Uptown Oakland Art Scene

Art Murmur

Walking around Oakland’s burgeoning art scene on the uptown streets around Telegraph and 23rd, it’s hard to get beyond the wonder of, well whattayaknow-- how the world is changing. So yes, we're in catch up mode but hey, these folks are on a roll. The streets are safer. The galleries are exciting and well worth repeated visits. The spirit of infinite possibilities is abundantly present; wish we’d noticed sooner. A little bit Will Smith saving the world and a little bit Pimp My Ride, we like because the result is creative energy with a colossal welcome sign attached. Friendly and knowledgeable staff people actually schmooze with you in the galleries, even people from across the bridges are greeted with interest. The art ranges from exclusively made in Oakland to whatever the gallery believes in with enough diversity to enthuse even jaded viewers. Go see for yourself, it’s a real feel good excursion.

Oakland Art Murmur started a year ago and is a great way to explore the area if you enjoy the comfort of being part of a crowd. The Murmur is a coalition effort held on the First Friday of every month beginning at 7pm. Free minibuses run by the city of Oakland deliver art enthusiasts to the doorsteps of the galleries. Hundreds of people attend, there is a street fair atmosphere and we’ve heard that lots of people go home with purchases. Mark your calendars.

Now this isn't a new thought or anything but the large amount of construction on these very streets raises the question of gentrification displacing the growing art community. A good thing is that the Art Murmurers are thinking about this already and have made a commitment to a sustainable neighborhood as a way to prevent yuppification. Some of the galleries are making a conscious effort to partner with the community by offering classes, art education for local kids and space for events. Let’s see what happens.


Industrielle
33 Grand Ave.

Dana Taylor, a collage artist herself, named her shop/gallery for her love of all things French. She features affordable art , notable tchotchkes and a great vibe. Taylor, a third generation Oaklander who cares about what matters, intends to establish a community art space at Industrielle for Oakland school kids. Her current best sellers are screen-printed Ts and undies by Evonoche (hmm, how would they look framed and hanging in the living room?) and Sita Rupe's resin coated acrylic screenprints on antique paper.

Mercury 20
25 Grand Ave.
Mercury 20 is a collective exhibition space owned and run by 20 East Bay artists who show their work in rotating two-person shows.

JoAnn Biagini, a wonderful artist in her own rite, was gallery sitting during our visit and offered charm, useful info and quiet enthusiasm. The current show in the gallery is by Joan Weiss and Kathleen King.


Kathleen King Joan Weiss

Weiss calls her work nature based process abstraction. She paints the same scene over and over until she exhaust the possibilities, saying the final works may end up with little obvious relationship to the beginning sketch or photo because the process takes over. The pieces we saw had a pleasing romantic feeling. She’s great with color.

King is an improvisationist “allowing the idea to express itself in communication with her hands in such a direct way that deliberation cannot interfere”. She builds up layers of marks that interweave, overlap or obscure each other. The complexity of the pieces asks you look longer.


Luka's Taproom & Lounge
2221 Broadway

Right on the corner of Grand and Broadway, everything in this comfy place says eat more. We can vouch for the great food and we hear they show great art on First Friday’s as well. So go nuts, a burger is waiting with your name on it. You know you love it.


Esteban Sabar Gallery
480 23rd St.

Gary Brewer’s show Ocean Flowers is on. He paints beautiful but ensnaring sea flowers, suspending them in a seemingly limitless space. Some, like the anemone, are seductive and menacing at the same time– reminds us of that bad dream we all have had about the creepy carnival where the clowns try to eat you. Sucks you right in.


Chris Isner’s work is in the back room. His show is titled Bald, Anthropomorph Amputees in Profile and Homo novo and we like it. Fetal forms are hyper sexualized, each with an enormous penis and at least one set of breasts, simultaneously funny and provocative. You’ve got to see them.

Esteban, Esteban, Esteban. What can we say? Esteban Sabar is an entertainer who loves telling a great story whether it’s all true or not.
He says he opened the gallery to sell his husband Marty McCorkle’s paintings.
He says he represents Oakland artists only and there are so many that are so good. He says he might hang an enter at your own risk sign on the back room of his gallery so no one is offended by Isner’s work. There’s something deliciously showbiz and fragile about his playful chatter but this is a man who knows exactly what he’s doing. Meeting him is a treat. Extra spicy? Sure, why not?


Johansson Projects
2300 Telegraph Ave.




If anyone is going to make a living selling art in Uptown, it’s probably Kimberly Johansson. She was working at a gallery in downtown San Francisco when she decided to open Johansson Projects. It’s too early to know if she is going to be profitable, but she says she sold 25 pieces in a single day. We think that’s because of the patch of very green grass she’s planted on the ceiling. Maybe “the grass is always greener?” The gallery is impressive.


We were especially taken with a stunning piece by Amanda Hughen; Hughen works on both sides of translucent mylar in pencil, ink, and acrylic starting with an architectural template that evolves into a painting of rare beauty. We love the elegance and attention to detail of the piece which demands a long look and then another.






Johansson’s next show is Anatomy of Folklore, opening Nov. 15th, 6-9pm by Evan B. Harris and Lawrence LaBianaca. From the previews we’ve seen we’re expecting another winner. Try to catch it. Don’t forget about the first Friday Art Murmur and those nifty busses.
















Creative Growth
355 24th St.
The Creative Growth Art Center Gallery is the first established gallery for artists with disabilities in the world, founded in 1980 with support of the National Endowment for the Arts. Creative Growth Art Center has placed the work of its artists in private collections, galleries, and major museums throughout the world including the Collection lÕArt Brut in Lausanne, Switzerland; Collection lÕAracine in Lille, France; the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland; the Ricco/Maresca Gallery and the American Museum of Folk Art in New York City; and the Exploratorium in San Francisco. On the day we stopped in Paul Butler's Collage Party was on. A Winnipeg native Butler and a team of Winnipeggers are here for two weeks and visitors are invited to join in a very freewheeling collage making experience. A whirlpool of festive, brightly colored stuff fills the huge gallery, whatever you want, however you want it. Next week the finished works will be on view and up for sale. Can’t wait to see them.


And one more kudo for an artist changing the world through art


Eileen Goldenberg, an accomplished San Francisco encaustic painter, won a grant from the San Francisco Art Commission for her Tea House Series and used a portion of the funding to reach out to a diverse group of normally underserved audiences and provide special showings designed to introduce them to her medium. Yes! Congratulations Eileen.