June Art Picks
Posted on June 18, 2008 – 7:16 PM | by OldManFoster
Art Through Discussion: Dissecting Thought and Theory
Center for Contemporary Art Sacramento
1519 19th Street, Sacramento
Most Sundays, 2 – 4PM throughout the summer
www.ccasac.org for more info.
Would you like a better vocabulary when it comes to art? Are you an avid patron of the arts who struggles with the deeper meaning of what it is you’re looking at? Ever wish you’d read texts by some of art’s heavyweights like Clement Greenberg, or researched more recent texts by the likes of Dan Nadaner but don’t want to struggle through it alone? Well, the Center for Contemporary Art has exactly what you need. Beginning in May the Center introduced a facilitated art discussion group, which examines an array of art theorists and philosophers. At each meeting participants will be given text to read and discuss for the next gathering. This should prove to be an exciting opportunity to gain a richer understanding of art as well as connect with the local art community. – LM
Six: 2008 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition
Nelson Gallery / Memorial Union Gallery
May 30 – June 20, 2008
On the UC Davis campus, One University Drive
Hours: M-F 11AM – 5 PM
It’s easy to forget that we have a top-rated art school less than 20 miles from Midtown. Maybe it’s that pesky causeway that makes Davis seem further away than it is… or maybe it’s trying to find something, anything, on a college campus. Nonetheless, here we are, presented with another crop of graduating MFA candidates. Though I haven’t seen this show yet, I’ve been to enough UCD grad shows to know that they are not to be missed. -TF
Artist’s Talk: Boyd Gavin
Center For Contemporary Art Sacramento
June 12, 7PM
1519 19th Street, Sacramento
$5 non-members; free to CCAS members and students.
Local painter Boyd Gavin (see Art Picks, May 2008) will discuss his work at a lecture at the CCAS. Gavin is that rare artist who has made a living from his art for most of his life; examining his work, it’s easy to see why. Gavin has mastered both the art and craft of painting in his three decades at the easel, all while ignoring the funk and pop traditions that have dominated the region’s art scene. John Singer Sargent comes to mind as an artist with a comparable style, but that comparison would be unfair in that the implication would be that Gavin’s work is not couched in today’s world. The truth is that the artist has neatly side-stepped questions about the ever-impending ‘death of painting’, concentrating instead on exploring the most basic aspects of the practice: capturing luminescence and brushwork. -TF
On the Edge 
Andries Fourie and John Yoyogi Fortes
Gwenna Howard/Pamela Skinner/Contemporary Art
June 14th – July 7th
Reception: June 14t, 6 – 9PM
723 S Street, Sacramento
Hours: Wed – Sa, Noon – 5PM and by appointment
We here at MM are thrilled see that Andries Fourie will be showing in Sacramento in the month of June. Fourie, who was educated in the Sacramento area and is currently a professor of art at Willamette University, was born and raised in South Africa. His sculptures incorporate a variety of media to create unique pieces, and have addressed issues such as apartheid and war. While his work was shown last year in Davis, this will be his first appearance in Sac in quite some time. Fourie’s work will be featured as part of a two-person show titled On the Edge with local mixed media painter John Yoyogi Fortes. Fortes, a West Coast pop surrealist painter, uses collage and gestural painting, along with symbols and cartoon-like figures that make his paintings visually rich. His work delivers social commentary, and reflects on the experience of growing up as an Asian American. – ST
You are west of me. I am east of you. You are east of me. I am west of you.
Natalie Rishe and Tamara Scronce
BLOCK
June 14th – 28th
Reception: June 14t, 6 – 9PM
Reception: June 28t, 6 – 9PM
1020 10th Street (Upstairs, between J & K), Sacramento
Hours: Fr 11 – 2PM, Sa – Su, 1 – 6PM
This month, BLOCK Gallery presents a collaborative installation, You are west of me. I am east of you. You are east of me. I am west of you. Natalie Rishe and Tamara Scronce have admired each others’ works for years and are working together for the first time. Light, audio, and video are employed to alter space and to reflect their relationship and perspective. Rishe works with video and creates site-specific installations to examine aspects of intimacy, from light, the passage of time, and memory. Scronce’s installations are contemplative, often involving everyday shapes such as soap bars and cocoons which are then transformed into more distinct forms by replacing their banal functions with something more akin to Zen practice. With a clean, minimal aesthetic, Scronce strives to create art that is beautiful as well as intellectual. – ST