March 7 - April 25, 2015
Curator’s Statement The 2nd Annual “Spotlight” exhibition features the figurative work of six local San Francisco Bay Area artists: Victor Cartagena, Michal Gavish, Paul Gibson, Christine Aria Hostetler, Katja Leibenath and Fernando Reyes. The exhibition will show a range of figurative art, from realistic to abstracted and from geometric color studies to social commentary. The annual “Spotlight” series of exhibitions showcases artists in six categories: Paint, Draw, Print, Shoot, Sculpt and Eccentric. The exhibition highlights artists that we work with in our Arc Fine Art Consulting practice. Arc Fine Arts Consulting is established as a natural extension of the mission of Arc Gallery and Studios. Arc is dedicated to showcasing and promoting emerging and established artists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here we are blessed with some of the most prestigious art schools in the country. On a per capita basis San Francisco boasts a higher percentage of working artists than any other city in the country. The opportunity for local collectors and businesses to build collections which tap into and support these communities is unparalleled. Arc Fine Arts is singularly dedicated to fostering those connections. Curators: Michael Yochum is the author of SF Art News, which maintains an exhaustive list of art events and openings in San Francisco. Matthew Frederick is founder of Art Farm, an artist collective in the Mission, where he maintains his studio. Michael and Matthew are co-founders of Arc Gallery & Studios, along with Stephen C. Wagner and Priscilla Otani. Catalog designed by Michael Yochum Arc Gallery © 2015
Featured Artists
Victor Cartagena Michal Gavish Paul Gibson Christine Aria Hostetler Katja Leibenath Fernando Reyes
ARTIST TALK & CLOSING RECEPTION: Saturday, April 25th, 12-3PM
Victor Cartagena
Salvadoran-born Victor Cartagena has been making art in the Bay Area since the late 80s. The work that Cartagena produced in the early to mid-1990’s battled with memories of the violence in El Salvador and the pain and separation that he experienced in relocating to the U.S. During this time, he was a member of Tamoanchån, a collective of Latin American printmakers working out of KALA Institute in Berkeley, sponsored by the California Arts Council (19901996). Cartagena’s work in the late 90s moved beyond solely articulating the immigrant experience. In he work his has dealt with consumer culture, homelessness, the culture of violence, and material waste. More recently, Cartagena has dealt with the themes of exile, identity, perception and the use of power, presenting his work in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. His artistic palette has also branched out to include sculpture, audio and video installation and performance art work.
415-846-5751
vicotrdcartagena@gmail.com
http://victorcartagena.net/
SELECT FACULTY APPOINTMENTS & ARTIST-IN RESIDENCIES: 1998-2006 2000 & 2003 2004 2010
Arrowsmith Academy, Berkeley CA Diebenkorn Teaching Fellowship from the SFAI 18th Street Arts Complex. Artist Residency, Santa Monica Creative Work Fund, MACLA, SAn Jose CA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS: Solo Exhibition, PanAmerican Art Projects, Miami FL Invisible Nation/Naci贸n Invisible, Galeria de la Raza , San Francisco, CA Anatomy de la Mentira, Gallery TinT, Thessaloniki, Greece Victor Cartagena, Human Rights Conference, University of San Francisco, CA 2006 The Culture of Violence: Bang! Bang! Toy Gun, MACLA, San Jose Anatomy of la Mentira: Red Noses, Stephen Cohen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2005 Perpetual Motion/Movimiento Perpetuo, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco, CA Con Los Ojos Vendados, TinT Gallery, Thessaloniki, Greece Anatomy of la Mentira: Red Noses, Ampersand International Arts, San Francisco, CA 2008 2007
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 2015 2005 2003 2002 2001
Spotlight: Figure, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA Con los Ojos Vendados, installation at Art LA, Santa Monica, CA 2004 Photo New York, Metropolitan Pavillion, New York, New York State of the Nation, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco, CA Victor Cartagena, Human Rights Conference, University of San Francisco, CA SKETBE Association, Anniversary Exhibit, Thessaloniki, Greece Print Without Borders, Kala Institute & Quito Metropolitan Art Center, Quito, Ecuador Perpetual Motion/Movimiento Perpetuo, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco, CA Homenaje a Roque Dalton-Installation, Esp铆ritu Sin Fronteras, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA Sight Unseen, 120th Annual Exhibition, San Francisco Art Institute, SF, CA
INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS
The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii The Contemporary Art Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii The Oxbow School of Art/Ann Hatch, Philanthropist/Collector, Napa, CA Egnatia Odos Corporate Collection, Thessaloniki, Greece The Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece
AWARDS 2007 2005 2004
Nominated for the 2008-10 Eureka Fellowship Grant, Fleishhacker Foundation San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grant (awarded) Nominated for the 2005-07 Eureka Fellowship Grant, Fleishhacker Foundation Nominated for the Joan Mitchell Award, New York Peter S. Reed Foundation (awarded)
Full & Extensive CV at http://www.victorcartagena.net/Victor/CV.htm
Dos Locos mixed media on canvas; acrylic & graphite 74.75” x 55.5” $16000 Victor Cartagena
Con Los Ojos Vendados mixed media on canvas; acrylic & graphite 52.5” x 72.5” $20000
La Oreja mixed media on canvas; acrylic & graphite 54.5” x 72.5” $16000
Victor Cartagena
Michal Gavish
In my portraits I explore the ways in which illusive constructs such as memory and imagination activate space and each other. These paintings are an attempt to record a historical narrative while realizing its impossibility. My project was conceived of during an artist residency in 2011 in Budapest, Hungary, where my family came from. I drew larger than life full body images from small family photographs and return them in a symbolic performance to the original locations in which these photos were taken.
4michalgavish@gmail.com http://michalgavish.com/
EDUCATION: 2008 1993
MFA, San francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA PhD, Physical Polymer Chemistry, Graduate Center CUNY, NY
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS:: 2014 Presented Past, Jewish Museum of Hungary; Budapest, Hungary 2012 My Objectivity, Sandra Lee Gallery, San Francisco Objectivity, Zadik Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel Jaffa Mangoes: History, Memory, and Myth, Ictus Gallery, San Francisco (in collaboration w Palestinian artist Zeina Barakeh) 2011 Meine Sachlichkeit, LIA at the Spinnerei, Leipzig, Germany Tiny, Studio Gallery, San Francisco National WCA; Solo online featured artist for August 2011 SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
Spotlight, ARC Gallery, San Francisco Chasm Arena, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco Presented Past, Jewish Museum of Hungary; Budapest, Hungary Picture Peace, Bet-Hagefen Arab-Jewish Cultural Center,Haifa; Circa1 Gallery, Berlin; Speaker’ Corner, London By Mainly Unexpected Means, Meridian Gallery, San Francisco The Future Imagined, Zero One Biennale, San Jose Bet Hagefen, Haifa, Israel; Corner of Hatzionut Ave and Hagefen Library Thoughts, Raday Kepeshaz Gallery, Budapest, Hungary Re Bound - Contemporary artist’s books from the Bay Area, Sonoma Valley Art Museum, Sonoma CA Picture Peace, Bet-Hagefen Arab-Jewish Cultural Center,Haifa; Circa1 Gallery, Berlin; Speaker’ Corner, London
RESIDENCIES AND PROJECTS 2011 LIA, Leipzig International Art Programme; Artist Residency at the Spinnerei, Leipzig, Germany Budapest Multi Cultural Residency Program; International Artists Residency, Budapest 2008 Cooper Union New York City. International Artists Residency THEATER SET DESIGN 2012 2011
The Pear Avenue Theater Mountain View, CA. Bach in Leipzig by Itamar Moses Familiar Strangers by Margie Kahn The Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur Court by Mark Twain
Four Men # 1 set of four works; acrylic & graphite on paper 27” x 98” $12000 (set of 4) Michal Gavish
Four Men # 2 set of four works; acrylic & graphite on paper 27” x 98” $12000 (set of 4)
Four Men # 3 set of four works; acrylic & graphite on paper 27” x 98” $12000 (set of 4) Michal Gavish
Four Men # 4 set of four works; acrylic & graphite on paper 27” x 98” $12000 (set of 4)
