Kid Yellow interviews.
AZ: Alex Ziv, artist, 23 years young, born and raised in San Francisco, avid cigarette smoker, passionate art lover, motorcycle obsessive.
QA: Hello FFDG world. My name is Quinn Arneson and I am 24 year old artist. I am from Los Angeles, California but currently live and work in San Francisco.
QA & AZ: Julianne Yates from Gallery Heist had been watching us both or about a year or so and approached us both about potential shows. She made the connection that both our works had multiple commonalities that seemed to click. We both simply find humor in art while remaining religiously serious about our practice.
QA & AZ: We definitely chatted about making work that would be super cohesive, but remaining distinguishably independent from each other. We had things we wanted to accomplish independently, one being increasing the scale of our work.
QA: My work is an exploration of absurdity grounded in viral images and videos. Humor is used as a populist device to invite the viewer into a conversation of contemporary expression, and the role of the artist in the contemporary world. Formally, I am interested in the careful and smooth application of paint on an often white space, in relation to the aesthetics of digital media, which is my primary resource. I feel that the aspect of collaging viral images and concepts in my work, is akin to the theme of remixing mass culture. Being that humor and absurdity are often associated with low brow work, simply inserting these concepts into a gallery space, while inviting a conversation of the role of the artist in the contemporary world, is an attempt at bridging the gap between low brow and high brow art.
AZ: My recent work has been a conversation I've been having internally for over a decade. Utilizing a visual rhetoric from my childhood and fantasies of motorcycle subcultures to develop a body of work that demonstrates what I feel, has changed my life for the better as well as how it's changed the world around me. All faculty I have ever had have considered the masters of the hot rod and motorcycle realms despite their disciplines, fine artists. Why many of them never made it into the formal gallery setting, no one knows. Placing topics commonly derived from a lifestyle of what many would label "outlaw" lifestyles. The dated, yet relevant iconography I choose to incorporate within my work, confuses what people would consider a work executed "high" in technique and low in concept. My intention is to reverse that role.
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AZ: I feel coming from a financial background where you have to work incredibly hard for everything you want I've learned how to produce work cost effectively super fast in multitudes of bodies. Being at SFAI has been a constant financial struggle, and not knowing if I'm going to be in school semester after semester really made me want to glean every second of having it's resources available. So in short, I've learned how to produce cohesive bodies fast, where to seek out certain resources and concrete my own visual and technical vocabulary that I enjoy.
QA: I have learned many things along the way, but I feel that the most important aspect of my new knowledge as an artist, is how to talk about art or an expansion of my vocabulary in this field. Though I am no expert in any sense, I have come a long way. My interest in this knowledge will never stop. That being said, I guess I have a long way to go.
AZ: If I can't sit and draw for more than 2 days I go into an anger bender. Like I'm trying to quit a drug that keeps me sane. I understand that everyone has to pay their dues in the world before they find success, I'm just incredibly afraid of falling into a flaming downward death spiral of routine. After being in school for so long people wake up the day after graduating crying and not knowing what to do with themselves. Not trying to be one of those people. I know where I want to be, and I just want to keep working in a space of my own. As long as I have a space and time to work I'm a happy camper.
QA: I do have many fears and anxieties about post graduate life but I don't want this to turn into a sob story. I am extremely excited to travel and take photos of my little change of scenery, for I have lived in SF for over 6 years. After some traveling, I plan to spend as much time as possible producing work, and like many other kids my age, I am working on a skateboard company. The company specializes in cruiser boards and goes by the name Sleight Of Hand. We have three pro, and a few logo based boards that should drop sometime in January.
QA: One reason I am excited about the SF art scene because of the feeling that there is a never-ending search for new artists. I feel that eyes are always turning towards a younger crowd and I am beginning to feel these eyes as we speak. Growing up in Los Angeles I didn't really feel this kind of community.
AZ: Growing up and going to shows here in SF has made me what I am no doubt about it. I started going and hanging out around shows when I was about 13, scared shitless like " oh my god they all look huge and they're drinking beer I'm outty". But I wanted to be part of it all. SF is such a small densely packed place with so many young underestimated talents. So many niches in terms of the type of work people are executing and incubating. The biggest thing I love is how everyone knows everyone. Galleries that show polar opposite work to another still know each other's names. I feel SF is developing into a mecca for multitudes of things like publishing, tattooing, art and its artists, a ground zero for movements, etc. Going to galleries in SF multiple times a month produces an inescapable desire to want to be a contributor to this scene. To be able to change the way people think about certain topics is one of the best job's anyone can have.
AZ: I'm going to take a week or two for myself then get back to working, working, working. Hopefully I can get some other group shows or bigger lined up. I like to tell myself that out there on this tiny planet there is another artist doing the exact same thing as I am, technique and all, and when I'm sleeping that fucker is WORKING and getting an edge on me. I hate it... .but I know I have to get a J.O.B. But I would really want to start getting more involved with people that are icons in my life, and be truly submerged in my medium both socially and artistically.
QA: I am pretty big on partying, so probably some of that. I am going to make as much work as possible in my last semester at SFAI. I plan on graduating school in May, while simultaneously quitting my job to buy a van and travel a bit. I am really not sure where I'll end up. I am most likely going to have to find a new job at some point, but hope that it will be more related to my practice as an artist than my last job. Most importantly, after a little bit of exploration, I want to keep making work and showing it.
