Random Acts of Eclectic Items & Arty Images

The Moody Seduction of Cate Rangel’s Art

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:55:27 -0800

Cate has always been enchanted by the female face and form. In her work, she seeks to capture a certain essence of a woman, whether it be her beauty, youth, vulnerability, sensuality, strength, or any combination of these. Most of her paintings are autobiographical in nature. They are not mirror images of her physical self, but emotional and psychological mirrors. Her inspiration comes from music, lyrics, vintage photographs, art history books, or even something as simple as a fleeting look on someone's face. Her portraits are drawn from emotion, mood, and personal experience. They are pieces of her, residue from her past and a glimpse into her psyche.

Ten Women Gallery in Venice, California

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:40:33 -0800

Last summer I had the chance while in LA to visit the Ten Women Gallery in Venice. Wonderful newbrow artist Patricia Anders, turned me onto it. She has been kind enough to contribute her beautiful paintings and art dolls to many Eclectix exhibits over the years and is a member of this artist co-op, along with many other very talented women. This venue is overflowing with eclectic arts and crafts, many different mediums and styles are jam packed into numerous little meandering rooms.
At the time, they had an altered Barbie exhibit up, aptly titled “Barbie Redux” . There have been a number of altered Barbie exhibits over the years, but I have to say this was one of the best I have seen, more professionally executed than others. There were Day of the Dead Barbies, goth Barbies, princess Barbies, mutated and depressed Barbies, goddess Barbies, vampire Barbies and even a bat girl Barbie. The whole idea is great, what else to do with all those cast off Barbies that have inspired such love/hate relationships over time? And Halloween being in the mix made it even better.
The gallery has the feel of a treasure hunt, around every corner is another wall or niche filled with wondrous goodies. Some folk art, doll art, fabric arts, fine art paintings, mounted prints, photography, glassworks, sculptures of every imaginable shape, jewelry, functional art and more adorn the walls. Even the bathroom had a huge altered mannequin sculpture watching you do your deed!
Their current exhibit, which opened December 4th, is “6 x 6 = 50”, featuring 6”x6” original canvases for 50 bucks each. If you are in the LA area, try to make a stop here, it is a fun and stimulating visit.

Ten Women Venice, 1237 Abbot Kinney , Venice, CA 90291, 310-452-2256
For a complete list of artists and events, and more pix, go to their website at:
http://www.tenwomen.org/venicegallery.html
or their blog at:
http://www.tenwomengallery.blogspot.com

The Berlin Wall, An Online Art Gallery

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:13:18 -0700

After stumbling on some dynamic art from the Berlin Wall randomly one day, I spent a whole day browsing the internet for these images of art. Okay, there may be a few in here that aren't from the wall, but that's how they “googled”.
I picked only the best photos and edited a little. There are so many great pieces, they deserve to be in some cohesive format all together. It would have taken months to try and research each artist and photographer, so please excuse the fact there are no credits here. Whenever possible, I left the occasional signature on the images. Some seem to be actual pieces removed from the wall but most are still on the actual wall itself. There are before and afters - ( freshly painted, then the same art after graffiti and weather had taken it's toll ). Both are very cool. The crumbling plaster cracks and irregularities of the wall, lend great texture and dimension, with a collage-feel resulting. The paintings near windows and cracks have a surreal Magritte look, with an arm sticking thru or other worlds beckoning inside windows. Some of the photos are tourist snapshots so there may be a human in there and some have the actual artists in front of them. (I think.)
All kinds of great eclectic styles - Russian/Chinese propaganda, German expressionist, Mexican mural, urban street punk, comic, representational, graphic and expressionist. For all you Cure fans, there is even a little Warhol - like stencil of Robert Smith!
Credit goes out to all the fantastic artists and photographers, whoever you are, for creating such a great collection of street art! Enjoy.

San Francisco Art Institute’s Spring Show

Wed, 27 May 2009 08:35:18 -0700

Took the chance to see some fledgling, fresh talent at local art school’s spring exhibits. Some of it didn’t translate well into the blog format, the installations and pieces where sound were a key factor. Nonetheless, there were a slew of creative works and it was hard to choose which ones to feature here. Didn’t have time to list artist’s names and titles, but wanted to share the eye candy with you all... Shown here are some wonderful selections from the SFAI Spring Show, May 21-28th 2009, Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco.

