July Art Picks

Posted on July 18, 2008 – 7:15 PM | by phild
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Monument
Geoff Tuttle and Eddie Stein
Axis Gallery
July 5th – July 27th
Reception: July 12th, 6pm-9pm
1517 19th St, Sacramento
Hours: Sat & Sun, 12pm-5pm

Geoff Tuttle and Eddie Stein team up for an exhibition entitled Monument, inspired by, and created for the first earthling to have reached the orbit of the earth in 1957. The 13lb mutt named Laika, who had been found on the streets of Moscow, became a focal point in the arguments for animal rights. Laika also became the subject of various honors and monuments; Tuttle and Stein’s exhibition is merely another, but it is also a monument to the respect and compassion that humans possess and which should be demonstrated to “our fellow thoughtful beast: the dog.” -ST

Gravity LoopHome and Away: Contemporary Video Art
JayJay Gallery
July 9th – August 2nd
Recption: Saturday June 12th, 6-9pm
5520 Elvas Ave, Sacramento

As well-established and commonly used as video is in contemporary art practice, it is still rare to see a full exhibit of this type of work in Sacramento—kudos to JayJay for taking the plunge.  Video and video installations are presented in this exhibit entitled Home and Away: Contemporary Video Art featuring works by local, regional and national artists. Through their works the artists examine notions of time, space and scale and investigate various psychological states. Others explore light and color, the body and the evocation of place.  Artists include Rachel Clarke, M. Azevedo, Erika Dawn, Darrin Martin, Ernest Zarate and many more.  -LM

Hunting
Kerry Loewen
BLOCK Gallery
Opening Reception: July 12th, 6pm-9pm
Closing Reception: July 26th, 6pm-9pm
1020 10th Street (Upstairs, between J & K)
Open Sundays,  July 13, 20 & 27th, 1pm to 6pm, and by appointment

Oregon-based multimedia artist Kerry Loewen will be featured at BLOCK this month with an exhibit, entitled Hunting. The show features video and installation, and is an examination of the subject of violence and gun culture. Loewen’s works are not limited to any particular medium, and often explore controversial social and political issues that may have long-term implications. She is most interested in the subtext of deceptively harmless images or ideas which force viewers to question any initial assumptions or biases. Loewen received her MFA in Studio Art from San Francisco State and is currently an assistant professor of Art & Media Arts at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon. -ST

No More The World Of Man
Skinner
Upper Playground
July 12th – September 1
Reception: July 12, 6pm til late
2524 J Street

Skinner has been enthusiastically working on this “3-D installation from a psychedelic nightmare” for months– and Skinner can usually produce a mind-bending amount of work in about three and a half hours– so I’ll be very curious to see what he comes up with here.   For those unfamiliar with Skinner’s work, think heavy metal album cover crossed with Jack Kirby splash page (circa 1974), and then throw in a Mayan temple acid party.  Make it BIG and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what he’s up to.   (Or you can cheat and just look up MM’s October 2007 Skinner feature).  Whatever Skinner does, he does with gusto, and I expect this to be a full-force lowbrow assault on the eyeballs. -TF

Watch Over Me
Nancy Tobin
Tangent Gallery
Reception: July 12th, 6-9pm
1713 25th St, Sacramento
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 12pm – 4pm

Artist Nancy Tobin will be presenting her exhibit, Watch Over Me this month at Tangent. Tobin’s work is heavily influenced by her experiences as a military child, constantly on the move, and her twenty years as a struggling single mother. Tobin’s sculptures examine the role of the mother and construct of the family as they relate to her, as well as the broader world. Using found and fabricated elements, such as household appliances, clothing, and military paraphernalia, Tobin tries convey the amount of destabilization and responsibility that she endured with a constantly shifting foundation and then with the often overwhelming demands of single-motherhood. Tobin also explores experiences such as the biological urge to nurture and protect one’s child, as well as the resiliency of humans to adapt and flourish, despite adverse and continuously changing conditions.  -ST

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