Guess I'm a reall Oaklander now!!!!!
Self Portraits in the Age of Selfies Reviewed
Self Portraits in the Age of Selfies Review
Sher featured in Oakland Magazine June 2018
My artist book BLOG selected for Bibliophoria V
at Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Juried by Macy Chadwick June 22-July 29, 2018, opening reception June 22 4-7, closing reception June 29 3-4:30
An international, juried book art exhibition, this show is an homage to all things book arts related. Featuring graphic and sculptural works primarily emphasizing creative re-interpretations using books, book components and bookmaking methods.
Vanity 4 after (Bruno Paul) invited to show in 2018 Works on Paper at LBIF
in Long Island City, New Jersey. Selected by Kim Conaty, Curator of Prints and Drawings, Whitney Museum of Art, New York City
Icelandscapes on view at Mercury Twenty Gallery
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more info or high res images: mercurytwenty@gmail.com
THREE SOLO EXHIBITIONS
NICK DONG
Matter / Antimatter
CHRIS KOMATER
Study for a Series: Love
ELIZABETH SHER
Icelandscapes
MAY 10 - JUNE 18, 2018
GALLERY HOURS & INFO:
- Thursday-Saturday, 12-6pm
- 475 25th Street, Oakland, between Telegraph & Broadway
- (510) 701-4620
EVENTS:
- Artists Reception: Saturday, May 12, 4-6pm
- First Friday Art Murmur: June 1, 6-9pm
ELIZABETH SHER
Icelandscapes
Elizabeth Sher was a resident at Gullkistan Center for Creativity in Iceland twice. Icelandscapes explores her love of nature combined with her interest in technology which she combines with traditional artist materials. The geologic wonders and phantasmal forms offered a glimpse of what the earth might have been like in its beginnings. Underground rumblings randomly spew out steam, lava and rocks through pockets in the earth. Iceland has been called "the land of fire and ice" as the glaciers of this island nation sit atop active volcanos. But all of this will change over the next generation or two - the glaciers are receding, and Iceland has been called Ground Zero for climate change. Sher's vista wide landscape paintings offer a love "letter" to the beauty of Iceland's horizon-wide vistas as well as a "get well card" for the country and the earth. Her artist book "Snow Lines" outlines the patches of snow on the mountains which decreased measurably between her 2nd visit in summer 2016 and her first visit in summer 2012.
ELIZABETH SHER is a long time Bay Area artist and filmmaker. Her work frequently integrates her need as a filmmaker to tell stories with her love of materials and process as a visual artist. Her work in both film and visual art has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Works are included in the collections of SFMOMA, Oakland Museum of California, Carnegie-Mellon University, The Hecht Collection, United States Information Agency, De Saisset College. Her documentary Rituals of Remembrance: Exploring the Art of Mourning, 2017 (made with Maggie Simpson Adams) was seen regionally on PBS and recently screened in Morocco. Her documentary Penny: Champion of the Marginalized, 2014 is currently running on national PBS. Sher is Professor Emeritus of Fine Art at California College of the Arts. This is her first show at Mercury 20 Gallery
NICK DONG
Matter / Antimatter
Nick Dong has created an experimental multi-media installation for the front window of the Mercury 20 Gallery. Facing the street is the "Matter" side of his installation, a mirror filling the entire gallery window, but with several holes for viewing his finely detailed metallic objects that appear to hover and spin in space. Facing the interior of the gallery is the "Antimatter" side, a black acrylic wall, also with viewing holes in which are found other floating objects. In contemplating reality, Dong has utilized a form of Buddhist meditation practice called "visualization."
NICK DONG is a multi-disciplinary hybrid of conceptual metalsmith, mixed-media sculptor, and socio-commodity engineer who employs an array of techniques and materials with the intention of creating works that ignite an experiential moment and even a spiritual bond with the audience. In 2012, Nick was selected by Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum to be included in the 40 under 40, Craft Futures exhibition. Over the the past 3 years, Nick has produced solo exhibitions in Asia University Museum of Modern Art, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art and National Taichung Theater.
CHRIS KOMATER
Study for a Series: Love
Chris Komater's new photo series is inspired by Edvard Munch's 1893 exhibition, Study for a Series: Love. Munch exhibited six paintings that explored "the struggle between man and woman called love." This was the genesis of a larger cycle, The Frieze of Life, a Poem about Life, Love and Death that explored the stages of life, the hopelessness of love, anxiety, infidelity, jealousy and death. Munch's expressive and intensely personal treatment of psychological turmoil over a century ago finds in our era an equivalent in the selfie and Facebook, where intimate moments are documented, made public, discussed and analyzed. Komater's six photos are culled from his recent online dating experiences, but printed in such low resolution as to render details and content almost unrecognizable. The closer one gets to these photos, the less one knows. He's included images from classic Hollywood. Even though they are stripped of detail, they still convey meaning--familiar archetypes of beauty and desirability. Komater draws attention to and frustrates our voyeuristic impulses. We're invited to ponder not only what we're looking at, but how and why.
