Jay Nelson. The Good Bye Ranch, 2007-09; graphite on paper; 60 x 88 in.

The relationship between an exhibition and its catalog is always a tenuous one. Much of the art is distorted in the translation to a new medium. Similar to the metamorphosis of literature into film, new insights are gained at the expense of the raw experience of the original artwork. "Hot & Cold: The End is Here," a group show at Baer Ridgway Exhibitions inverts this flow, curating a live exhibition based on the local art zine Hot & Cold. Developed by Chris Duncan and Griffin McPartland, Hot & Cold has always been a terminal project, counting down 10 issues to its final Issue #1, the nexus for this exhibition.

Flipping through the pages of an issue of Hot & Cold is uniquely compelling. It has no standard structure. Each copy is a hand-bound assemblage of media from silkscreen to appliqué to photocopies, often in conjunction with time-based media such as vinyl or performance. Duncan and McPartland's editorial approach is essentially as a Fluxus piece; its meaning to be evoked by experiencing the cocktail of media in one fluid exchange. The installation at Baer Ridgway is derived from this playfulness. Drawing from an A-list of artists with Bay Area roots, including Amy Franceschini, Mads Lynnerup, and Brion Nuda Rosch, the exhibition is deftly curated. Most notable are Jay Nelson's supple drawing The Good Bye Ranch (2007-09), and Tammy Ray Carland's erotically underplayed photograph Hers and Hers. Yet despite all this quality artwork, something is inevitably lost in translation. The personal experience of navigating the zine, which is at the root of Hot & Cold's success, slips away into din of another group show.

"Hot & Cold: The End is Here" will be on view at Baer Ridgway Exhibitions in San Francisco through October 17, 2009.