "The Collected" at Gallery Wendi Norris, painter Amir H. Fallah is in the throes of developing more new works for upcoming international exhibits. We spent some time in his studio in Highland Park, Los Angeles recently, discussing his process and inspiration.
Amir H. Fallah admits that he's in the studio seven days a week, which is part of the reason he's chosen to build his studio into his home in Los Angeles. Fallah is an incredibly prolific visual artist showing nationally and internationally, and is also the founder and owner of Beautiful Decay, juggling both with incredible dexterity. On the tail end of his very successful and highly reviewed solo exhibition "The Collected" at Gallery Wendi Norris in San Francisco, immediately followed by the opening of "Desaturated Rainbow," a group exhibition he co-curated which opened in NYC at Field Projects, Fallah is back to work without missing a beat. I visited him at his studio on a beautiful sunny day recently to get a behind the scenes view of his process and inspiration.
Fallah is currently working on a number of pieces for a group exhibition at The Third Line in Dubai and several works on paper for another group exhibit in Rotterdam. The exhibition in Dubai is called Arrangement, and he is developing painted and collaged works on paper-mounted-canvas for it that deconstruct and reconfigure flower arrangement. Fallah found himself making these pieces after creating a painting he titled "The Ultimate Mom Painting" in 2009.
He says, "my mom called me up one day and said, 'Can't you just paint me something pretty? Like some flowers or a pond?' She wanted mom art... I made the 7'x5' painting as a joke and halfway through the painting I realized I liked it."
Seeing his work during its developing stages, the dance between abstraction and realism and the spatial tension that Fallah is playing with become clearer. Balancing references to abstract painting, Persian Miniature paintings, Dutch and Flemish still life and graphic design, the works are multidimensional and increasingly textural the closer one looks. --continuing reading
Last Thursday we visited the studio of SFAI graduate painting student Alex Ziv located out in San Francisco's Dog Patch. Inside an old warehouse is SFAI's graduate studios, and within the massive building is Alex's studio space sandwiched between dozens of other students' studios.
We first met Alex when visiting Henry Gunderson's studio when he and Henry were undergraduates at SFAI. Back in like 2009.
Speaking of Jud Bergeron, who has been blogging his Miami trip for Fecal Face the last few days... we thought now would be a good time to feature our studio visit with him we did a couple weeks ago.
On the outskirts of the Mission, amongst motorcycle chop shops and other miscellaneous industrial buildings, Jud occupies a 1000 square foot studio where he casts his sculptures and works on his art projects. With enough room for his welding equipment and hardware, Jud is currently using the space to complete a show which he hopes to open sometime the next year- most likely to be shown in NYC.
We spent about an hour chatting with Jud and picking his brain to learn more about sculpting in metals and how the casting process works. It's a painstakingly slow process at times, but Jud's highly efficient having been working with a blowtorch for over a decade.
Jud in his outter Mission studio space.
Love the tall ceilings, roll up door and inexpensive rent.
Let's start with a few samples of Jud's sculptural work.
San Francisco based painter Kevin Earl Taylor opened a new show of paintings in Hamburg last week at Circle Culture Gallery. He created all the work for the show while staying in Berlin. He emailed over a few pics of his studio while he was creating the show.
We swung through the home and studio of San Francisco based artists Kelly Tunstall and Ferris Plock. The married couple are putting the finishing touches on the work for their upcoming food-centric show Edible Complex opening at FFDG on Friday, June 22nd (7-10pm). We spoke of San Francisco's love affair with food, got into their working practices, saw what makes them tick and how they keep up with their lively 2 year old son, Brixton while enjoying a couple Coronas.
Edible Complex Kelly Tunstall & Ferris Plock
June 22 - July 14, 2012
Opening reception: Friday, June 22nd, 7–10 pm
@FFDG
Your upcoming show at FFDG, opening on June 22nd, focuses a lot on San Francisco's intense food culture. How do you guys, as a family, fit in? Do you eat out a lot?
Ferris: Well... we order a lot of food in... Having a 2 year old with an attention span of 10 seconds means that when we eat out, we often eat
in shifts... We eat a lot in Japantown because our son Brixton really loves to run around there and he loves to eat sushi.
