Hiroshi Sato at Hespe Gallery, November 4 - December 6, 2014!

Hespe Gallery presents new works by Hiroshi Sato, beginning November 4 – December 6, 2014. A reception will be held on Thursday, November 6, 2014 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Hiroshi Sato’s work presents a refreshing take on exact moments in time. The contemporary realist paintings are seen as snapshots, capturing intimate and still moments. He emphasizes form with his use of light and dark and evokes strong emotions by highlighting different sections of each painting. His use of geometric design elements adds both frame and flatness by playing with illusion and perspective.

Unlike his previous work, Sato’s focus is introspective, spurred by his reflections of the evolution of his creative processes over the past four years. His childhood activities, like piecing together models of planes, cars, and motorcycles, and a love for pop-up books, played a large role in his approach to painting today, and are the subjects within many of the current paintings.

Sato has been featured in Southwest Art Magazine, American Art Collector, Art Business, the Artist’s Magazine and Fine Art Connoisseur. He is currently enrolled in the MFA program at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where he recently completed his BFA. This will be Sato’s third solo exhibition at Hespe Gallery.

Eric Zener "Pop Paintings"

Hespe Gallery presents new works by Eric Zener, beginning October 2 through November 1, 2014. A reception will be held on Thursday, October 2, 2014 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Eric Zener’s new work offers a pop spin on his signature imagery. Gone are the realistic depictions of swimmers in water and in their place are bold colors and a sense of playfulness that reminds us of the joy we feel when we let go. The use of color as a compositional tool is most synonymous with the work of the 1980’s, and like Warhol and Harring, Zener’s color choices are intrepid and loud. Of course, another association that the pop artists cultivated is that of the brand, and Zener continues with his imagery that is so recognizable, with a fresh spin and natural evolution.

A self-taught painter, Zener was born in Astoria, Oregon and grew up in the seaside town of Encinitas, California. He received his B.A. in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has shown extensively in Asia, Australia, North America, and Europe, and is included in numerous corporate, private, and museum collections. 

Hespe Gallery presents new works by Amberlee Rosolowich, beginning June 17 through July 26, 2014.  A reception will be held on Thursday, July 10 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 

Amberlee Rosolowich presents the viewer with something that instantly transports them back to childhood experiences: wonder and magic. Her paintings remind us that we share the world with beautiful creatures that live in harmony with us, in a carefree, spontaneous way. Her current body of work focuses on the flocks and herds of animals that are united by their identity. Rosolowich renders groups of animals to comment not only on the power and beauty of their species, but also their dwindling numbers. A staunch conservationist, Rosolowich places a small innocent child in the image to remind us that animals too are to be cared for and cherished, just as a child is. Despite the great size of these majestic animals, the juxtaposition of the two evokes a sense of playfulness while illuminating the peaceful and gentle relationship between them. 

Born in Canada, raised in Hawaii, Rosolowich spent her days with her zoologist mother; daydreaming and wandering through the zoo, imagining its inhabitants were her friends and confidants. She received her BFA from the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Rosolowich has been featured in California Home and Design, Artslant and Juxtapose and was recently featured onthe cover of The Contemporary Art of Nature, Mammals; She has shown with Hespe Gallery since 2009. This will be her fourth solo exhibition with us. 

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Hespe Gallery presents new works by Wolfgang Bloch, beginning May 1
through 31, 2014.  A reception will be held on Thursday, May 1 from
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The compellingly rich and experiential paintings of Wolfgang Bloch
are reflective of the timelessness and depth of his relationship with
nature--a relationship that was once sparked and has since been
cultivated by the pristine beaches of Ecuador. While the delicate
breaking of a single wave marvelously delineates the moment in which
the sky and the earth meet, Bloch's paintings maintain a powerful
sense of intensity and presence through the masterful use of space
and materials. Bloch takes advantage of the inherent personalities
and natural textures of his materials to complement and incite his
abstracted coasts that are painted largely by the guidance of his
intuition. Filled with discarded materials that have been collected
over years, Bloch's studio fosters a process of playful material
investigation that ultimately culminates into ethereal seascapes.

Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Wolfgang Bloch grew up surfing avidly
along secluded beaches. In pursuit of higher education, Bloch
emigrated from Ecuador to the United States, where he received his
BFA and BA in Design. Bloch's work has been collected by numerous
corporate and private collections, and his work has been shown
throughout Australia, Brazil, England, Japan, and the United States.
This will be Bloch's second solo exhibition at Hespe Gallery.

Getting excited for our September show! a #mashup up with artists Kevin Moore, Brett Amory, Kim Frohsin, David Choong Lee, John Wentz and Adam Forfang.

mash-up nouninformal noun: mashup a mixture or fusion of disparate elements. Slang. a creative combination or mixing of content from different sources:

MASHUP is a unique collaboration between six Bay Area painters, Kevin Moore, Brett Amory, Kim Frohsin, David Choong Lee, John Wentz, and Adam Forfang. The idea is for the six artists to meet once a month, for 6 months, at different locations around the Bay Area, chronicling the local landscape and weather as it shifts from Winter into Summer. The group makes a single, large plein air painting consisting of six different individual sections, at each location. Each painter brings a 30" x 40" canvas to the site, and paints a section of the overall scene in their own unique style. The paintings are done strictly from life, they are raw, immediate, and honest. Each location has its own "director". This means the selected artist for a particular month would have the general composition loosely worked out for everyone prior to the session. Upon arrival, the group sets up, and paints the scene in one session, start to finish. The end result is a 60" x 120" composite image of the scene, with all six canvases creating a tapestry of different styles and approaches that coalesce into a single unified whole. The following month, everyone meets again at a different location, chosen by the new "director". Every composite painting has a different composition, subject and mood depending on the weather and the artist that "directs" the scene for the day. Its an investigation in time, space, and teamwork, every painting is a new adventure.

Composite Painting #2 (February) Directed by Adam Forfang, 60x120" (6 panels, each 30x40"), all oil on canvas

Moving to Suite 210!

Please come and see our last exhibition in Suite 420 of 251 Post Street before we move permanently to Suite 210! Our group exhibition features works from our gallery artists, including: Patricia Chidlaw, Dave Lefner, Eric Zener, Kevin Moore, Alyssa Monks, Robert Townsend, Hiroshi Sato, Erin Cone and Pablo D'Antoni. 

From March 1st we will see you in Suite 210!

William Lagattuta & Robert Townsend

Hespe Gallery is pleased to announce a two-man exhibition of new work by Robert Townsend and William Lagattuta. A reception for the artists will be held on Thursday, November 7 from 5:30-7:30. The exhibition will continue through November 30, 2013.

Robert Townsend’s work explores the mystique of vintage Americana. Lustrous images of sweet delights, smooth sets of wheels, and commonplace objects and scenes of the 1950’s and 1960’s are the artists’ inspirations. Townsend was raised in LA by parents who had grown up in 1950’s Los Angeles. His fascination with the culture of this period has drawn from artists whose work equates to a very specifically Californian aesthetic: Ed Ruscha, Robert Bechtle, Wayne Thiebaud, and Ralph Goings. Townsend considers his works “pop realism”, allowing viewers to indulge in a sweet nostalgic fantasy of retro American ingenuity.

   

In imagery meant to evoke the road trips, trail markers and European adventures of youth, William Lagattuta uses arrows to point forward a seemingly directionless path. They are a guide, which exemplify the endless possibilities and directions we have to choose from when following our passions and ambitions in life. Lagatutta himself chose the path of artistry in 2007 after working as a television correspondent and anchorman for over three decades, allowing his artwork to serve as a personal quest into creatively understanding and translating the complexities of life onto tangible mediums of paint, wood, and metal.