It’s Now or Never for Gallery Heist
Recently Culturcosm had a chance to chat with Julianne Yates, proprietor and curator of Gallery Heist, which just opened it’s first show “Now or Never” on November 14th. In an exclusive interview, she tells us what it’s like to be a 23-year-old from Los Angeles curating art in San Francisco and opening her first gallery amidst the art explosion in the Tenderloin.
What brought you from L.A. to San Francisco and what has kept you here?
At the time I was in a musical—my background down there was acting—and I was doing PR for a tri-annual fashion, music, and art event called Project Ethos, which is a really good vehicle and advocate for youth and the arts. Then all the projects I was working on in Orange County came to a natural end and I had an opportunity to move up here, just for the summer, and I took it. I ended up meeting an art consultant named Debbie Green who was working with Hyde Street Gallery. When I was about to move back to L.A. because I couldn’t find any work at all, I got a call from her asking if I would like to come work at the gallery.
How did Gallery Heist and your first show here become a reality?
I had this list of artists who I’d been watching for two years while I worked at Hyde Street, and was totally inspired by their work. One of the artists, Brett Amory, who I showed with at Hyde Street has been a huge inspiration to open the gallery and stay in San Francisco. He introduced me to pretty much everybody that I know in this art scene.
I was invited to sit and draw at a Sketch Tuesdays [at 111 Minna], one of the events that I’d watched for about a year and a half. When I finally went, I thought ‘this is amazing, why didn’t I come sooner?’ I met the curator, Brad [Alder], who knew that I was curating at Hyde Street and that I’d worked with Brett, so he invited me to co-curate Sketch Tuesdays. So I started rounding up artists, and then I met Gabe [Scott], who was the main curator for the Minna gallery. I told him I was opening a new gallery and asked him if he wanted to co-curate the first show with me.
I went to high school with [photographer Zach Lewis] and then caught up with him up here and he turned me on to Mike Giant. I was doing a fundraiser for Heist Gallery called Artcycle SF, and I contacted Mike to see if Rebel8 and The Skullz Press would be interested in sponsoring the alleycat [bike race] around the city.
What has been the most challenging or exciting thing about curating?
I don’t hang until I get all the artwork in here and then I lay it all out and then sit with it. My favorite part is hanging the shows. It’s almost like painting, you have this canvas and that’s the blank wall, and then all of your colors are all the different pieces. It’s just like how artists sometimes explain painting as building up and taking down. It’s like communicating with a piece—it will tell you when it’s done. [Hanging a show] is the same thing, in my eyes, it’s an art form that I enjoy.
How do you choose the artwork you want to show?
To me, art is language in common. You don’t have to speak the same language to understand what’s happening in a painting. I like it when the pieces are saying something, when they’re thought provoking and make you think something deeper. I love artwork that challenges whatever’s happening in the world or society. Like with Adam Caldwell’s pieces—he has the technical training and ability, but then he has these ideas that he’s able to execute, these socially challenging conceptual pieces that are backed with mad skill.
You had a great turnout for your first opening, how did it compare to your expectations?
I didn’t really have any expectations. Obviously you hope for the best, but I think I was so focused on making sure everything was hung and ready to go that I didn’t really think about the turnout. I had promoted as much as I could and there were people helping me out promoting, and I’m thankful to all those people. I guess I couldn’t have asked for a better turnout and I sold some work and so that’s awesome on top of everything.
How can a small gallery hope to be successful in this economy?
I think the key is lower price points, smaller works, more volume, less margin. In this show there were 51 pieces from 21 different artists, all the prices range from $50 prints from Mike Giant, to Kevin Taylor’s piece, which is $4,900. I want to be able to have that range, so if someone can’t afford the art, they can buy it on a T-shirt, and experience the art, support and promote it, and be a part of it. I’m not going to only cater to people who can afford $3,000 paintings.
How does your own work fit into your plans for Heist?