Paul Gibson Three Lawyers I truly respect each of these highly educated individuals for their commitment, integrity and belief in justice for all citizens in our society. Tony Serra, Nancy Yamahiro and Matt Gonzalez are personalities in their own right, but share common goals they live now, believe in justice and fight for those who have no one. In each portrait I aim to portray their honor. Matt Gonzalez – “Matt G” Matt is a lawyer, politician, writer, artist, collector, Vice Presidential candidate, grand individual and man of stature. His portrait can only be based on a great work of art. Therefore I chose the work of Francis Bacon, “Study of a Man Talking” 1981 from the Hess Collection in Napa, CA. I blend Bacon’s perfect composition and its spatial ambiguity with a beautiful abstract painting by Tom Schultz to balance the portrait. Tony Serra - “SF Icon” Tony is a “True Believer,” a defender of society and those “lost” within it, appreciating the soul of humanity in his unique and compassionate way. I painted Tony with the spirit of humanity in mind; the Grateful Dead jacket, Che Guevara T-Shirt, tie-dye border and the background icon elements all symbolize the spirit of Tony Serra. Nancy Yamahiro - “Need a Good Lawyer” Nancy is a silent hitter, visionary of contemporary society, and a woman with a golden heart. Her office is piled high with stacks of documents both typed and handwritten, as well as rubber bands, yellow sticky notes, and hundreds of case folders containing the materials of the individuals she has defended. I painted Nancy as seen through these stacks of papers, but my true artistic vision was inspired by her golden heart and commitment to helping others. Hunters Point Shipyard Building 101, Studio 2121 San Francisco, CA (415) 822-8087 psgibson4@aol.com http://www.pdgartist.com/
Education
1987 National Academy Of Design New York, NY 1984 Art Center College Of Design, BFA 1980 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA Architecture Select Solo Exhibtion 2012 2008 2004 2001 1999 1998
Axion Gallery, Santa Monica , CA Andrea Schwartz Gallery , San Francisco, CA 77 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco,CA 505 Gallery Sansome Street San Francisco, CA Andrea Schwartz Gallery San Francisco , CA Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA Debra Owens Gallery, San Diego, CA
Select Group Exhibitions 2014 San Jose Institute Of Contemporary Art Tour@Hp Sf,Ca FourSquared, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA Art For AIDS, San Francisco, CA Melissa Morgan Fine Art Palm Desert, CA San Jose Institute Of Contemporary Art, San Jose CA 2013 La Fine Art Fair , Los Angeles, Ca FourSquared, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA Melissa Morgan Fine Art Palm Desert, Ca Art For AIDS, San Francisco, CA 2012 Life Live, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA Black History, Bayview Opera House San Francisco, CA George Krevsky Gallery, San Francisco, CA ArtMRKT, San Francisco, CA Bay Area Stars, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA Art For AIDS, San Francisco, CA Affordable Art Fair, Seattle, WA Teaching 1988-2007 Academy Of Art University San Francisco, CA Select Collections
Adobe Systems Incorporated Schilling Inc. Nordstrom Inc. VMWare Cisco Systems, Inc. GT Global Inc. The San Francisco Firemen Union San Jose County Hospital Marriott Hotels El Camino Hospital Devcon Construction Achenbach Collection, SF Fine Arts Museum Tools As Art, The National Building Museum, The Hechinger Collection
Tony Serra mix water medium on Lennox paper 48” x 77” $16000 Paul Gibson
Matt Gonzalez mix water medium on Lennox paper 48” x 77” $16000
Paul Gibson
Nancy Yamahiro mix water medium on Lennox paper 48” x 77” $16000
Christine Aria Hostetler Falling ‘Deep Below Heaven’ “Know Thyself ” - Delphic command What if we took moments of isolation to stare at our deepest, darkest selves? Examined what makes us fearful and why? Then, after all else is gone—our joys and our sorrows, our perceptions of who we are in a given time or place—demanded of ourselves, “What now? Who am I without the trappings?” “Falling ‘Deep Below Heaven’” explores the delicious abandon, the uncertainty, the sorrow and the peace experienced through the act of letting go of a tenacious yet ultimately ineffectual grasp on a sense of control. It is in letting go that we can give into the hurricane that is life, and the unknowns it will throw our way. It is in this commune with the inevitable and uncontrollable that we will be able to find our true, authentic selves. Selon moi. “Falling ‘Deep Below Heaven’” is a series of nude self-portraits against empty backgrounds. Isolation is vital to knowing ourselves. By solely painting my form within the otherwise empty picture plane, I am visually and symbolically isolating myself. Turning to my own figure as subject is a way of invoking my fears and insecurities. I am naked and exposed and in the process of the most vulnerable of human experiences—releasing control, ceding power to the unknown. Perversely, it is in this letting go that I am able to reclaim agency of my body and myself (or at least a higher form of strength in self). I call upon my own weakness and imperfections to shore me up. I make myself my own muse by pushing past my perceptions of who can be artist or muse. Letting the paint and water take over and drip down my figure and the page, I invite the uncontrollable to interrupt the controlled. The paintings are touched by chance through the natural flow of watercolor, making them more than my two hands can manipulate on their own. The drips in the paintings anchor the figures to the paper. Simultaneously, these drips become organic columns on which the figure of my body rests and into which it descends. This is representative of the continual tension between being and becoming. Creating art is my giving up, giving in, and settling in to the central core and truth of myself. Thank you to Sam Shepard for the beautiful phrase, “deep below heaven”, and to Melaena Cadiz, for bringing this phrase to me through her music. 630-862-7979
christine.hostetler@gmail.com http://www.christinearia.com/
Education 2010 2009 2008
Hope College, BFA, Studio Art, French and English New York Center for Art and Media Studies, New York, New York IES Program, L’Université de Nantes, L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Nantes, France
Selected Group Exhibitions 2015 2014 2013 2010 2009
Spotlight:Figure, Arc Gallery. San Francisco, CA In Dreams, Spoke Art Gallery. San Francisco, CA Imagined Worlds Hero Complex Gallery. Los Angeles, CA Bad Dads V, Spoke Art Gallery. San Francisco, CA Bad Dads IV, Spoke Art Gallery. San Francisco, CA Lil Bub Art Tribute, Spoke Art Gallery. San Francisco, CA Edicola, A Newsstand Recipient of the 2012 Alternative Exposure Grant, San Franciso CA Ogilvy West Group Invitational. San Francisco, CA This Is, Hope College Art Show DePree Art Center. Holland, MI Impulse, NYCAMS Art Show. New York, NY
Gallery Representation
LaFontsee Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
Publications 2014 2012 2010 2009
26 Letters, by Ross DeMerchant, Book Illustration Create and Move Forward in Life, by Eve Evangelista, Book illustration Opus Hope College Literary Magazine, Spring Gas Pump (2009), Trevor, Nigel and George Avalanche Online Art Journal ed. SWS:ALPS. Trevor, Nigel and George
Projects 6x6, a story and illustration collaboration with artist Joel Daniel Phillips and author Pierce Brown. (explore the project at six-x-six.tumblr.com) Collections
Cornerstone Church, Livermore, CA Hope College, Holland MI five life-sized portraits Abigail Lorick, LLC, New York, NY, site specific paintings. Direct Relief, a non-profit organization, Valentine’s Day video animation
Honors 2010 2009
Jon F. Kay Award Jon F. Kay Award Stanley Harrington Art Award
By Evening watercolor on Arches paper 44� x 100� $3000 Christine Aria Hostetler
Deep Below Heaven watercolor on Arches paper 44” x 100” $3000 Christine Aria Hostetler
Early Morning Fall watercolor on Arches paper 44” x 100” $3000
Katja Leibenath
Katja Leibenath’s artwork begins with experiencing a scene or moment and recording it through a series of photographs, drawings, and observations. These experiential sessions ignite new series of work. Back in the studio, Leibenath uses her direct visual recollection and her experiential memory to shape each piece based on the new body’s subject matter. She intuitively builds the paintings in layers, relying just as heavily on formal considerations as she does on the source material. The finished painting is a record of the painting process as well as an exploration of the subtle nuances of the moment. Originally from Germany with a background in architecture and art, Leibenath has been painting in San Francisco since 2006. Her work is part of several private collections nationwide and has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Atlanta, in addition to San Francisco.
