I’ve been trying to go to more art events lately. Not “try” as in “oh, what a drag, but I need to anyway,” or even the very British “I can’t be bothered,” but more like, I really want to, and I need to make space in my life to do this. It’s unfortunate how doing things that you enjoy can seem selfish, especially if you have competing responsibilities of parenting, a day job, etc. Everyone needs to recharge their batteries. We need to restock the creative pond. For me a big part of this is going to museums and galleries, especially during special events like First Thursdays/Fridays and art walks.

On October 25th I attended the Fall Yerba Buena Gallery Walk in San Francisco.

I made a point of visiting the photo-friendly galleries, which was nearly all of them! I’d always been a bit skeptical of the FAQ from Hang Art (aka “HANG”) which states, “Currently HANG does not offer prints or photography…. Fine quality prints and photography can be found at many superb local galleries, so there is less opportunity for HANG to distinguish itself with these products.” (The Hang Art Annex across the street, dedicated to works by women artists, does show photography. Check out the exhibit, “Who’s The Fairest of them All” which includes photos by my friend and colleague Jan Watten.) Happily, it’s true: There are (now) quite a few galleries in San Francisco which feature, or at least include, work by photographers.

The highlights of the Art Walk were visits to two galleries that are relative newcomers:

“Celebration,” Bhalu Mondhe, acrylic/canvas, 24×24

The other highlight was The Artist’s Alley. I had never encountered a space like this before. The decent-sized room has been carved up with nice, solid, clean, white walls, turning the gallery into a bit of a labyrinth. The benefit of this layout is that they can host a very large number of artists at one time, each getting their own wall or cubby. It is a cross between the white-walled gallery and an art faire. Note to gallery hoppers: The Artist’s Alley had the best snacks, including mini cheesecakes. Yummo! Best of all, I was later informed that I had won a painting by Bhalu Mondhe, contributed by The Artist’s Alley to the gallery walk drawing.

I came home from the Yerba Buena Gallery Walk with my feet hurting, but well snacked, and even more inspired and encouraged. A very worthwhile event indeed.

Michael Singman-Aste
Postdiluvian Photo

Tags: Bhalu Monde, Jan Watten, San Francisco, Tim Roda, Yerba Buena

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Artists, Events, Raves. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.