Surfing Never Looked So Good... Clark Little’s Photography

Fri, 8 May 2009 09:54:43 -0700

Waimea Bay shorebreak surfing pioneer, husband, and father of two, Clark Little has gained nationwide recognition for his photography. Here are some stellar pix of the power and beauty of waves, the surfer’s treasured centerfold and an ocean lover’s paradise.

Ghost Houses of Detroit, Stunning Photos

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:05:31 -0700

Time Magazine published a photo essay on the abandoned, rotting, magnificent buildings in Detroit by French photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre. A bad economy ‘s side effects - beautifully derelict scenes of past lives who have moved on .

Paper Shoes, A Fierce Fetish!

Wed, 4 Mar 2009 10:35:35 -0800

While searching out the previous paper arts entry, I found some wonderful fashion & art related paper works. All shoes: some light and airy, some heavy ass kickers and some just cute & fun.

Jessica Joslin: Art & Interview

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:10:54 -0800

Jessica creates wonderful assemblage creatures using an array of remnants from the natural world, obsolete bits of antique mechanical mechanisms, vestment trims, glass eyes and other oddball artifacts.

CUT BOOK ART - (OR ART MADE OUT OF BOOKS)

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:40:07 -0800

There are so many cool sculptures out there in the web world by artists, made out of books. Below are just a few found while surfing.

Left: The Wild Swans by Su Blackwell
http://www.sublackwell.co.uk/index.php

New mark ryden book: the tree show

Mon, 2 Feb 2009 13:12:19 -0800

A showcase of pieces from Mark Ryden's 2007 major solo exhibition at the Michael Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles, the Tree Show Book features over 130 color images including Mark's paintings, drawings, studies, and sculptural works.

Buy it today at Eclectix!

I Did it my way

Sun, 1 Feb 2009 18:22:20 -0800

Having had that song in my head all day, after listening to Sid Vicious’s cover of it, I got to wondering who wrote it? After all, even tho Sinatra could sing & act, he isn’t famous for his song writing skills, if any.
So thanks to Wikipedia, found some cool tidbits to share about the origins of the song - “My Way’.

Abraham Obama

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:27:49 -0800

Artist Ron English has done it again! Execution is subtle yet great! For more of his propaganda art go to:
http://www.popaganda.com/

Art Attack in sf

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 19:13:28 -0800

Just another cool wall of street art, somewhere in the Mission District, San Francisco.

Cool Bar & Restaurant Art in Italy

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:53:00 -0800

A series of doodles and drawings line the wine shelves of a pizza bar somewhere in Dorsoduro by the Guggenheim in Venice... Great caricatures and portraits.
Some cool paintings in a restaurant called Garga in Florence. The food was spectacular and the artists owners and waiters were a ton of fun! Took us down to tour the cellar where the painting happens. A den of art!

Fiorella Gallery in Venice

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:29:13 -0700

Just had to share this wonderful gallery and store in Venice, Italy. We stumbled upon it just when we had almost given up hope of finding any truly cutting edge, artistic & original spots. The owner, Fiorella Mancini has put together an amazing shop & gallery, chock full of colorful odd moments, found objects, political art, hand painted velvets, one-of-a-kind apparel & cultural icons.

Retinal delight in Galuna beach

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:14:47 -0700

If you’re going to So Cal anytime soon, be sure to check out this show! Push & honk your way past the blonde Barbies, the boob jobs and the tourists, to get to the Laguna Art Museum, for an outstanding show...
Hats off to curator Meg Linton!

Left: Chris Mars

Eclectix gallery is moving to a new space! Lowbrow goes newbrow!

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:01:43 -0700

Come September, Eclectix will be able to accommodate the growing shopping and art opening crowds we've been getting by moving to a bigger, more spacious location at 10082 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. The new space will feature more of the wonderfully eclectic items we are known for, as well as an expanded gallery space to host the upcoming and packed with great art "Strange Brew" show, that will take advantage of the larger area while allowing full enjoyment and appreciation of the art.