I’ve always considered myself a writer. I don’t have anything published yet, but I plan to. I definitely want to tie that aspect into the gallery, with open mic events and publishing books, eventually getting my own publishing company, publishing my work and the work of others. I’m talking to The Beat Museum about starting that sort of endeavor. Acting will always be a part of my life and hopefully, I believe this will lead me back into that. And photography—I’m always continuing to build on that.
What about the long-term plans for the gallery?
Ideally, the long-term goal for Gallery Heist would be to open up a location in Los Angeles so I could get back there, and definitely in New York. I’m really hopeful. I believe in the art here and the artists, and I see it taking off. Just look what’s happening on Geary Street with me and Kokoro [Studio], and Ever Gold, and Public. White Walls definitely paved the road for conscious art and provided the groundwork for us to be here, along with Fecal Face and Ratio 3.
What makes the art you’re showing and the galleries in the Tenderloin important?
Our history is being documented by with these artists. These are the people who are saying something about our society, and taking the risk to be protestors and advocates of conscious art. I think the future is beginning. It’s DIY and it’s just cool. It’s so fun to see these young people saying ‘this is the art that we want to see’ and being able to have the courage and passion to open up a spot and rough it out, and really do it. It’s places like this that are making the movement. It’s finding more alternative spaces like this that are going to put San Francisco on the map, I think, as an International scene. People want it. There are so many young people here in San Francisco, and here is art by young people for young people, and for everybody. There’s a sense of belonging and community here, which I think is important.
You’re 23—some people might be surprised at someone taking on such an ambitious endeavor at your age. What would you say to them?
When am I ever going to do this in my life again? It still hasn’t really set in—what I’m doing, I just know that it feels right. This is happening, this is life, this is what it’s all about. I’ll write about this in twenty years and it’ll be a cool story, once it takes off.
Gallery Heist is located at 679 Geary St. at Leavenworth in San Francisco.
Stop in to say hello and check out “Now or Never,” Tuesdays-Saturdays, noon-midnight, Sundays, noon-6pm.
—Sara
Photos courtesy of Greg Jacobs.
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Fancy That: Artwork by Hilary Williams
There’s nothing like your first crush. And if you’re anything like us, you crush hard and often. This is where we pay homage to all things worthy of lusting after.
Sara fancies the colorful and imaginative works of local artist Hilary Williams. Her limited edition screen prints incorporate layers of photography, stencils, paintings, and drawings to express wistfully charming moments in and around San Francisco. Much of her work explores the juxtaposition of the urban and natural elements of life here, capturing both the soothing beauty of the City, and its prickly underlying energy.
“My works deals with a variety of emotions about the coexistence of our urban landscape, nature and humanity… I desire to create a surreal vision of reality that incorporates the past, present, and future of our worlds, landscapes, and characters, causing reflections on where we are today”
Hilary also plays with her methods of combined media and layered materials to create textural paintings that defy the bounds of a frame, and wonderfully engaging fabric sculptures that seem to invite you into a secret magical world.
Take a peek at Hilary’s work in person, including her new “Petite Prints,” at her solo show opening tomorrow at Tedda Hughes gallery boutique. While you’re there you can peruse the works of other talented local clothing and jewelry designers including those of the proprietor herself. You can also visit Hilary in her studio every Wednesday, 4-7pm, and learn all about her creative process.
Opening reception is Saturday, Nov. 14th, 7-10pm. Tedda Hughes is located at 1623 Polk St., between Sacramento and Clay in San Francisco. Open Wed., Thurs., Sun., noon-7:30pm; Fri. and Sat., noon-9:30pm.
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Wonders Never Cease
I haven’t come across any more witty nicknames yet, but I do have more to say about the Tenderloin and the wave of artistic energy that is gaining momentum here.
According the National Endowment for the Arts Artists in the Workforce study for 1995-2005, San Francisco has the highest percentage of artists in the labor force of any American city (3.71%). It makes sense that many artists would make their homes in the TL—it’s always been a haven for working class creative types because it’s one of the last truly affordable neighborhoods in San Francisco.
