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April 2012 |
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Crabs |
(PRIVATE RECEPTION: THURS APRIL 19th @ 5P) Trent Nahas was born in Oakland. And he is back!
He received a BS degree in Applied Art and Design from CalPoly – SLO.
His various careers (along the north west coast) include– graphic designer, portrait artist, special education teacher, car salesman, and now is a construction supervisor for a family owned company.
His choice of media ranges from paintings of acrylic and oil on canvas; sculptures of wire, duct tape, and found objects; drawings using sharpee and white out on the insides of cereal boxes.
Currently, his focus is shells of sorts – from juxtaposing mixed appendages onto crabs and other crustaceans to deconstructing human shells (mannequins) and exposing what’s inside.
Website: http://trentnahas.net
Trent Nahas
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Human Shell |
(PRIVATE RECEPTION: THURS APRIL 19th @ 5P) In the past, I spent a lot of time training myself to feel more. Now I do the opposite. I avoid feeling or thinking too much or trying to rationalize what is worth creating. Whatever comes out, comes out. When I remove myself from the equation, it feels like I don’t have to do anything.
My art means something different to me depending on when you ask. Some days I see meaning, profound and deep, spilling out of my work; other days all I see are materials in a steaming heap, meaningless garbage. I look to show something deeper than the surface but at times it feels as if that is all I have. One thing is certain: every piece of my art is a self-portrait.
So long as I’m not held by the shackles of reason, I enjoy myself. Unfortunately, reason is necessary for promoting myself as an artist. This makes me uncomfortable, but that is where some of my best work comes from.
Website: http://trentnahas.net/
Trent Nahas
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Javier Machado |
I take issues from daily life to use it in my self-portrait series, this is may way of documenting what's happening around us. I document with regularity politics and injustice, I use self-portrait as a mirror to bring the voice of the people. I bring the frustrations and the darkness to the light. Hopping for the audience to have a reaction when they identified themselves in my images.
Javier Machado
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Kaelen Van Cura |
(PRIVATE RECEPTION: THURS APRIL 26th @ 5P) Kaelen Van Cura is an artist whose colorful, abstract paintings contain both personal and cultural emblems. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she received her BFA from The Kansas City Art Institute in 2000. Kaelen resided in Kansas City for several years, where she exhibited her paintings in many group and solo shows. She currently lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Website: http://www.kaelenv.com
Kaelen Van Cura
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Michele Marti |
Michele Marti whose rebuilt Victorian chairs stand out with their distinctive shapes, sumptuous fabric and sensual vibe. It is rumored that the prudish Victorians were so uptight that they didn’t even use the word “leg” because it was too risqué, so Marti’s interest in giving these staid chairs a new life and a rebellious new voice was all the more intriguing. Marti, 25, is from South Florida and is in her final year in the Furniture Program at California College of the Arts (CCA). Two of her pieces are in the community gallery of the Petaluma Art Center through Sunday, March 13, 2011.
Michele Marti
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Nudes |
(PRIVATE RECEPTION: THURS APRIL 12th @ 5P) Kola Shobo is a Nigerian born, Oakland resident who picked up the camera for the first time in 2007. His enduring love for the arts and photography was always apparent, but never thought of getting a camera until life put too much time in his hands. Photography started as depression therapy, but by the time he moved back to the Bay Area and got involved with the Bay's artistic energy and community, his very expensive depression remedy had to become a career.
Kola Shobo
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Weapons |
Peter Gronquist was born in Portland, Oregon in 1979. Growing up in a creative family, he began drawing and painting at a very early age. This led to obsessive artmaking throughout his childhood that continues today. After highschool, Peter attended the School of Visual Arts for two years, then finished his bfa at the San Francisco Art Institute in 2001. Peter currently resides in Oakland California (EAST BAY!) and tries to paint every day.
Peter Gronquist
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Wings |
Rosa De Anda is a sculptor, painter and poet. Born in Tijuana, Mexico in 1955, she has been a Bay Area artist and resident since 1963. She was a presidential scholar at the University of California Berkeley, earning her BFA in Fine Arts and graduating cum laude honors. She went on to recieve her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1991. In 1975, De Anda became a forklift operator, loading and unloading trucks and freight cars. Her strong, active membership in the International Longshoremen and Warehousemen’s Union, Local #6, is the foundation which Rosa weaves together with her formal art training to boldly push the boundaries of community activism and cultural tradition.
Rosa De Anda & Lila Maes
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