Chihuulyy!

Fri, 1 Aug 2008 07:51:32 -0700

The Dale Chihuly exhibit at the de Young is incredible! Just do it!
A universe and garden of glass growing and exploding in colors everywhere. Installing this exhibit must have been a challenge.

http://www.famsf.org/deyoung/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?exhibitionkey=819

World One fun Photos - July 4th

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:26:26 -0700

Locals! Mark your calendar now for the 4th of July next year and head out to the World One Festival in El Cerrito. Very musical, mellow, art-full and happy time had by all...

The Sniff Of Success

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:04:58 -0700

“The Sniff Show: Out Of The Fill” was a huge success! Great turn-out at the reception with the stockpile of prints available selling out quickly! Don’t worry there are more to come! So get your orders in now...
A big thanks to all who came and supported the artists and Eclectix Gallery!

“In El Cerrito, in this unlikely setting, far from the power centers of the art world, without benefit of endless white walls and the other accoutrements of artistic respectability, is one of the best damn paintings ever painted in the East Bay. “

Thanks to Osha Neumann and The Berkely Dailiy Planet, for the ink!

To read the full article go to:

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-07-17/article/30612?headline=Eclectix-Gallery-Hosts-SNIFF-S-Out-of-the-Landfill-

Kahlo at sf moma - Contemporary?

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:34:40 -0700

So I went to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in S.F. It is worth seeing, even if you’ve seen a bunch of her exhibits already, (as I had). There is a lot more to her than the self-portraits. I’ve pictured a few of my faves here. The exhibit was very crowded tho, in spite of the pre-arranged “appointment” times.
I do wish the “contemporary” art museums would actually show contemporary art! Sure, I love Kahlo, Matisse, Calder & Joseph Cornell but are they really contemporary?
These artists are exhibited everywhere in fine art museums! How about some really present day artists? Like Marrs, R.Williams, Ryden, Camille Garcia or Liz McGrath?

1
contemporary, present-day(a)
belonging to the present time; "contemporary leaders"
2
contemporary, modern-day
characteristic of the present; "contemporary trends in design"; "the role of computers in modern-day medicine"
3
contemporaneous, contemporary
occurring in the same period of time; "a rise in interest rates is often contemporaneous with an increase in inflation"; "the composer Salieri was contemporary with Mozart"

Canstruction! If warhol only knew...

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 10:55:15 -0700

Architect and engineers compete to see whose team can build the most spectacular structure using little more than cans of food at Canstruction, the 13th annual NYC Design and Build competition in New York.

Hey baby, it’s the 4th of july

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 10:15:39 -0700

Local Groove! Join the peace. love, ethnic culture and music at The World One Festival in Cerrito Vista Park, El Cerrito... free music and arts festival. A mellow way to spend the day.

Grazing in the grass...can you dig it, baby?

Afterwards, it’s time to put on that X song and sit out on the porch and watch the fireworks below ...

Below - Another cool photo by Amy Stein
http://www.amysteinphoto.com

Really cool icebergs

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:07:59 -0700

Icebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed by layers of snow that react to different conditions.

Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet
fills up with melted water and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form.

When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty sea water can freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a green stripe.

Brown, black and yellow lines are caused by sediment, picked up when the ice sheet grinds downhill towards the sea.

Another tagger pisses on art

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:28:50 -0700

This piece of very cool guerilla art was pasted (?) onto one of those electrical boxes the city has around town. Or maybe it is the phone company...
It was signed by “rawr”.
Anyway, I’ve enjoyed driving past it, on my way thru Albany, off and on for about a year.
A few weeks ago, some A-hole decided to tag it and ruined it! Broke my heart. I am certainly not going to give that tagger any pleasure by showing the mess they made here.
Regardless, the city promptly came by and painted over it after that. But I did think it was sophisticated of the city workers to leave the actual art up there for so long, realizing the art did have merit. It was nice that it was not just painted over immediately.
Too bad that tagger’s face didn’t get painted over too!