September Art Picks
Posted on September 18, 2008 – 7:11 PM | by OldManFoster
Trace: Contemporary Romanian Art
Robert Else Gallery, Kadema Hall, California State University, Sacramento
September 2 – October 3
Reception: September 8, 6 – 8PM
Panel discussion with Suzana Dan & Ana Banica: September 11, 7:30PM
6000 J Street, Sacramento
Hours: Mon – Fri, Noon – 4:30PM
As I sat down to draft this month’s art picks I noticed we were a little heavy on Sac State selections– and for good reason. Among the several promising shows to hit the campus this month Traces: Contemporary Romanian Art is definitely on my calendar. Traces will be the first show of contemporary work to come to the Sacramento region. Reflecting on specific notions of place, memory, and identity, this young crop of artists have taken the baton from a generation of artists before them who experienced life under the repressive communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. Being more traveled than their elders and living in an increasingly globalized art world, this new generation of artists brings a level of playfulness and humor to much of the work, providing the viewer with an entry point for further contemplation. Suzana Dan is a great example of one such artist who exploits humor as a means for conveying a specific understanding, composing colorful painted and photographic works representing garish and absurd narratives. Carefully curated by Dr Ann Albritton, Ringling College of Art and Design, Dr Elaine O’Brien, Sacramento State University, and Mirela Ivanciu, and Carmen Ioviţu, of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, this show will have already made several international stops before joining us here in Sacramento. Throughout the month artists from the exhibition will be making stops in Sacramento to supplement the show, including a panel discussion with Dan and fellow artist Ana Banica. Other events are planned in conjunction with this show as well. For more information contact (916) 278-6166 – LM
Reflection
Gary Pruner
Solomon Dubnick
September 4 – 27
Special Artist’s Reception: September 4, 6 – 8PM
Second Saturday Reception: September 13, 6 – 9PM
1050 20th Street, Suite 130
Hours: Tu – Sat, 11AM – 6PM
Why isn’t Gary Pruner a bigger name? This local educator and painter has been consistently turning out exceptional work since at least the early seventies, and yet he’s not terribly well known outside of the region. Their loss, our gain. Pruner’s incredibly luminous oils singlehandedly capture the brightness that was one of the good things about the seventies. Even his early photorealist work had a preternatural glow to it, and once he zeroed in on those bold, nearly fluorescent colors he had found his forte. “Electric” is a word often used to describe Pruner’s use of color and it’s very apt– his paintings seem to hum like a neon light. His compositional sense owes something to James Rosenquist, and I mentally associate him with the Pop movement even though he refers to himself as a ‘poetic realist.’ The new work that makes up Reflection continues the artist’s playful fascination with the beauty of the natural world. I won’t call the works “surreal” because that wholly misses the point. How about this: Pruner paints beautifully rich worlds of color that probably have some inconsistencies in their relation to the ‘real’. And tropical fish. Great stuff, and a show not to be missed. -TF
Children of the Wind
Kent Lacin
University Library Gallery, California State University, Sacramento
September 5 – October 4
Reception: September 13, 6PM
Panel discussion: September 11, 6:30PM – 9PM
6000 J Street, Sacramento
Hours: Tue – Sat, 10PM – 5PM
To round out our Sac State picks this month, area photographer Kent Lacin will be presenting Children of the Wind, a photo project chronicling the lives of Sacramento’s homeless teens. Those who spend time in Midtown and its surrounding areas are probably well familiar with the region’s homeless population. Standing on freeway off ramps, pushing carts down Midtown sidewalks, and panhandling on the K Street Mall, evidence of this city’s struggle with chronic homelessness appears almost everywhere you look. Children of the Wind, explores the existence of homeless teens in the Sacramento region whether they be couch surfing, between homes, or taking refuge on the street. Working in conjunction with the WIND center, Lacin hopes to draw attention to this often overlooked subculture, by presenting an intimate depiction of these often overlooked individuals. In addition to the show there will also be a panel discussion on homeless teenagers on September 11, featuring CSUS Social Work professor Dr. Andy Bein, Senator Darrell Steinberg, Tasha Morris of the WIND Center, homeless researcher Ginny Puddefoot, and homeless teen John Doe. – LM
In Search of Virtue
Dan Samborski
Asylum Gallery
September 6 – October 6
Reception: September 13, 6 – 9PM
1719 25th Street
Hours: Sat – Sun, 1 – 5PM and by appointment
