Exhibition dates: March 3-26 2011
ﾷ Collectors’ Preview: Thursday March 3 6-8pm
ﾷ Opening Reception: Friday March 4 from 6-9 pm (in conjunction with Oakland Art Murmur) Special musical performances Thursday & Friday by Oakland-based Singer/Songwriter Lila Nelson (lilanelson.org)
ﾷ Artists’ Talk: Saturday March 12 2-4 pm
SOLO SHOW
P.K. Frizzell: Inside Out
Fascinated with the hidden interiors of our anatomies and our experiences artist P.K. Frizzell finds our inner lives and the insides of our bodies vastly larger than our exterior physical dimensions. Our brains contain more neural connections than the number of planets in the entire universe and our thoughts emotions imagination and aspirations stretch infinitely beyond the boundaries of our bodies. Yet the insides of our own bodies are a mystery to us. Billions of events occur about which we are usually entirely unaware: our blood pumps cells divide bacteria and viruses thrive. An entire universe exists within each of us. The work presented in Inside Out explores these ideas by using x-rays of common objects (dolls cat toys a purse a shoe etc.) to reveal the mystery hidden in the ordinary. The artist also makes use of lenses to reveal how interior space can be larger than the external dimension of its container.
P.K. Frizzell lives and works in Berkeley California. Her mixed-media pieces have been included in exhibitions at galleries throughout California including Rena Bransten Gallery and Upper Market Street Gallery in San Francisco Elizabeth Fortner Gallery in Santa Barbara and the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Los Angeles. When Frizzell is not engaged in art making she’s busy playing fiddle in the Bay Area bluegrass band "Redwing."
SOLO SHOW
Mary Curtis Ratcliff: Encounters with Light
image: Oakland/Vienna 2011 mixed media
In Encounters with Light Mary Curtis Ratcliff continues her exploration of light’s impact on the surfaces of the living world. Her new series of both small and large works is comprised of photographs hand colored transfers and larger mixed media works on panel. Whether travelling to distant locations or observing the natural forms streets alleys and structures of the Bay Area Ratcliff looks for abstraction created through the effects of light shadow and reflection. With groups of single images she composes multifaceted artworks that combine peacefulness with mysterious complexity.
Mary Curtis Ratcliff attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence Rhode Island. She has exhibited in nineteen solo exhibitions and over 80 group shows. Her work is in more than 80 private collections including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco-Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts and the Oakland Museum of California.
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GROUP SHOW
CCA Artists: The Water Is Fine
Mercury 20 Gallery is delighted to welcome the next generation of artists to the gallery with a group show titled The Water is Fine. The six participating artists are students in Professional Practices a class taught by artist Michele Pred at California College of the Arts (CCA). The course gives up-and-coming artists an opportunity to learn how to navigate the art world and to present their work in an active and professional gallery. The students will bring a mix of new and exciting artwork to the space in media ranging from painting collage photography mixed media jewelry and metal. The show is curated by Michele Pred.
Artists include: Henri Broyard Nolan Broyard Vibeke Erichsen Meg Kenny Kaylin Macias and Crista Reid