QA: Live till you die.
AZ: If you are going to commit, commit. Life is too short to let killer stuff pass you by... both the little things and the big things. Why go for gold when you can get DIAMONDS
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UNIBROW: BRIDGING THE GAP
New works by Quinn Arneson & Alex Ziv
Opening Reception: Thursday December 8, 2011 7-11PM
Closing Reception: Friday January 13, 2012 7-11PM
On View December 8, 2011 - January 13, 2012
Gallery Heist is excited to announce the opening reception for UNIBROW: BRIDGING THE GAP New works by
Quinn Arneson & Alex Ziv. An opening reception will be held on Thursday December 8, 2011 from 7-11pm. The
exhibition is free and open to the public.
Bay Area artists Alex Ziv and Quinn Arneson share an infatuation with the signs and symbols surrounding subculture.
Both artists address subculture with romanticism and humor, while transcending and recycling the boundaries of visual
language. Unibrow is an exhibition bridging the void between low brow and high brow art, while exploring the spaces
in between. Arneson and Ziv have developed an artistic practice articulated by remixing mass culture, while composing
thoughtful juxtapositions of suggested dualities. Their use of autonomous totems from cyberspace to cartoons creates a
combination of high and low cultural paradigms. Unibrow is the first two man show Alex Ziv and Quinn Arneson have
participated in, marking their final years at the San Francisco Art Institute.!
Quinn Arneson examines absurdity and the viewer's relationship within virtual perfection. He uses humor as a
conversational medium, pushing the work to question identity and the changing role of of art in a contemporary world.
The precise application of paint and flat color on white space is akin to the aesthetics of digital media; smooth, perfect
and flawless. Formally this creates a paradoxical exchange between familiar and unnatural qualities combining craft
with technological aesthetics .!
In his recent work, Alex Ziv has been creating dynamic compositions using hot rod and motorcycle iconography.! He
utilizes classic techniques of formal drawing to discuss his personal relationship with old cars, motorcycles and the
historical influence it has had on contemporary society. His passionate devotion to create work which embodies this
subculture gives an opportunity for outsiders to participate in his world. Ziv paints generous and enthralling adaptions
of cultural icons with vibrant color and precision.!
The exhibition is open to the public and will be on view from December 8, 2011 - January 13, 2012. Gallery hours are
as follow: Wednesday - Saturday 11:00am - 6:00pm. And by appointment. Gallery Heist is located at 679 Geary Street
San Francisco CA 94102 For more information or to request a preview of the available work please contact the gallery
at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
679 GEARY STREET | SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 | GALLERY HEIST.COM | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
ARTIST STATEMENT
QUINN ARNESON
My work is an exploration of absurdity grounded in viral images and videos and the ever present
question of the the role of the artist. Overt humor is used as a vehicle to widen audiences, inviting them
into to a conversation of contemporary expression and identity. Formally, I am interested in the minimal,
careful and flat application of paint in my work in relation to my primary resource, a computer, a two
dimensional place where there is no room for error.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
ALEX ZIV
My recent work has been the truest visual testament to a cultural phenomenon I have adored since a child. My
visual rhetoric streamlined to manifest personified images composed of the dated yet relevant icons of hot rod
and motorcycle cultures. The abnormal devotion seen within those who devote their lives to their mechanical
crafts manipulated and extended through my choice method of mark making, pointillism. Brightly colored planes
of paper purely embodies the exuberant character gradually taking over my life more and more as I delve further
into making about what is important to me, motorcycles, old cars, the politics surrounding itʼs culture and the
dream of one day having many of my own.
679 GEARY STREET | SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 | GALLERY HEIST.COM | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
ARTIST CV
QUINN ARNESON
EDUCATION
2012 # BFA, Painting with an emphasis in drawing, The San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2011# Unibrow: Bridging The Gap, Gallery Heist, San Francisco, CA
2011# Water McBeer, Ever Gold Gallery, San Francisco, CA
# #
2011# Its Been Interesting, Suede Gallery, San Francisco, CA
# #
2009 # Draw, White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
679 GEARY STREET | SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 | GALLERY HEIST.COM | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
ARTIST CV
ALEXANDER ZIV
EDUCATION
2011 BFA The San Francisco Art Institute, major in painting with emphasis is drawing, San Francisco, CA
GROUP EXHIBTIONS
2011 ! Unibrow: Bridging the Gap, Gallery Heist, San Francisco, CA
2011 Rise Japan (benefit & fundraiser), Gallery Heist, San Francisco, CA
2009! Cool Kids Only group show, Live Worms Gallery, San Francisco, CA
INTERNATIONAL GROUP EXHIBIITONS
2011! A Contemporary Survey on Art, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
2011! International Drawing Group Exhibition, The Leeds College of Fine Art, Leeds, England
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2009! Fractal Revelations, New works by Alex Ziv, The Peanut Gallery, San Francisco, CA
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
2011 Distinguished Painting award, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA
2010 Distinguished Painting award, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA
2009 Distinguished Painting award, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA
2007 Award in Substantial Artistic Excellence, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA
2007 A Respect for Differences in Art Award, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA
679 GEARY STREET | SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 | GALLERY HEIST.COM | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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