The space of the gallery is incredibly efficient, and although it is very small, there were plenty of room for the works and for visitors trying to see them. The intimate setting helped to allow viewers to establish relationships with individual works, before they skirted off to any of the other number of galleries within the building. However, Manzo's work is very strong and deserves a time and space all its own.

On Saturday, October 20th, the Human Pyramids Collective presented the last leg of the CMYK show, an international group exhibition, which showed in Majorca, Spain, Malmo, Sweden, Dublin, Ireland, and then stopping finally in Los Angeles at the XVY Art + Design.

Playing off the CMYK from printmaking, the show featured hand printed works by Hovin Wang, Philip Evans, Mari Araki, Pato Conde, Fos, Sean Morris, Philip Morgan, Teddy Kelly, The Love Movement, Michael C. Hsiung, Richard Gilligan, Stefan Narancic, Nils Svensson, Elvis Segarich, Bigfoot, Mike O'Shea, Michael Coleman, Fuchsia Macaree, Loana Ibarra, and Stu Smith.

The exhibition opened in Los Angeles Oct. 11th thru Oct. 27th. Some print works will be up on the Human Pyramids store.

Works by Stefan Narancic (Sweden).

Our buddy Henrik Haven in Copenhagen emailed over some photos from San Francisco based Jason Jagel's current show "The Castle" which opened last Friday at Gallery Christoffer Egelund (Denmark). In 2002 Jason Jagel graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from Stanford University.

Because of the large crowd, it was difficult to see all of the photographs, but that wasn't really the point of Friday night. The skateboarding community came out in full force to see what was happening here in San Francisco as well as internationally in places like France, where Magenta Skateboards is based. The video was shown strategically on the back wall at 8 so that the people in the street could watch while they finished smoking their cigarettes. No beer was served, which is unusual for Book and Job, but it was brown-bag friendly and most took advantage of that.

The photographs themselves range from the stylistic skate photos of Isaac McKay-Randozzi and Ben Gore, to the more abstracted and colorful mini photos by Evan Kinori on the stairs. Most, if not all, of the photographs were taken here in the city and helped to maintain cohesion between the artwork and the video. But, Friday night was really about the video. If you missed it, it's available online at magentaskateboards.com, but the photographs will be up through October 31st. Even if you did make it to the opening, I would suggest a second round to really spend some time with the pictures. It is worth it, and great inspiration for an afternoon skate session in the city.

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Reportage by Rachel Ralph, Fecal Face's new San Francisco correspondent. You can email her at rachel(at)fecalface.com

Chris Lux's work consists of sculptures and paintings along with the studies he completed in their making. Of his pieces, the largest was Depeche Mode “Halo” depicting a black man actively pursuing a white woman. Because of its size, it was utterly unavoidable. A girl looking at this piece and talking about its inherent racism mentioned it being "completely offensive" but she said it with smile before having another sip of her wine. Besides the painting, Lux has several graphic gouache pieces in black and white hung in a small room built in the back. I hope it was built recently (and is still in process), because there was no paint on the wood walls and it was completely segregated from the rest of the show.

On the other side of the gallery are many works by Dane Johnson in photography, painting and sculpture, none missing out on his sexual overtone. His work incorporates iconographic figures from pop culture, ranging from Mickey Mouse to Derek Jeter, removed from any other pop culture reference and presented as fine art. However, the hallmark piece of his show is Untitled (White Guys Taking Black Cocks/ The Monstercock Max de Long Experience 2) which was basically a collage of photographs of masculine camping supplies resting on two shelves full of porno (which is where the title comes from). It combines both the sexuality and racial nature of the show without disguising it whatsoever.

Ultimately, I think "Eating Out of the Drain" is operating on shock tactics and references to pop culture. By making the show inherently sexual and racial, there will inevitably be discussions raised by it; however, those discussions probably won't have any mention of the actual aesthetic quality in the work, as it has been completely covered in order to appall audiences.

