Maria Garcia-Ibáñez is an artist who lives in both Mexico and Madrid. Garcia-Ibáñez creates work that addresses issues related to the analysis of identity and mobility. The ceramic spine shown above is entitled Motionless and was made out of glazed ceramic, polychrome, and gold. This poetic sculpture exudes the fragility and vulnerability of the human body while the decorative flowers and gold embellishments add a precious quality to the artists’ ceramic bones. See more after the jump!
Hosted at the historic Phoenix Hotel, ArtPadSF kicked off last night with an opening reception and party benefitting the SFMOMA SECA Award. Each gallery was given a pool-side hotel room to transform into a pop-up gallery, and visitors walked from room to room to see what each art space had to offer. Read the highlights and check out our exclusive photos after the jump!
Inspired by 19th and 20th-century illustration, Canadian artist Richard A. Kirk delicately renders his own version of nature in his ink works on paper. Human and animal anatomies unravel and rebuild among the flora and fauna, giving light to new creatures that symbolize the human impulse to go beyond the limits of our bodies and evolve using technology. Characters reminiscent of automata and cyborgs — which frequently made appearances in early science fiction novels — populate Kirk’s surreal forests. Take a look at some of Kirk’s work after the jump.
This Saturday, May 18, Jonathan LeVine Gallery will present a new body of work from Souther Salazar titled “Souvenirs.” In his paintings and drawings, Salazar tells stories of magic places. These places are peaceful, and the denizens of the different areas play nicely together. They wander through this world and into the next by way of portals and secret passages located within the landscape. Throughout all of it, there is whimsy, adventure and a sense of exploration. Read more about Souther Salazar’s new work in our exclusive interview after the jump!
Artist Steven Quinn is known for his street photography and collage work. Quinn was born in Belfast and is currently living and working in London. The skull collages featured here, which were recently spotted at Laughing Squid, are comprised of old photographs and other magazine images. The many vintage images of stars add deep and dazzling perspectives to these kaleidoscopic collages. See more after the jump!
While he has often been compared to Bosch for his busy compositions filled with heavy symbolism, Dan Quintana (interviewed in our current issue, Hi-Fructose Vol. 27) created a new series of stripped-down paintings and charcoal drawings for his upcoming solo show at San Francisco’s Varnish Fine Art, “Zero Instruments.” Wispy bodies seem to blow away like clouds of dust in the new series. In most of the pieces, Quintana decided to zero in on an isolated subject, each one inspired by a different musical or anatomical instrument. The figures — often beautiful women — appear to be haunted by the spirits of death, unable to escape their imminent mortality. Take a look at some of the works in the show after the jump and see “Zero Instruments” at Varnish Fine Art May 25 – June 29.