Soon after he opened his barber salon/art gallery about two years ago, Public owner Steve Jester told me “The Tenderloin is the new Lower East Side.” That rang true to me, and I doubt I’d be the first to suggest that it’s also the new Mission. When I moved to the Bay Area eight years ago, the Mission was in the early stages of its arts and culture explosion. I’ve now lived in the ‘Loin for over three years, and perhaps it’s my heightened awareness of the haps in the ‘hood, but art seems to be pushing up like dandelions through cracks in the pavement around here lately.
Shall we count the ways? Public joined established veterans White Walls and Shooting Gallery on Larkin and well-known Space Gallery*** on Polk. Now we have Ever Gold on O’Farrell, host to one of the site-specific exhibits included in the limited-time Wonderland Project. Socially conscious Gallery Heist is joining the fold on November 14th, taking over the tiny space on Geary that used to house 20 GOTO 10 gallery. And those are just the places I know about, not including the many arts-supporting cafes and bars in the Thirstyloin.
But wait, there’s more! Something big has been taking shape in there heart of the ‘Loin over the past few years, and on October 1st, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts (GAFFTA) officially opened its doors on 55 Taylor street, transforming a space that was once a porn theater into a new bastion of optimism and creativity. A nonprofit digital arts and technology center “dedicated to building social consciousness through digital culture,” Gray Area serves a new generation of artists by providing a working studio space that encourages collaboration. At the same time they serve their community “by making digital culture accessible, substantive and inspiring.”
Featuring new works from three pioneers in the field of digital art—C.E.B. Reas, Camille Utterback and Stamen Design, Gray Area’s critically acclaimed inaugural exhibition “Open” encapsulates the foundation’s philosophy and intention to use innovative technology to encourage collaboration, sharing of resources, and openness, in both the creative process and the community. Meet the people that made GAFFTA happen.
In summary, there’s evidence of a new generation of socially conscious artists living in the Tenderloin who are reaching into an ever-expanding digital universe while at the same time planting their roots into the immediate community. They’re doing it themselves, all together. If this is an example of a macro-trend manifesting on the micro-level, then there might be hope for us yet. At the very least it’s inspiring, and that’s no small thing in this day and age, especially in this neighborhood. Call it what you will (except for North of Market, ‘cause lord knows we don’t need a NOMA), it’s prime time to start paying attention to The Artsyloin.
The Gray Area Foundation for the Arts Gallery is free and open to the public Tuesday-Friday, 1pm–6pm. “Open” runs until Nov. 18th. Don’t miss a special free symposium with all three of the exhibition’s artists next Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 6pm.
–Sara
*** This Thursday Space Gallery will be hosting CULTURSHOCK!
Please join the editors and writers of Culturcosm on Nov. 5 at 6pm for a seismic event showcasing an impressive roster of Bay Area artists and designers, many of whom you’ve read about right here. Learn more.
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Culturshock: a seismic event celebrating the best of Bay Area art & design
On November 5th, Culturcosm will host its first event benefiting its carefully-curated roster of local talent. Held at the acclaimed Space Gallery, the event will feature a bevy of independent artists and vendors showcased over a 2-level 1600 square foot venue, with full bar service.
Participating Artists include:
ReMade USA Handbags
Litter Jewelry
Kurt Manley Photography
Quando Belts by Genaro Vergoglini
Tomgirl Jewelry by Taryn McCabe
Cuong Ta Ceramics
Artwork by Hilary Williams
Artwork by John Wood
Vanessa Gade Jewelry
Spray Can Artworks by FuryOne
My Dutch Bike
Nate1 of New Skool
Shop our recommended best in Bay Area art and fashion, boogie down with DJ ExtraLars and marvel at surprise live entertainment planned throughout the evening.
Join us from 6 o’clock on and support the movers and shakers of the Bay Area!
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Wonders Where You Least Expect
The ‘Loin, the TL, Trendyloin, Tendernob, Tandooriloin… the neighborhood’s nicknames are nearly as diverse the population of this San Francisco neighborhood, notorious for drugs, crime, homelessness, and prostitution. But as those of us who live here know, when you look closely into grit and grime, the Tenderloin has a certain magic of its own, and since the first days of the City it’s been a home to artists, writers, and musicians.