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Reportage by Rachel Ralph, Fecal Face's new San Francisco correspondent. You can email her at rachel(at)fecalface.com

Work by Xiau Fong Wee

111 Minna never disappoints and Friday night was no exception. Even the uber-corporate crowd, with their glowing ID badges couldn't detract from the quality of the work in their newest show, "Corporeal Clusters" with works from Kelly Allen, Melissa Arendt and Xiau-Fong Wee. The place was packed, as I stepped on more than one shined toe from men's dress shoes, and was filled playing top 40 hits, a weird atmosphere for the gallery. However, the quality of the work is what prevails; there are some really beautiful paintings here.

The show opens with Kelly Allen's photorealistic paintings of animals combined with geometric and biomorphic shapes, setting the tone with a geometric and animalistic thread that runs throughout the entire gallery. Next on inside are Melissa Arendt's paintings on wood panels using geometric shapes and human figures, while letting the grain of the wood compose the background. I was especially attracted to the grouping Clusterfuck Series #s 11, 6, 7, 9, 5. Is that Bowie a la Labrynth I see in the center? Why yes it is, and it made my day. Her next grouping had several works which incorporated glitter, and most of these had been sold by the time I had gotten there at 8:00.

While there is no question of the beauty in both Allen's and Arendt's works, the standout for me were the acrylic paintings on canvas by Xiau-Fong Wee. My god are they beautiful. All I could say (literally) was "wow." The works have amorphous animal/human figures, most of which have the female form, indicating a connection with mother nature. The delicate treatment of the surface of the paintings and the natural aesthetic qualities reminded me of the surreal beauty of Tiffany Bozic's work, but taken to a whole new, dream-like level.

Ultimately, the crowd won the battle of wits, and I just had to get out of there. I will definitely be back before the show closes on November 10th, when I can actually see the paintings, without the soul-crushing music and the creepy businessmen. Really, this show is a must-see, and I guarantee you that you don't want to miss it. -more photos

Xiau-Fong Wee, Slow Motion, 2012

Last weekend Vans sent me down to check out opening night of Supply and Demand, art gallery and installation, which opened October 12that the House of Vans for a one-night invite-only event. (You might remember seeing the Supply & Demand show post from last year as well). Supply and Demand, set up by Russ Pope and Vans, featured the works of Neil Blender, Nathaniel Russell, Chris Yormick, Jay Howell, Jamahl Williams, Russ Pope, Rich Jacobs, Dennis McNett, and Jai Tanju in a one night special event with free mini burgers, quesadillas, beverages, and a musical performance by Super Juice. Thanks again to Vans and Russ Pope for sending me out there for the event.

The Diamond Sea
Artists include Brett Amory, Shawn Barber, Michelle Blade, Clayton Brothers, Curiot, Jeff Depner, Meredith Dittmar, Jeremy Fish, Jay Howell, Mel Kadel, Hiro Kurata, Nicolas LeBorgne, Russell Leng, Alexis Mackenzie, Travis Millard, Ralph Pugay, Winnie Truong, and Mathew Zefeldt.
@FFDG
Oct 13th - Nov 10th, 2012

The Grass Pipe
Jay Howell
ink and gouache on paper, framed
24" x 19"
pricing and availability, email
info(at)ffdg.net

Half the Time (B), 2012
Clayton Brothers
Mixed media on paper
framed
8 X 10 CM: 20.32 X 25.4
pricing and availability, email
info(at)ffdg.net

We've been covering the Fame Festival that went down in Italy featuring street art works from Erica Il Cane, Vhils, Interesni Kazki, Conor Harrington, Cyop & Kaf, Momo, Lucy McLauchlan, Bastardilla, Moneyless, Boris Hoppek and the local artist Giorgio Di Palma. Besides the works on the street (blog one | blog two) there was also this indoor exhibition to coincide.

Photos: Henrik Haven

Last Friday THIS, Los Angeles gallery presented Turbo Lover, a solo show from artist, printmaker, and painter Thom Lessner (Philadelphia) whose known for his 80s pop culture paintings and wood cutouts. Not only has he designed and printed various rock school posters for Paul Green School of Rock Music, but he has also done work for Enjoi, Snickers, Toyota, Thrasher, Vice just to mention a few. If your'e a fan of music, metal, and styling mullets like I am, then you should go check out Turbo Lover which runs from Sept 28th thru Oct 19th at THIS, LA in Highland Park. Here's some pictures from the opening reception.