Longtime ARC art teacher Dan Samborski used to have a little bit higher profile in the local art scene, writing criticism for the Sac News and Review and showing everywhere from the Natsoulas Gallery to the Crocker-Kingsley. His last solo show was way back in 2002, but everything I’ve been hearing indicates that with this new show he’s making up for lost time. Samborski claims an odd methodology for a modern day painter– he begins his process by making collages, instead of drawing. Only when he makes something that he doesn’t quite understand will he begin to paint. The resulting work tends toward the surreal, and features many art-historical references, often with a light touch. Samborski peppers his work with irony, parody and jokes– he believes that humor can help people to understand ideas better. And for all the kidding, Samborski is pretty serious. With this latest batch of paintings (many inspired by Mondrian) he is addressing what he refers to as the “Big” questions: Who am I? Where am I? What does our existence mean in the bigger scheme of things? Big questions, true, but if only he’d read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy he’d know: the answer is “42.” -TF
THIS HERE LOVE HEY, IT’S A-GONNA’ LAST/THE BACKS OF PHOTOGRAPHS
Rebecca Crowther
Raymond R. Witt Gallery, Kadema Hall, California State University, Sacramento
September 8 – 12
Reception: September 8, 6PM – 8PM
6000 J Street, Sacramento
Hours: Mon – Fri, Noon – 4:30PM
I first became acquainted with Rebecca Crowther after hearing tell of her now infamous show entitled Crowning Achievements, which was held at the Student Union at CSUS in 2006. Sadly, because it took place at Sac State and shows on that campus don’t get enough attention outside of the university, many in the local art community missed it, myself included. This time around I’m making darn sure I’m getting over to see Crowther’s new work– and you should too. Crowther, a photographer fixated on photography’s ability to memorialize, has chosen to display the backs of found photographs as opposed to the front. By revealing the personal messages scrawled across the back of these precious keepsakes the viewer is challenged to reflect on a current state of being as well as lives lost. Accompanying the photo backs will be mirrors placed by the messages allowing the viewer to recognize themselves in conjunction with what they are reading. In addition to the photographs, hand-cut silhouettes, a lock of hair, children’s drawings, and various other found mementos will be offered up for consideration. This poignant and delicately crafted show speaks to the temporality of the human existence without getting nostalgic or morose. Crowther’s sense of humor and specific sensibility holds the work right on the edge of sentimentality, playing on a human tendency to be nosey without getting lost in the emotional, like pressing a bruise that just barely hurts but in a slightly pleasing way. This show will absolutely be worth checking out and will only be up for a short, short while so don’t even think twice, just go. – LM
Non Grata
Gallery Horsecow, performing with Mom, and Art Lessing and the Flower Vato
September 12, 9 – 11PM
Gallery Horsecow, Sacramento
The Circus Show, performing with Horsecow at The Verge
September 13
1900 V Street, Sacramento
The John Natsoulas Center for the Arts, with Frank Moore and his Cherotic All Star Band, Horsecow, Mom, and Art Lessing and the Flower Vato
September 20, 8PM
521 1st Street, Davis
This, ladies and gentleman is the opportunityI’ve long beenwaiting for: the chance to write a plug for a real live performance work. Better still, the work is international and mounted by the Estonian art collective Non Grata. Now, before anyone gets crazy and jumps to the typical 
conclusions that arise when someone says “performance art,” stop and think a moment. Performance work is now part of the global norm with groups like Non Grata forming their own academies over the past forty or so years to educate young artists and give them a proving ground to explore non-traditional means of expression. To simply dismiss this sort of work as strange is too easy. Non Grata has a an impressive CV, having traveled the world with their work, making stops at places like Coopers Union in New York, the School of Fine Art, Boston, and the Sorbonne in Paris. A collective of 40 artists hailing from Estonia, Quebec, Finland, Canada, Latvia, and the USA. In recent months the group has added local art godfather Steve Vanoni to its ranks, the result of which has brought Non Grata here to Sacramento. Non Grata focuses itself around a notion of “anonymity,” eschewing contemporary art culture and mass media. For them the work is about actions i.e. performance and the connections that are created amongst individuals via the performance. Those who venture out to one of the group’s three regional shows in the month of September will be confronted by challenging and possibly confusing work, and that’s OK. Comforting work is easy to find, something that might make you think is another story.