If you’ve ever felt the inclination to brave these rough streets in search of any creative treasures they may hold, now is the time to act on it, because you will be rewarded. Thanks to the vision of Bay Area native Lance Fung, and the collaborative efforts of almost 80 local, national, and international artists, city nonprofit organizations like the North of Market Community Benefit District, and neighborhood residents, the Tenderloin is a wonderland.
The Wonderland Project is a multi-site, grassroots exhibition intended to engage, stimulate, and nurture the Tenderloin community, celebrating its unique diversity through 16 contemporary art installations throughout the neighborhood. In Fung’s words “this project is so embedded within the fabric of the community and the work is truly coming from the people.”
Home Away From Home is a portable structure installed at McAllister and Larkin streets that explores ideas of home and mobility. Its creators, including Barry Beach, Colby Claycomb, John Melvin, Kit Rosenberg and Izumi Yokoyama, used drawings made by kids at the Tenderloin Boys and Girls Club as inspiration.
Offstage features cocoon-like sculptures perched atop the Warfield Theater and Show Dogs Café created by a group of artists including Melkorka Helgadottir, Christophe Piallat and Brandon Truscott.
Fear Head is a large-scale mural designed by Roman Cesario and Mitsu Overstreet and installed by a large team of local street artists. The work delves into the themes of fear that revolve around the Tenderloin.
Other works include Down The Rabbit Hole, a graphical and metaphorical depiction of the working and living environment of a young girl who is hostage to the underground sex trade, and Reflect/Xions, which aims to awaken passersby to their own existence and participation in the space. And these are just a few. You’ll have to overcome your own fears of the Tenderloin’s reputation to find and experience the rest of these eye-opening artworks on your own.
The exhibition is free and open to the public and will run through November 15th with the hope of Wonderland 2 next year.
–Sara
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Head & Tails: Amsterdam Cafe
Up or over, shaken or stirred, we’re looking for the best bets to quench your thirst. This is where we spill it all about the area’s nearest and dearest brewpubs, bars, wine cellars, tasting rooms, package stores, liquor aisles, and well, we ARE thorough.
Polk Gulch/Tenderloin has a chill new addition to it’s growing bar/art scene in Amsterdam Cafe. Formerly El Patron Tacqueria, the same owners have given the space a face-lift with lustrous wooden floors and seating, a custom concrete bar, and generous glass doors that bring the front patio right inside, giving the whole space an open and inviting, yet masculine feel—perfect for those sunny afternoons when you’re looking for a quality quaff but don’t want to feel like you’re in a hole.
In fact, that feeling was just what the proprietors were aiming for. Kellie, the matriarch of the establishment, describes how the name “Amsterdam” was the inspiration for a bar the exudes a sense freedom and an “open door policy.” “You get to be whoever you are. [We want] everyone to feel they’re welcome.” In one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the City, this seems an appropriate strategy. To that end Amsterdam is working on an event calendar that caters to all tastes and makes good use of both their rear lounge/dance floor, art-friendly wall space, and prime people-watching outdoor area. Stop in to sample something from their impressive selection of import beers and local micro-brews. The kitchen will soon add eats and sangria to the menu, until then, grab a slice from the bar’s sister business across the street, Irving Pizza.
Mondays promise art openings featuring local artists—visit tonight at 8pm to peruse the visual and sculptural art of James Sumner Leese. An Industrial Design student at the Academy of Art, his work will especially appeal to those of a scientific bent, as he uses things called “Strange Attractors” and “Interference Arrays” to create them. If you know what those are, good on ya, I just know I liked the steel wire explosions that he fashions from X-rays of roses. And I liked my Tangerine Wheat beer from Lost Coast Brewery.
Amsterdam Cafe is located at 937 Geary Street, between Polk and Larkin Streets, in San Francisco.
—Sara
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Filling the Emptiness With Local Art
Poet of the Beat Generation and literary son of San Francisco, Allen Ginsberg, said: “Fortunately art is a community effort—a small but select community living in a spiritualized world endeavoring to interpret the wars and the solitudes of the flesh.”