Kelly: We also have a very unique place that we're coming from- being kind of insiders and outsiders of the food bit at this point in our lives. I love so many places, and we've been lucky to be tangentially and directly involved in many efforts.
It's truly a special occasion that we're out for dinner together- and frankly, we're more often grabbing food from a truck at events and
stuff, but yeah- a little more out of the loop than I used to be, so it's interesting to see how eating in the Bay Area has shifted in focus and intensity in just the last five years or so.
Do you think San Franciscans are too focused on food?
Ferris: I think everybody is focused on food because we all die if we don't eat.
However, I feel like I have seen enough photoblogs of peoples' food to last me a life time.
Sometimes I feel like our food culture renaissance is a bit like couture... It is based more on concept and pushing the outrageous and less on consumption. Isn't weird there is a cupcake store downtown that puts cupcakes in its windows to show their outrageous culinary inventions... but no one ever eats them? They all get thrown out?
Parra @SFMOMA Thursday, 01 March 2012 /// Written by Trippe
Dutch graphic designer, illustrator, artist, art director, clothing company owner Parra will be doing a huge mural at the SFMOMA opening this March 31st.
I first met Evan when I moved to San Francisco's Mission district from New York City in 2001. Evan, whose work I was not only familiar with but also loved, welcomed me to his home where I got to know him, his family and his studio. I ended up photographing him shortly before he and his wife Shawn moved to Denver Colorado in 2003.
Several years had passed until I took a trip out in both 2009 and 2011 to spend some extended time with Evan and his family, photographing him working in his studio, his home and throughout Denver. I have always loved being a bit of a fly on the wall watching him so methodically make art. There's are real sense of technique and pride in everything he does. These photographs represent my most recent trip to Denver, in Autumn of 2011, where I was fortunate enough to stay in their new guest home on their property, which shares a wall with his studio. It's lovely. I hope you enjoy these photographs of Evan and his world. -Andrew Paynter
So your most recent show in November was at London's Stolen Space where you created works based on buildings and scenes you saw in London. Can you tell us a little bit about the show?
The show in London started with a trip there in June when I wandered all over the city for several days just making observations, shooting photos and trying to get a feel for London. When I make a body of work about a specific place it's important to be there myself, not only to take photos but just to have the experience of what it's like there, the overall feeling of a place. For the rest of the summer and fall I worked on about twenty new pieces based on my trip. The work ranges from pieces that are nearly photorealistic, to other pieces that are a combination of abstract, geometric forms combined with people and elements pulled from the urban environment.
Trying to comprehensively capture London would be nearly impossible, my goal with the show was to offer a glimpse of what London felt like to me as an outsider.
I wanted to avoid showing the most typical, tourist attractions of course. I found myself drawn to the more traditionally working class parts of east and south London that have remnants of post-war industrial buildings, factories, canals, old pubs and such.
Do you travel much? Big fan of London?
I travel out of the country about two or three times a year, and domestically a few times a year. I have a family so I can't be traveling all the time, but I do get out and see a lot of the world. Since I live in Colorado I think it's good for me to travel frequently, I like living in a quiet, easy place but I like to experience things and get inspired. London is pretty fascinating. I love traveling in any really old city. The sense of history, traversing streets where people have been for centuries. In London there is the feeling of all the difficulties that city has had to endure over time and yet it's still there, stronger than ever, it feels important and weighty.
Mario's show "Everything Under the Sun" opens up at FFDG Friday, Nov 11th (6-9pm) at our temporary gallery space at 248 Clement St @4th Ave in the Inner Richmond. FREE Tacos from El Tonayense - * Music from BLKTOP Project featuring Tommy Guerrero, Ray Barbee, Chuck Treece and Matt Rodriguez - * Vodka from Blue Angel.
Damon Soule's third solo show Then What Happened opens @FFDG in San Francisco Saturday, August 20th (7-10pm). Gerald Anekwe swung by his studio a couple weeks back to see what he has brewing for his show.
San Francisco Art Institute graduate, Damon Soule's newest paintings take what he's been doing for years further into a mind bending reality. Beautiful.
