A Common Thread OAKLAND, curated by Fernando Reyes and Ruth Tabancay, offered a mission to a group of artists: Feel this city…macro/micro; filtered/raw; spectrum/monochrome; people/place…show us.
Through sculptural installation, video, photography and painting eighteen Mercury 20 artists and thirteen guest artists beckon us down various paths of thought and feeling inspired by this fascinating city.
Found objects and images are manipulated by some artists. For others physical structure or space serves as guide for exploring themes. Some artists ask us to embrace big issues of social reform while others invite us to feel the need for it in a very personal way. An example of the latter is an interactive installation in which PK Frizzell and Josh Garlick collaborate to pull us in emotionally using two-way mirror and video portraits of diverse Oaklanders…visitors will first only see themselves in the mirror but then gradually see their face overlaid with others.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Julie Alvarado with Madelyn Covey * Jo Ann Biagini * Eric Bohr with Amy Sass * Nick Dong with Corrie Messinger * Carlo Fantin with Felipe Vazquez * PK Frizzell with Josh Garlick * Peter Honig * Kathleen King * Leah Markos * Jill McLennan with Alison McLennan * Charlie Milgrim with Tim West * Jann Nunn * Mary Curtis Ratcliff * Fernando Reyes with Terry Furry * KC Rosenberg with Modesto Covarrubias * Joanna Salska with Michael Snyder * Ruth Tabancay with Dinah Shapiro * Kerry Vander Meer with Robert Strati and Valerie Garry.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Opening Reception: Saturday, Feb 28, 4 – 6pm
Artist Talk: Thursday, March 19, 6 – 8pm
Oakland Art Murmur First Fridays: Friday, March 6, 6 – 9pm & Friday, April 3, 6 – 9 pmThird Thursdays on 25th Street: Thursday, March 19, 6 – 8pm