Walking down Central Market, Lower 24th Street, 3rd Street in Bayview, or through the Tenderloin, these “wars and solitudes” of life in 2009 are palpable in the abandoned and shuttered shops alone—obvious evidence of the economic hardships that San Francisco is enduring. But in the spirit of community and perhaps in a belief in the transformative power of creativity, the City is striving to shine a ray of optimism into these dark spaces. You could say that San Francisco is rallying to a cry put forth by another artist who’s no stranger to its streets—Shepard Fairey and his graphic work “Make Art, Not War.”
To that end, the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Community Arts and Education Program has partnered with the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development to create a pilot Art in Storefronts program to fill empty store windows with temporary installations by local artists. The hope is that, now, when the going is tough, local artists will get going to bring new energy into our struggling neighborhoods.
“These tough economic times have had an impact on our treasured neighborhoods, leaving storefronts empty or underutilized,” stated Mayor Newsom. “Art in Storefronts encourages a temporary alternative use of storefronts that will reinvigorate our neighborhoods and commercial corridors, improve streetscape conditions and safety, and support merchants by increasing foot traffic and instilling community pride. We also believe that the art installations will ultimately help get these spaces leased.”
The program will launch in Central Market in September, and will run through January 2010. Artists living or working in Bayview, Central Market, Mission, and Tenderloin will have priority in the selection process and, according to Art in Storefronts project partner Triple Base Gallery, art works of any genre that “respond to the history, unique character and positive qualities of [those] neighborhoods” will receive special consideration. In return for working to benefit their community “artists, who have also been affected by the economy, [will be provided with a] unique opportunity to showcase their creativity… and to garner public recognition for their work.” It’s a win-win.
The Art in Storefronts application deadline is August 14. Interested artists can learn more and get the application here.
–Sara
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“Art and Coffee” With John Wood
The first time I meet painter John Wood, I am completely taken with his tranquility. We sit for caffeinated beverages and a lovely chat at the site of his latest exhibition, “Art and Coffee,” which presides at Sweet Adeline Bakeshop until August 21, situated neatly on the divide between Berkeley and Oakland in the same genteel and gentrifying neighborhood where Wood’s studio also happens to be located.
Upon seeing Wood alongside this particular body of work, completed between 2007 and the present, and set upon light blue paper that happens to marry perfectly with the yellow walls and sun-drenched windows of this former warehouse space, I immediately grasp the optimism, emotion, and intensity of his work, even though the work and Wood both appear to be as calm, cool, and collected as any art exhibit I’ve seen in a long while. Whether or not Wood intends for me to feel this optimism and lightness of being, I am unsure, but more than anything I am aware that my role is to enjoy my time with the painter and his work in equal measure.
Soon after meeting, Wood and I discover a shared passion for reading, which sheds some additional light on his creative process. “I collect titles,” Wood says, explaining that — while his work may appear to be a series of simple square feet containing abstract colors, lines, and shapes — the titles, taken from Wood’s own stash of favorite snippets of sentences and poems, simultaneously add both dimension and mystery to his paintings, granting viewers the freedom and the distance from having to know exactly what each one means, and, ultimately, the ability to focus, instead, on what the work means to every single viewer as an individual.
Featuring titles such as, “Entwined in a Sweaty Heap,” “With All Its Imperfections,” “Sensation Down the Spine,” and “Stopping Mid-Sentence,” it is immediately clear to me that Wood relishes life’s tactile, sensual, and cerebral connections — afforded by his ability and foresight not just to create, but to know when his creations are truly complete. For me, this is a rare quality for any artist, the sense of accomplishment and completion, as well as the ability to simultaneously embrace and let go, which makes Wood’s paintings, even in their relatively small size, advance with a sense of personality and profound emotion.
For some, Wood’s work may appear influenced by cartography, while for others the work may seem more personal and personified, the ultimate walkaway is that each piece speaks to humanity’s growing desire for simplicity, symbols, semiotics, and extended meanings in today’s over-saturated, over-communicated landscape. Fortunately, for a due change of perspective and pace, Wood reinforces the beauty of actually stopping to see the paintings.