You've had two solo shows with FFDG in the past, what are some of the things you are taking into consideration while working on this one?
FFDG is a small space, so it's a great place to put together a cohesive experience. That's all you really have to worry about.
How would you describe your work to someone?
Aw man, that's always hard. I usually just describe it as crazy paintings. If I was painting things that I could describe in a simple sound bite, I would be disappointed with myself.
All At Once - 66" x 74"
In addition to SF, you've lived in Portland and NYC. What are some of the things you've enjoyed about living and working in these cities?
NYC is great because you can always get something to eat nearby anytime of day. Portland is cool because people are relaxed and know how to have fun. No one'ss really trying very hard there which I find refreshing.
What brought you back to SF?
I love the community vibe in the Bay Area. It feels like things are really happening which I didn't get in NYC. That may be just my perception but since that's how I feel, I had to come back here. As far as I'm concerned SF rules! However, I like to keep it fresh and that means not getting too comfortable.
Second String - 24" x 36"
You've been exhibiting for over a decade, what would you say is the most important thing you've learned along the way?
Keep it personal and challenge yourself. If you get bored, flip it upside down. Life is short, so don't get stuck in a rut.
I visited Erik Otto at his studio mid-April, right before he had a group show at the Mallick Williams Gallery (Robin Williams’ Daughter). I was stoked to have the opportunity to check out his studio, learn about his process, and maybe get inspired to paint more myself.
I first met Erik when I was covering a show of his at White Walls for FF and he seemed like a cool dude. Indeed he is cool, and was open to share his artistic practice, thoughts, and philosophies with me. It turns out he went to San Jose State and was involved with the animation department (which my brother is in). He was taught and influenced by Barron Story, and from fellow classmates who went on to have successful careers in the animation industry. Erik deviated away from illustration, choosing to focus on paintings and installations with reclaimed paint and wood as his medium. In our conversation we talked about working with companies, how not to get girls, tree hugging, Barron Story, and why school is cool. I hope you enjoy!
So what’s up with this NY thing, have you shown there before?
I haven't. They’re new, they've only been open since this last fall. It's Robin Williams' first-born daughter I think, along with her husband. The Williams family, little known fact, owns 6 pieces of mine. Since the divorce of his wife he's slowed down buying art and his kids are kinda steppin' in. Hopefully I get to meet him out of this.
Like Miss Doubt Fire, hey!?
Yea! But more like Toys. I used to have Toys and then pause it and sketch everything. It's kinda cool how it has come full circle, someone that influences you, probably more than you know it, and then he likes your work.
Do you do that a lot, stop and sketch from movies? Movies have great compositions.
When I was young, yea. Certain movies it's good compositions all the way through, just pause it anywhere.
Are you pretty busy these days?
After this show I hit the ground running as soon as I return, I'm doing this big commission for RedBull, on top of this piece (the house project installation) which will go live, that’s going to the dump basically (Recology), there's a sculpture garden down there. They do private tours, it's the dump over by Bayshore. I was there almost everyday.
And there is one more, a grant through the SF Arts Commission. Which is cool, all this outdoor alternative exposure stuff right after a super traditional style show. Me being the SF street artist, sort of lowbrow comin' in, who knows how it's gunna be responded to. They were like go easy on the reclaimed wood material, and I'm like that's my whole thing, I don't know how to go easy. You tell that to me and it makes me want to do it even more.
Last night we swung through Jeremy Fish's North Beach studio to have ourselves a look see at his current show before it's crated and shipped out to NYC for the June 23rd opening at Joshua Liner Gallery.
Instead of creating works on what's clicking around in Fish's own head, he gathered a list of artists, skateboarders, rappers, athletes, a stripper, a cop, and a historian whose funny, heartfelt, insanely interesting stories he would record and then illustrate.
The stories run from murder, fights, embarrassing situations, and one focused on a drugged out Keith Haring and some mural drama at a South of Market gay club in the 80s. 30 pieces of work and 30 stories to be heard. The gallery show will feature headphones next to each work where you can hear people like Snoop Dog recount a crazy childhood story involving him pulling a worm out of his pants. Or maybe you wanna hear from Ron English tell a tale from the early Billboard Liberation days.