Studio Katja Leibenath, Suite 76C 1044 Revere Avenue San Francisco, CA 94124
Katja@KatjaLeibenath.com
KatjaLeibenath.com
Katja Leibenath lives and works in San Francisco, CA EDUCATION 1995 - 2000 1994 – 2013
Peter Behrens School of Architecture [fh-duesseldorf,de], Düsseldorf, Germany Dipl-Ing FH Innenarchitektur/ BA Interior Architecture & Furniture Design European Academy of Fine Art [eka-trier,de], Trier, Germany/ Luxembourg
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
Black and White Show, John McEvoy Fine Art, San Francisco, CA Soiree at Sunset – Auction, Sunset Magazine HQ, Menlo Park, CA Large Figures – John McEvoy Fine Art, San Francisco, CA Connect & Collect – Live Auction, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose Foursquared IV – From The Model, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA Grimm at Dartmouth, Baker-Berry, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH Katja Leibenath and Jessica Martin - Two Person Show, Art Concepts, Walnut Creek, CA Tiny, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA Sea Ranch Spindrift Gallery, Gualala, CA Introduction – Solo Exhibition, John McEvoy Gallery, San Francisco, CA Grimm at Goethe, Goethe Institute, San Francisco, CA Figure 8, Hang Gallery, San Francisco, CA San Francisco Fine Art Fair, Hang Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA RED DOT Miami Art Fair, Hang Art Agallery, Miami, FL Genius Loci – Solo Exhibition, Hang Gallery, San Francisco, CA AF Contemporary Art Fair, Hang Art Gallery, New York, NY Enormous Tiny Art, Nahcotta West Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Little Jewels, Huff Harrington Gallery, Atlanta, GA Twenty Four Seven, Hang Gallery, San Francisco, CA Nothing Out Of The Ordinary – Two Person Show, Liquid Spaces, San Francisco, CA
Five Dancers oil on canvas 96” x 72” $12000
Katja Leibenath
Dancer # 10 oil on canvas 48” x 60” $4500
Dancer #11 oil on canvas 48” x 60” $4500
Katja Leibenath
Fernando Reyes My painting series “Reverie” is an homage to Austrian painter Egon Schiele (1890 - 1918), one of several artists whose work has been an inspiration to me throughout the years. Schiele’s painting, “The Scornful Woman” was the influence in creating the Reverie triptych. In contrast, I chose to create paintings that reflect one’s thoughts or daydreaming. I’ve felt compelled to draw the human figure for about as long as I can remember. I see particular beauty in the strength and sensuality of the human form. Drawing regularly from live models allows me to depict the beauty of anatomy, proportion, balance and movement. The traditional methodology, however, produces works that are completely contemporary. Thematically my work is very much about how our body language may convey an impression, through conscious and unconscious signals, typically with greater eloquence than what verbal communication allows
Studio26 2934 Ford Street Oakland CA 94601 (510) 325-7725
freyesart@mac.com
www.freyesart.com
Education
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, BFA, 1997
Recent Solo Exhibitions 2012 2009 2007 2006 2005
Incarnate, Nieto Fine Art, San Francisco, CA Form, RiskPress Gallery, Sebastopol, CA Emblematic Ink - Drawings of Tattooed Men, Underglass, San Francisco, CA Sweet Dreams, Reaves Gallery, San Francisco, CA Bodies in Relief, RiskPress Gallery, West Hollywood, CA Body, Esteban Sabar Gallery, Oakland, CA Introducing, JSL Fine Arts Gallery, Newport News, VA
Recent Group Exhibitions 2015 2014 2013
Spotlight, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA SquaredAlumni, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA City Streets - urban views of the Bay Area, STUDIO Gallery, SF, CA Art for AIDS, Alliance Health Project, San Francisco, CA The Figure - A Bay Area Legacy, Gary Francis Fine Art, Alameda, CA Inspire Artists Who Inspire You, Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA Life Live III, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2013 Statewide painting Competition & Exhibitions, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA Landscapes, Seascapes & Cityscapes, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA It’s Only Natural, Linus Galleries, Pasadena, CA “Hey Everybody”, Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, CA Life Live II, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Selected Publications 2013 2012
“Studio Visit”, A Juried Selection of International Visual Artists, The Open Studio Press, Volume twenty-three, 2013 George Paris, “Hot Poems for Warm Friends” “100 Artists of the Male Figure” A Contemporary Anthology of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture by E.Gibbons, Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
Corporate Collections
Stanford University Medical Center, Menlo Park, CA Alameda County Arts Collection, Alameda County, CA Amoco Corporation Art Collection, Chicago, IL Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles, CA Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, NY, NY
Representation
Mercury20, Oakland CA SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA Susan Street Fine Art Gallery, Solana Beach, CA Warnock Fine Art, Palm Springs, CA
Reverie I oil on wood panel 25” x 60” $5800
Fernando Reyes
Reverie II oil on wood panel 25” x 60” $5800
Fernando Reyes
Reverie IIII oil on wood panel 25” x 60” $5800
http://arc-sf.com http://arcfinearts-sf.com 1246 Folsom St. San Francisco, CA
arcgallerysf@gmail.com 415-298-7969