CHRIS KOMATER is a San Francisco-based artist. His photographs and sound installations have been shown at Cheryl Haines Gallery, Patricia Sweetow Gallery, Mark Wolfe Contemporary Arts, Meridian Gallery, and the LAB Gallery in San Francisco; Jan Kesner Gallery in Los Angeles; Bernard Toale Gallery in Boston, and many other venues. He is the recipient of a WESTAF-NEA Regional Visual Arts Fellowship, a Market Street Art-in-Transit grant, and was the founding director and curator of Secession Gallery, a non-profit gallery without walls in San Francisco, and the online arts venue, Marjorie Wood Gallery. This is Chris' fifth solo show at the Mercury 20 Gallery.
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2017 Screenings
Rituals of Remembrance: Exploring the Art of Mourning premiered at The New Parkway Theater in Oakland to an SRO crowd on Oct 1st and at Camron Stanford House on Oct 21st. Great discussions after both!
Too Young screened in Women Take Flight Oct 24th as part of Canyon Cinema's 50th anniversary celebration at CCA in San Francisco. Proud to show with such great films by women!
2018 Screenings
Rituals of Remembrance screened at Green Olive Arts in Tetaoun, Morocco, in February to an SRO crowd. Great discussion after!
PENNY: Champion of the Marginalized News
PENNY: Champion of the Marginalized Public Broadcast so far has reached 80% coverage in more than 50 major markets across the country.
PENNY: Champion of the Marginalized is available on DVD at I.V. Studios and Streaming at VHX
Rituals of Remembrance Special Screening & News
Special Screening & Benefit of Rituals of Remembrance: Exploring the Art of Mourning A film by Maggie Simpson Adams & Elizabeth Sher
Special Screening Benefit to help us raise funds for closed captioning the film for broadcast
Sunday October 1 at 12:40pm New Parkway Theater 474-24th Street, Oakland, CA Tickets $15 General, $10 Students at Eventbrite $50 donation includes 2 tickets, DVD of film & DVD of Making Mole the Oaxacan Way
Rituals of Remembrance: Exploring the Art of Mourning looks at other times and cultures to integrate life and death in a more healing and satisfying way. The film was inspired by the loss of Maggie’s uncle and a year later her aunt. Featuring Amalia Mesa Bains, Jill Tracy, Darren Waterston, Murray Korngold, Caitlin Doughty, Maureen DeLorme and more.
Dates for additional screenings and broadcast coming later in October
Rituals of Remembrance Rituals of Remembrance on Facebook
June Film & Art News
PENNY airing in Bay Area on KRCB TV - June 20 at 9 PM
On cable channels 22, 22.1 and 1022, or check your listing. For other areas, check you local listings.
Rituals of Remembrance is finished!!!
After nearly a decade Elizabeth Sher an Maggie Simpson Adams have finally finished for Rituals of Remembrance: The Art of Mourning. Featuring Doctor Amalia Mesa Baines, Caitlin Doughty, Jill Tracy, Murray Korngold and many more. Stand by for screenings, streaming and more. Keep updated through our Facebook page, Rituals of Remembrance Movie
With much excitement, Elizabeth Sher has joined Mercury 20 Gallery!
Stay tuned for shows and events. Mercury 20 Gallery | 475 25th Street, Oakland CA 94612 | Tel: 510-701-4620
Spring Film News
PENNY - Champion of the Marginalized
There’s still time to catch PENNY on TV (and tell your pals across the nation). Below are some scheduled times but you might come across others surfing (or with insomnia)
Detroit PTV Wed May 10 at 4:30 AM - set your DVR!
OETA Oklahoma statewide Thursday June 1 at 7 PM Saturday June 3 at 9:30 PM (on OETA Okla channel)
WTTW Chicago (the primamry station) has scheduled PENNY for the following airtimes: Thursday, June 22nd at 10:30pm on their main channel Friday, June 24th at 4am on their main channel Friday, June 23rd at 4:30pm on their WTTW Prime channel
KVIE/Sacramento has scheduled the film Saturday, June 17th at 4:30am on KVIE2 Thursday, June 22nd at 2:30am on KVIE2
Rituals of Remembrance - the Art of Mourning
After nearly a decade Rituals of Remembrance made with Maggie Simpson Adams is done!
Information about the Premiere, DVDs, streaming and show availability coming soon - stand by and check back regularly on Facebook Rituals of Remembrance Movie.
