DRINK SAKE ALONE As I sit down to write this review I'm drinking a Pacifico beer, the staple of San Francisco artist Tom Marioni, which brings to mind his artwork "The Act of Drinking beer with Friends is the Highest Form of Art." Thirty five years later, the japanese artist Makoto Aida is visiting San Francisco with the exhibition Drink Sake Alone. Social alienation aside, Aida's work in the gallery is not far from the sense of humor floated by the early California Conceptualists like Baldessari and Marioni. Yet Aida is a much wittier incarnation, focused on global concerns and... Read More

"Fuck Bush" is not a good way to begin a conversation, especially one about U.S. politics. It's the kind of blunt political invective one might expect to see on bumper stickers, t-shirts, or hand-made protest signs in liberal parts of the country. But it is more emotional than some of the most direct anti-Bush slogans. During the Bush presidency it's been more common for me to encounter the phrase as an utterance. I have heard it spoken with a variety of emotional affects-with resignation, flippancy, indignation and outrage. Never has it been an invitation to discussion.... Read More

Jen writes: I finally made it to the Wattis yesterday to check out "General Ideas: Rethinking Conceptual Art, 1987 - 2005." I was struck by how perfectly this "idea" art fit into a gallery context -- almost as if it wouldn't have a life outside such an institution. As I wandered through the galleries I began to wonder about things like market forces, or other sorts of conditions, that might have caused the "Conceptual Art" of today to seem so different from the "dematerialized" art of the seventies. I can't say that Smithson's work was without its trace in the... Read More

Writing Letters is a three person show including work from Steve Powers, Joe Amherein, and Tauba Auerbach.... Read More

Nov. 3rd - Dec. 3rd 2005. Jacqueline Gordon's installation at "aLittleDisplay" is a particularly interesting show to review since I am subletting the living room in the house where the gallery resides...... Read More