We'll have more videos next week. In the meantime, let's figure out what's in a hard working artist's fridge... It may surprise you.
Los Angeles based artist Derek Albeck’s recent solo show at POVevolving Gallery in LA’s Chinatown entitled, “Mysterious Strangers” is that of nostalgia and personal history. Known for his photorealistic graphite drawings and flannel mask installations, Albeck’s representations are flawless. His use of mirrors, both broken and whole, are there to add an entirely different world of color, and a sense of identity, to his otherwise black and white pieces. The stories behind them add even more.
Several of the characters displayed in “Mysterious Strangers” are just that, relatives in Albeck’s life that he barely knew. “The narrative aspect of the work is romantic, in a sense, because I’m trying to re-appropriate these things that happened in my life. For me, it’s all about forming an identity, recreating these pasts to make sense of the present,” says Albeck.
I stopped by Rob Minervini's studio in SOMA this week to see where all the magic happens, and I was not let down! His studio is filled with beautiful work. Rob has a show opening up this Saturday, Sunken Dreams, at Gallery Hijinks and in July he will be a part of The Bay Area Now 6 exhibition at YBCA. Below you'll see past works and works in progress for the YBCA show. Can't wait to see the finished pieces! -Ashley Taylor
Tell us a little bit about your personal and artistic background?
I have a mix of a fine art as well as a public art and mural painting background. I’m from the Philadelphia area and recently became a dual Italian / American citizen which I am excited about.
SF based Henry Lewis invited a few friends over to his studio last weekend before he shipped his paintings down to Los Angeles for his solo show “The Absence of Light” @Corey Helford Gallery opening this Saturday, March 19th.
Here's a taste of his recent work and say howdy to a few of the fine folks who stopped by.
Manuel visits the Brooklyn studio of street artist (also w/ intense oil painting skills) Dan Witz whose show, WTF, just opened on Saturday @White Walls here in SF. ~CHECK IT.
San Francisco stencil artist Adam5100 has a show with Mike Giant opening this Saturday, Dec 11th at The Guerrero Gallery. Last Thursday we swung through Adam's Mission studio to see what he's been up to. The works for the show were at the framers, but he had plenty of goodness for us to take a look at.
Long time Fecal Pal and fellow Ohioan, Tiffany Bozic opens her first NYC solo show Confiding to Strangers November 11th @Joshua Liner Gallery. We stopped by her studio a couple weeks back to have first look at her paintings before they were crated and shipped off across the country. Enjoy the photos and video.
Tiffany is lucky enough to get to travel to parts of the natural world very few ever have. Her husband, Jack, is a scientist who studies small mammals and birds. Africa, Papa New Guinea, far off uninhabited islands in the South Pacific, Tiffany has experienced what few others have... The last couple years of travel are evident in her new works below.
Before Damon Soule's solo show Tessellating Pigments opened Oct 14th at Jushua Liner in NYC, Manuel ran into him in Brooklyn and stopped by his studio... Soule's show runs through Nov 6th and looks amazing.
Wowzas, there's a lot of art happenings this weekend, and while you're making the rounds, be sure to stop at SFAI's MFA show Currency opening Friday, May 17th at the beautiful old SF Mint Building (88 5th Street).
SFAI's 2013 MFA graduates—working in painting, photography, printmaking, film, sculpture, installation, digital media, performance, and across media—will present work that embraces the Institute's signature spirit of experimentation and conceptual risk-taking.
Opening reception: Friday, May 17, 7–9 pm & running through Sunday 11-6pm daily. -- complete details
London based Pedro Matos opens the solo show Building Castles Made of Sand this Friday in Los Angeles at the Martha Otero Gallery featuring a new series of oil paintings on canvas and azulejo panels - a traditional Portuguese medium of hand-painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tile work.
San Francisco -- CCA opens their 2013 MFA Thesis Exhibition this Thursday, May 16th at their SF campus. Every year another graduating class produces steller work. One of the best SF art events worth getting to, but be sure to get there early as there's always a long line. ~details
Our buddies at Needles & Pens celebrate their 10th anniversary on Friday, May 10th, and it's not to be missed with this steller lineup - all going down at The Luggage Store.
