Lights Out Beach City: Art anthem of summer 2012

Introducing 14 years of works by the artist Ben Brough
Opening Night on Cinco de Mayo
Saturday, May 5, 2012, 6-9pm
Musical guest Dano Forte

About the art: Ben Brough’s new solo show features works from six feet in size to 2.5×2.5-inches. Presented as loud thoughts and after thoughts derived from nomadic journals kept from 1998-2012, Lights Out Beach City expands on the highly vagrant work over fourteen years using space, color, cartooning, collage, and painting techniques. Screeching imagery of food, music, coastal living, cinema, sex and landscapes in styles and mediums selected to clash by intention. Using mediums “found within arm’s reach” and presenting the show in a space as imagined, designed and installed by Brough, the viewer will be presented with a raucous landscape that brings to mind the fast and hard-edged DIY ethic only ever found lurking in the deepest subcultures of youth and punk rock.

Says the artist:  “I wanted to put everything out there. Moving around has always been a way of life, and 1998 is the year I started really spending a lot of time abroad and recording images and enjoying it. I have always worked in different styles and I wanted to see them together in one room at one time. The fast-paced consumerist lifestyle mixed with the richness of the laid-back surf history here, I’ve grown to see the great qualities of California.”

Show runs May 3-26, 2012. Come check it out.

Last week AR4T Gallery owner Torrey Cook went up to the city by the bay for a little self-guided walking tour. Luckily the sun was shining and it was a beautiful 70 degree spring day!! Of course there is so much to see and do but the day went like this…

First stop at Cain Schulte Gallery to see David Buckingham art. The space is wonderful – big bright windows just a few steps off Union Square – but a little stuffy unless you look like money. Strolled by Spoke Art (was just a little too early & they were closed) on the way to White Walls and Shooting Gallery. Paul Chatem at Shooting Gallery was great, but Michael Page’s large oil paintings were what I came up to see and they were well worth the entire trip. Characters living between worlds of the masters and contemporary street jumped straight off the canvas, brilliant colors pulling on strings of emotions long buried. Michael Page is constantly pushing forward and Elan Vital a show not to miss. But then again, Justin, Tova and the White Walls / Shooting Gallery / 941 team have been consistently bringing shows to SF that are each better than the next. This team works hard!! They do a great job and that’s why they are the best.

Tova pointed me in the direction of Hemlock Alley where Herakut was working on a mural before their Saturday opening at 941 Geary. A fly on the wall, I got to snap a few photos and say hello – and I was fortunate to meet the people of Wall Space SF – a team that works with building owners and the city to procure wall space for artists to use.

After a quick stop at The Luggage Store to see Chad Hasegawa’s bears, I walked up to FIFTY24SF Gallery (closed) and was directed by the good folks of Upper Playground toward a new mural by the legendary bay area artist Sam Flores – amazing. (Sam… please come back and show more. The art world needs you!!)

Last few stops at Needles and Pens to see what was new, Clarion Alley to add a sticker, and end of the day a famous mojito from Cha Cha Cha on Mission at 19th.

Till next time SF!!

More photos on Facebook

Surfer’s Eyes Photography is so kind to give us a sneak peek of KALM’s new work:

View the rest of the images (taken at Karlee’s home studio in Aus. April 21, 2012) here – Surferseyes.com

“This morning Kuni dropped into Karlee Mackie’s home art studio where she was filming for Rush TV. The program will be airing later in the year, on ABC3 in Australia. The Art Karlee worked on during the shoot will be displayed at her first overseas solo exhibition on June 30 at AR4T in Laguna Beach, California…”

Coming this May AR4T Gallery presents Lights Out Beach City, Ben Brough’s new solo show, presented as loud thoughts and after thoughts derived from nomadic journals kept from 1998-2012. Opens May 5, 2012.

Here are 4 Questions with the artist:

1. Will this show touch on your life of travel?
BB: Yes, definitely. I spent a great deal of my youth on the move and truly loved the different places I ended up in. No matter what, it’s influenced me wherever I was – that bar in San Sebastian Spain, getting a new surfboard in west Australia or hanging out on Catalina Island.

2. Why is AR4T the right gallery setting for this show and what are you going to do with it?
BB: Because the ocean is across the street and it’s Lights Out Beach City … I’m going to cover the space with paintings, collages, drawings and some empty wine bottles with the goal of making it all have a nice visual ring to it and making the moment pleasing to all who attend.

3. How does the California landscape influence your work?
BB: California has it all. I do miss Hawaii where I grew up, but you can go from the desert to the beach to the mountains and so many hidden gems all with the greatest of ease in California. The fast-paced consumerist lifestyle mixed with the richness of the laid-back surf history here, I’ve grown to see the great qualities of California.

4. Why delve back to 1998 for your work in this show?
BB: I wanted to put everything out there and somewhat behind me, kind of like an art cleanse. I like to work in different styles usually, and I wanted to see them all together in one room at one time. 1998 is the year I started really spending a lot of time abroad and recording images and fucking off on a professional level and enjoying life. Most of the work prior to this in inaccessible because it’s either with owners or destroyed.

“Tax Included” opened last night to one of the biggest crowds at AR4T Gallery yet. Fans of Russ Pope came from far and near to see his latest work and to get a rare performance from Indian Wig. Here are a few snapshots to start… more at: https://www.facebook.com/Artists.Republic, and more at Vans Art Tumblr: http://vansart.tumblr.com/post/20576720503/opening-photos-from-russ-popes-tax-included-at-ar4t