Words and photos: Megan Wolfe

Before hitting up Eric Otto and Kevin Taylor's show, I made a quick stop outside the gallery to check out David Young V's wheat pastes.

There was also this installation in the window of White Walls.

"Together Otto and Taylor bring a surreal and vulnerable collection of art that explores innate human desires and fears. Although aesthetically different they share a common vision for "Terrestrial Syndrome".

Erik Otto visually illustrates a beautiful dream battled by an undercurrent of destruction. His paintings take the viewer to a place where chaos meets peace and loose meets refinement. Otto intuitively creates his works with found objects and recycled materials, providing an inherent history. All elements in his paintings enhance the significance of the other, from the warm colors, to the geometric figures to bursts of brilliant paint. His work narrates an autobiographical story, depicting the struggle to connect the awakened state to the desires found within.

Kevin E. Taylor's body of work is devoted to the mystery of nature. Branching out to incorporate a brighter color pallet, Taylors paints in serene earth tones with subtle deviations. The creatures he paints are neither human nor animal but rather a mutated combination, questioning concepts of human posture, genetics and mortality. His oil paintings on wood reveal a beautiful symbiotic relationship in a melancholic environment. This collection of works act as a metaphor for an impending future by visually referencing the uncertainty and insecurity felt in today's world." -Shooting Gallery

Next, I headed into Shooting Gallery to check out the installation. Awesome tree house by Eric Otto!

Eric Otto

Kevin Taylor

Kevin Taylor

I dig this one.

Eric Otto

Eric Otto's work.

And it's next door to White Walls..

Albert Reyes & Rich Jacobs
@White Walls
September 12 - October 3, 2009
835 Larkin st.
San Francisco, CA 94109

"Albert Reyes' new body of work reflects a unique hybrid of contemporary pop culture and classical art theory. His graphite pencil and ballpoint pen illustrations are drawn on the inside of book covers offering cohesiveness to the diverse imagery. He incorporates everything from pop icons and politicians to the girl next door. Reyes draws realistic yet surreal portraits with a bit of street credibility, often referencing jailhouse art, graffiti and Los Angeles Latino culture. Each piece is composed with diverse measures of contemplation and is often accompanied with poetic words and emotion.

Albert Reyes was born in Los Angeles, and later moved to the Bay Area where he received his BFA in interdisciplinary arts from San Francisco Art Institute. He studied various types of printmaking, as well as film but drawing has always been the focus of his work. This will be Reyes second show at White Walls. He has exhibited in LA, New York and Paris and has shown in galleries such as Giant Robot, Upper Playground SF, Black Market Gallery and Studio Number One." -White Walls

Albert Reyes

"Rich Jacobs works free form with no end result in mind. He starts to draw and lets the expression be his result. His art mixes raw, organic form with detailed, tight, pattern based figures. Jacobs abstract pieces are expressive, uncontrolled and free flowing. Repetitive shapes use a visual language of form, line, and color, impulsively capturing the strange and beautiful. Without referencing a naturalistic entity, his work translates it's own form, creating a composition that exists independently from reality.

Jacobs' leisure time is spent studying human nature. Whether watching passionate dialogue, listening to what makes people tick, or simply observing the streets, he finds a way to capture the essence. Contrary to his abstract pieces, his figurative faces are representational and very stylized. Odd shaped heads and obscure features explore elements of rhythm, thought and communication. Each gestural drawing tells a story of experience, capturing familiar emotions and opening a window to the soul of a stranger. Jacobs paints with acrylic, fast drying house paint, pen and ink. He uses earth tones, subtle colors, and blues to make expressive patterns, shapes, layers. He collects found objects, wood, Japanese paints, and organic inks to create an eclectic body of work." -White Walls

Rich Jacobs

Awesomely striking piece. My favorite from the show.

Albert Reyes

And my final stop, up the stairs to Gallery Three!

"San Francisco Youth Report"
David Young V
@Gallery Three
September 12 - October 3, 2009
835 Larkin st.
San Francisco, CA 94109

"This exhibit narrates a story set in the aftermath of a socio-economic collapse of the world financial system and the deterioration of Democracy. It focuses on a new generation of social structure, where children take control over operational government. The result is a formation of a youth militia, demonstrated in "San Francisco Youth Report." He emphasizes the militaristic elements of war, fascism, and the modern soldier to the extreme by applying them to innocent children. Alluding to an aggression that has been seen throughout history, he alters common perceptions of war and reveals another side of humanity." -Gallery Three

David Young V

David Young V

Stenciled floor, nice touch!

The gallery included a kiosk where you could watch a video interview with David describing his work.

Words and photos: Megan Wolfe {moscomment}