Check the details, mark it in the calendar, and we'll be seeing you there!
San Francisco based photographer, Michael Jang, who's been shooting for decades and who has captured some great shots over the years (Reagan and Frank Sinatra is a good one) turned his camera on his family while growing up in the suburbs in the 70s. An intimate portrait of a Chinese-American family inside their Pacifica home living their lives. Sounds benign, which it is, but what also makes the images fascinating.
The Jangs - Opening reception, Thursday, May 2, (5:30-7:30pm) Stephen Wirtz
"The Jangs" photography by Michael Jang opening Thursday
British artist Ian Francis opened up the solo show Season 1 Episode 0 last night, April 25th at NYC's Joshua Liner. We've been fans of Ian's work for years. ~show details & works.
Although I missed the opening of Northern-California photographer Michael Garlington's newest show, Constructed Realities, I was fortunate enough to see the work still up during the Metaphysical fundraiser a couple weeks back at 111 Minna. Metaphysical fundraiser, an auction to benefit Wayne Ernzer. --- The ghoulish photographs in their heavy, hand-made frames are reminiscent of photos from the old west, and the glass crucifixes, complete with fetuses and guns, emphasize the accumulated time within the works themselves. Whether you're looking at the frames, the photos, or both, this show deserves a visit, and a walk through the golden archway Garlington constructed around the front door.
Fecal Face contributor Rachel Ralph (rachel(at)fecalface.com) has been profiling this Oakland based painter as he travels about Japan. In this segment, we feature some photos as he prepared for this show and residency at Spes-LaB in Tokyo which opened last weekend. Arnold will be featured in SFMoMA's Minna Street windows on June 8th.
Last Saturday, here in SF's Mission district, Guerrero Gallery opened two new shows with Philly based Alex Lukas and SF based Richard Colman respectively. Colman's work occupied the project space while Lukas' work and foliage was presented in the main space. Worth getting to if you haven't already.
Just got back to SF after a little trip south to Sayulita, Mexico. After 10 years without a vacation, me and the Mrs. headed south for some mental time off sitting in the sun, swimming and enjoying the watery Mexican beer. Here are some photos as we get back into the swing of things again.
Athens, Greece based designer, architect and artist Dimitris Polychroniadis emailed over more of his work which consists of mixed media, pop-humorous diorama sculptures that make a comment on the harsh realities my country and much of the world is facing at the moment.
FFDG will open a group show with the artists from the famed Skull & Sword Tattoo on Friday, May 17th (6-9pm). Artists: Grime, Henry Lewis, Yutaro, and Lango. Below are a series of videos on Grime for Vice's Tattoo Age produced in 2011. Fascinating look at one of the greatest tattoo artists alive today.
ARYZ (Spain) opened his newest gallery show at Fifty24SF last Friday and, if you live in the Bay Area, you need to go. This dude can obviously paint, and he doesn't need an entire building to show his impecable skill. The show has lots of small works on paper which contrast his highly-defined line work to his hard-edged painted objects. The contrast between the hard and soft was the most striking thing to me about his work, since I had never seen it in person before, and the washes blend with the thick paint seamlessly. The show also contains a larger work on canvas, a huge head suspended in the back of the room, and a big wood sculpture of a wolf figure. This diversity in such a small space was impressive, and those of us that went to the opening even got to meet the man in person. If you didn't make it out this weekend, check it out before May 31st when it closes and these works will be off to some very happy new homes.
Water McBeer is please to announce its latest exhibition "Precious" a solo exhibition by David Bayus (April 6 - May 4, 2013) -- David Bayus born 1982 holds his BFA from the Savannah College of Art and his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. David lives and works in San Francisco and is a founding member of the basement collective. This will be his first exhibition with the world renown Water McBeer Gallery highlighting his most recent achievements with paint and digital media. David Bayus will be exhibiting 5 relatively large-scale mixed media works along with a collaborative object featuring Hungarian sculptor H.R KOONS.
