Tag Archives: studio quercus

March Murmur Mashup

Here’s a collection of photos from this month’s Art Murmur… I had intended to do posts on the various artists/galleries but ran out of time, as another First Friday is already upon us.  Jeeezzzz. Hopefully these snaps give you an idea of the variety of cool stuff you can see… and I haven’t even included shots of the electro-string ensemble accompanied knitting circle!

The next few shots are from Hatch Gallery, featuring new works by Clint Imboden entitled “Selected Histories.”

hatch gallery oakland, poetry with shoes

I believe the shoe installation is titled “Words”, however I like to call it Poetry with Shoes.  An interactive display, patrons could rearrange the shoes…

Clint Imboden, Hatch Gallery, Hatch Gallery oakland

Below is also Clint Imboden, from a series of vintage measuring stick sculptures titled “Measure.”  Love these.

measuring stick sculptures, Clint Imboden

The following ultra-cool screen printed poster is by Jason Munn. I love his minimalism and bought one of his earlier posters (Bike & Cats) at a previous Murmur.

jason munn posters, ben gibbard camera poster

The next shots were part of an installation at Mercury 20.  Titled “Inside Out” by artist P.K. Frizzell, x-rayed photographs of collections of common objects are mysterious & mesmerizing.

xray boxes, xray photographys, PK Frizzell

xray boxes, xray photographys, PK Frizzell

These last three are from a show at Studio Quercus, titled Impressions from the CCA(C) Print Shop – The Famous, The Not-So-Famous and the Totally Unknown. It was interesting to see early period works of many local notable artists, and to note how many of these artists have come through CCA.

CCA Impressions, impressions from CCA print shop

Studio Quercus, CCA Impressions, impressions from CCA print shop

Curated by CA(C) alumni and instructor Tim Sharman and CCA(C) alumni and professor Jack Ford, this exhibition spans 60 years of printmaking from the print shop at the California College of the Arts—formerly known as the California College of Arts and Crafts. This show remains up thru April 16th, so check it out…

Tim Sharman, CCA Impressions, Studio Quercus

The Guitar Show at Studio Quercus

After devouring our falafels and sweet potato fries we headed across the street to Studio Quercus. This was my first visit to this space and I was particularly excited because they were featuring live music in conjunction with their art installation. I was just asking a friend about what upcoming themes I should focus on here at Oaktown Art (if you have any requests, please send them in as comments), and we decided music would be a good one, especially given how little I’ve focused on it to date, and how hugely it influences my life.

So… The Guitar Show. Pretty self-explanatory. Lots of guitars. And people playing guitars. And very cool.

Music ranged from experimental to folksie. John Shiurba and Myles Boisen (I think) performed discordant ambient “noise-noodling” as I like to call it… sort of a post-modern space jam. Not for everyone, but I love this stuff, and these guys were really good. They’re both institutions of the Bay Area avant garde music scene, involved with such artists/projects as Tom Waits, John Zorn, the Rova Saxaphone Quartet, Fred Firth, Splatter Trio, The Club Foot Orchestra, The Molecules, Spezza Rotto, Eskimo… you get the idea.

art murmur, studio quercus, the guitar show

Next up was Joe Rut and friends, performing an incredibly catchy acoustic number with sweet backing vocals from a friend and wonderful percussion too.  It’s hard to see in this photo, but the drum kit was fashioned out of unusual materials like an abalone shell, circular saw blade, and more, all mounted onto a small crate on wheels.  Pretty cool.

studio quercus, joe rut, the guitar show

art murmur, studio quercus, the guitar show, joe rut, john shiurba, viola keeton

The art installation, aside from the music, consisted of likely over a hundred “art” guitars mounted on the walls and displayed from custom shelving on wheels. In all shapes and sizes, the guitars were either painted or modified with sculpture and/or mixed materials. There was even one shaped like a raccoon! I’m not kidding.

guitar art, the guitar show, painted guitars

Studio Quercus is one of the newer additions to the Art Murmur scene, opening late last year. Run by husband and wife artists Susan Casentini and Kyle Milligan, shows focus on the eclectic and unusual.

The Guitar Show will be up until April 25th but viewable by appointment only, except for one more live musical performance by Thunderbleed on Saturday April 17th at 8pm. That evening the studio will open with no cover charge, but attendees are encouraged to be generous with donations to support the artists. Do check it out.