November Art & Film Updates
Rough Cuts
Wednesday, November 2nd, I will be the panel moderator for KQED's Rough Cuts in San Francisco, from 7-9 PM. We will be viewing Baghdad to The Bay and talking with the Director, Erin Palmquist.
The event if free, and if you would like to attend, please RSVP by noon on Nov.2nd to roughcutsrsvp@yahoo.com.
Yoko Ono's Arising Project
My eyes and story are part of Yoko Ono’s Arising Project at the Reykjavik Museum in Iceland, Oct 7, 2016-February 5, 2017.
Art is a Living Thing
3 panels from my work "Storm" are included in Art is a Living Thing at the Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art, in Masterton, NZ, Dec. 2, 2016-Jan 15, 2017
PENNY Goes National!
The film was accepted by American Public Television!
Stand by for details in 2017
Fall Art and Film News
Back from my second residency at Gullkistan Center for Creativity in Laugarvatn, Iceland. This island nation continues to inspire with its gorgeous panoramic vistas, bubbling “hot spots”, rocks, lakes, horses, sheep, cliffs, sunsets and so much more. With their current push for tourists (1 million this year for 330,000 citizens), the popular sites are now more crowded with bus tours each day. Reservations are required where none were 4 years ago. It is still vast and idillic in many parts but if you are thinking of going - soon will be better than later.
The West Fjords inspire - still pristine as it’s a bit out of the way for tourists.
PENNY screens in Iceland - and as always Penny Cooper garners new fans.
Rituals of Remembrance - the art of mourning made with Maggie Simpson Adams over the last 8 years is on the home stretch! Work-in-progress screening in Iceland was followed by a vibrant discussion of death and mourning practices and ideas - just like we hope it always will. Watch of upcoming screenings this fall - check Rituals of Remembrance Movie on Facebook for details.
Sher’s short films Too Young and Wash It and will tour this fall in a program of short films curated by Tess Takahashi - Stand By for More Info!
May Art and Film News
Elizabeth Sher: Crossing the Digital Divide
April 19 - May 19
LAST CHANCE to see the exhibit! At Los Medanos College Art Gallery
Los Medanos College Art Gallery 2700 East Leland Road, Pittsburg, CA 94565 (The gallery is located in the Library Building.)
Essay in Experiments in She-ness
My essay has been included in a book of essays, Experiments in She-ness: women & undependent cinema, published by Basement Films.
Basement Films, Albuquerque, NM
Grant for Rituals of Remembrance
Rituals of Remembrance: The art of mourning, a 30-minute documentary by Elizabeth Sher and Maggie Simpson Adams is thrilled to announce they have been awarded a grant for finishing funds from Camron Stanford House in Oakland, CA.
Camron Stanford House, 1418 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA Visit Rituals of Remembrance: The art of Mourning on Facebook
PENNY on KRCB TV 6/27 @ 9pm
PENNY the Documentary airing on KRCB TV June 27th at 9pm!
KRCB TV is seen in most of the 9 Bay area counties via over the air, cable or satellite. Here's how to watch!
- Over the air on digital channels 22-1, 22-2 and 22-3.
- Comcast Cable, you will find us on Cable Channel 22 in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties as well as the city of Oakland.
- DISH Satellite on channel 22 or 8233
- DirecTV on Channel 22.
- AT&T U-Verse-TV, you will find KRCB on Channel 22 as well.
KRCB Television, North Bay Public Media
Video Streaming Project
Each month, Sher's programs - new (and old) - will be streaming on VHX. (you can reach them from the store at www.pennythedocumentary.com and from the store at www.ivstudios.com, also directly from VHX. Available now:
- PENNY
- BELLA BELLA
- Alma's Jazzy Marriage
All three are also available in the Three Unforgettable Women package
Newly added:
- Brainwash and Beyond - featuring Flipper
- What's Inside These Shorts? - the short films of Elizabeth Sher, including Juggling featuring Sue (Mutant) White
- Interviews with Artists: Volume 1 - featuring M. Louise Stanley and SRL
And more coming each week!!!
New PENNY Screenings
PENNY Screening at UC Hastings College of Law
UC Hastings College of the Law, 200 McCallister Street, Sam Francisco, CA 94102
PENNY presentation with Santa Barbara Women's Political Committee
Thursday, March 15 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Santa Barbara Women's Political Committee presents PENNY with filmmaker Elizabeth Sher, and a panel of women lawyers from Santa Barbara.
Unitarian Society, Jefferson Hall, 1535 Santa Barbara St., Santa Barbara
BAMPFA Gala and Grand Re-opening
As a generous supporter of artists and long time Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive board member, Penny Cooper was singled out for her indefatigable work in making the new museum building a reality.
BAMPFA, 2155 Center Street, Berkeley, CA