— Kay
John Wood’s “Art and Coffee” collection is showing at Sweet Adeline Bakeshop, 3350 Adeline St., in Berkeley, 510.985.7381. The exhibition will remain open through Friday, August 21. All paintings are available for sale.
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Fancy That: Tropical Trimmings
There’s nothing like your first crush. And if you’re anything like us, you crush hard and often. This is where we pay homage to all things worthy of lusting after.
Sara fancies bright and feminine, yet edgy leather jewelry from Tomgirl. Local artist-of-all-media Taryn McCabe takes her Exacto knife to brilliant colored and metallic leather, meticulously crafting graphic flower and leaf shapes reminiscent of Alexander Girard or Marimekko. She layers them together in any number of complimentary combinations to create fluttering, flashy earrings, and statement-making sculptural necklaces.
You can find Tomgirl this weekend at San Francisco’s second annual Renegade Craft Fair, along with 199 other industrious artists of all kinds. It’s reportedly “the biggest and most comprehensive DIY event around” with additional stops in Brooklyn, Chicago, and Los Angeles—and it’s FREE! Come out and support our local artists!
Renegade Craft Fair, Saturday and Sunday, July 18th and 19th, 11am-7pm. Fort Mason Center Festival Pavilion.
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Secession Taps the Streets
Secession Art & Design is keeping it local and fresh in The Mission. The gallery/boutique/workspace opened its the doors in August 2007 and is thriving as a hip haven for emerging and established local artists and designers, and the go-to spot for peeps with a passion for San Francisco’s indie arts community.
Owner and curator Eden Stein refreshes her gallery’s walls and racks every couple of months with a rotating collection of handpicked, locally made fine art, jewelry, clothing, accessories, and home décor items. Alongside the work of four in-house designers—New Skool, Colleen Mauer, Heather Robinson, and Stein’s own Twelve Designs—this makes for a rich selection of very cool, unique, and high-quality art—hangable and wearable.
Last Friday, June 5th, marked the opening for the current show, which explores a subculture of artists and designers who are documenting the Bay Area through a visual history, and bringing the streets of San Francisco into the home. The show features the work of artists FuryOne and Anna Simson as well as the wares of nine local designers.
FuryOne is an original San Francisco graffiti artist who has had art up on the streets of The City for the last 25 years. Now his gritty, yet soulful spray-paint stylings are obtainable on canvases of various shapes and sizes. Simson’s colorful monoprints are built layer-by-layer, creating eye-catching records of passing time and thought, and imparting impressions of our urban landscape.
There was a celebratory air to opening night as a steady stream of patrons arrived and groups of friends mingled while browsing the show. Wine was flowing, faces were smiling, and bodies were grooving to the beats provided by guest DJ ExtraLars. To make the Secession experience even more special, a portion of the proceeds will go to local non-profit Streetside Stories, a community-based literacy arts education organization.
Secession Art & Design is located at 3361 Mission Street (at 30th Street) in San Francisco. The current show is up through August 1. Go check it out Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 12-7pm.
Secession Art & Design will also be represented at The Indie Mart Street Fair, Sunday, June 21, 12-6pm at Thee Park Side, located at 1600 17th Street (at Wisconsin) in San Francisco.
If you like what you find, vote for Secession Art & Design in The Guardian’s Best of the Bay. Voting starts today, online or in this week’s Guardian, and continues for the next three weeks.
–Sara
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Culturcosm is your online authority on the climate of trend throughout the Bay Area. Your roving reporters are taking to the streets and chasing down the real story. Be it stormy or serene, torrid or just plain tragic, we will break it down before you hit it up. Stay tuned. There's a new trend breaking every minute.
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Michael, founder / editor-in-chiefmichael@culturcosm.com
Kay, founder / contributing editorkay@culturcosm.com
Sara, trendcaster / managing editorsara@culturcosm.com
Heather, social commentatorheather@culturcosm.com
Taylor, music trendcastertaylor@culturcosm.com
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