The Shooting Gallery handed over the reins to the Red Truck Gallery (a New Orleans based gallery) which curated their new show, Hard Time Mini Mall and opened the it on Saturday night. This is my favorite show (so far) in the Shooting Gallery's new space and was packed full of art, a mini bar, and cowhide rugs. The Red Truck Gallery chose works with clear craftsmanship and it was easy to see in Ian Berry's denim assemblages and Chris Roberts-Antieau's awesome quilts. The space was completely packed, making it hard to see each piece individually, but this show deserves a second trip anyway. I look forward to spending more time with the chandeliers, automatons, and paintings before the show comes down on May 4th.
Toronto based photographer Nathan Cyprys emailed to let us know about his newest series "Neighbour State", and we were about to post it when we spotted this series on his site entitled "Ayre (of Distances)" and had to post this one instead. After you view this one, view "Neighbour State" on his site. Both are visually enjoyable.
Working from found photographs, Lyle's paintings are created through a reductive painting process where each piece is rendered using only black paint and turpentine. Lyle begins this process by priming a panel with white gesso. He then paints a thin, rich, oily black veneer over the primed panel, slowly and systematically developing his images by removing some of the black paint with a cloth. In doing so, Lyle renders layer upon layer of various values of black paint resulting in his signature-style of luminescent works.
London based David Shillinglaw who's blogged it up for Fecal Face in the past recently completed this mural in London as he prepares for his solo show at Stolen Space opening on April 26th.
Our buddy Henrik Haven, who brings us some goodies from his native Copenhagen, has been shooting some of his city's graffiti and street art. Last week we brought you part one of his camera's explorations.
San Francisco based artists Raphael Villet and Sean Vranizan are currently showing Just the Two of Us at Adobe Books through April 21. Here are some photos from the opening and works.
Two twin brothers from Brooklyn, Skewville brought the fun to their opening at White Walls last Saturday night with their new show, Amusement. After all, you can't take a show that starts with a sign reading "Sucks either Way" too seriously. Besides the simplistic yet detailed paintings, visitors got to ride on a bike-powered merry-go-round and throw bean bags at bottles like a carnival game. Even the works made of found materials, like the Battleship boombox and the suitcase made of tin lunch pails, brought a sense of humor to the night. After seeing the work in the back of the gallery, which was much more crowded, Skewville provided a light-hearted atmosphere in which viewers could drink beer, play games, and see some really great artworks.
Brooklyn based artists Sheryo and The Yok recentely completed the mural "Pipe Dreams" in Long Island City at 5 pointz. The Yok also emailed over some photos fom a recent trip to Mexico for the Festival Anonymous held near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from this past January... Awesome, we're heading to Mexico in a couple weeks.
In the ever-expanding genres of vinyl and resin based sculptural art, there are often players behind the scenes making some of the most impressive pieces come together. Whether you hang out at ComicCon or Art Basel Miami, you've seen sculptural works that PIP (Pretty in Plastic) literally had a hand (or several) in fabricating. Here, Fecal Face interviews PIP founder, owner and fabrication mastermind Julie B., to find out more about how their work all plays out.
I live in SF. I drove across the US last summer in a 30 ft. RV from SF to Brooklyn and did portrait series called Darth Across America, every day people in every day situations, wearing a Darth Vader mask. I raised $2600 through Kickstarter along the way, that paid for gas and beer. I was travelling with 2 other photographers who also did a series of portraits. Mine drew the most attention. It was an experiment in a way, to see if I could use a pop culture icon to unite people that had nothing in common. I was right. I created a community of people across the United States that continue to follow my project, which is soon to be a book. -Julie Schuchard
Our buddy Henrik Haven, who brings us some goodies from his native Copenhagen, has been shooting some of his city's graffiti and street art. Much to offer, we've broken the posts into 3 and will be posting more in the coming days.
Our friend Nicolas Le Borgne, who's shown with us for The Diamond Sea, emailed over some pics from his current show at Spacejunk Art Centers in Lyon, France. Incredible watercolor, pen & ink or acrylic works from this talented 28 year old Frenchman.
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