Saturday, July 18.

The ATT Center and their $20 admission can jolly well stow it. For $15.99 and a can of Big Red I could go to Splashtown all day.

Schroeder Gallery presents George Schroeder’s hulking chunks of metal and slag. I am pretty sure that these are the same objects that are always in the window when I drive by. James Cobb’s graphic design renderings are just that—slick graphic design. The paintings are so rooted in this visual vocabulary that they fail to become anything more than decorative art for the corporate office. More pictures here.

James Cobb

Not on the CAM Calendar, but worth mentioning, is Cristal Contemporaneo at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Artworks worth mentioning include: Chris Castillo’s sharp, documentary photographs; and Nicole Eriko Smith’s disturbingly precise drawings of deranged figures.

Chris Castillo


Nicole Eriko Smith

Franco Mondini-Ruiz made this just for you.

All photos Jeremiah Teutsch

Friday July 17.

Charola’s the Party Tray Company serves up figure paintings in flavors including blue, orange, and mannerist.

Nobody’s home at the Long Hall Gallery.


I’m still confused about the Radius Center’s “A Media Explosion.” If by “explosion” they mean a non-working video projection then ok. I think that there was going to be a line up of film, some of which would be shown outside, but given the lack of context clues or information about what was going on I’m still not certain. I did see these abstract paintings by Beth Shapiro on the walls. I don’t know if they are a part of the show or not, but they are impressive. All are luminous, smooth, and highly reflective; some even have a depth that appears three-dimensional.

Beth Shapiro

Unit B offers up a lesson in the aesthetic of the haphazard. Alejandro Diaz, Kristy Perez, and Gary Sweeney present stellar text-based works that prove that content, form, and delivery can be combined to make an exciting object out of the simplest of things. Attention to design and thinking can yield good results—being clever can help too. To point out the craftsmanship behind the crudeness of these works, let me make an analogy. Take Sonic Youth and your average high school garage band; the former plays noise while the later just makes noise. This trio is playing noise successfully. So, no, you’re kid couldn’t make this.

Gary Sweeney

Kristy Perez


Alejandro Diaz


To finish, Suede Lounge offers paintings and photography--Photoshop, posterize, paint, repeat. This would work as a street-art motif, but as fine art it fails. Yes, I am willing to make that hierarchal distinction.


all photos Jeremiah Teutsch

Thursday July 16. “Nomadic Beach Party” UIW

Angela Fox presents “Nomadic Beach Party” at UIW. It seems that the idea of fun motivates these works, and collaged depictions of a pan-cultural, whole-world identity probably are fun, but fail to move me. They are naïve, all-too-fashionable, and derivative. Looks like Henry Darger goes to Santa Fe.




photos Chad Dawkins

Benito Huerta “Shock and Awe” UTSA Art Gallery

Benito Huerta’s works at the UTSA Gallery are masterfully crafted and, at times, visually stunning. The downfall lies in his attempts to use shock to solicit awe. Huerta resorts to Picasso’s famous “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” and descriptions of money. Profanity, a ubiquitous image, sailor tattoos, Pop, politics, and loteria just leaving me asking, so what? Huerta’s reliance on familiarity and obscenity (both real and perceived) amount to a blunt cliché that is no longer shocking.





Benito Huerta


photos Chad Dawkins

pigeons

If you are observant, you will notice that the title has gone fowl.

Eden Patio and Bar

OMG. Just to prove that I am a man of my word, and a sucker for punishment, I spent my free and breezy Sunday evening to catch up and hit a spot that I couldn’t get to on Friday. I hate going north of 410, much less trekking beyond 1604, but I did it. I went to a bar in a brand new strip-mall far beyond the confines of my comfort zone, and I forgot my wallet.

Justin French’s paintings are sharp, vibrant, tiny, and could grace your wall for a song. Sadly, these works fail to progress beyond their slick exteriors and decorative properties.

Speaking of which, if you’re bored with the frat house or need a place to show off your new board-shorts/AXE/big truck combo or, for the ladies, your new tube-top, tan, bling ensemble—I know a place. According to the 7000 inch HDTV, the Cubs dropped the second game of a double header with St. Louis. They are going to have to start winning on the road to top Houston and make it into the playoffs.

Second Saturday. July 11.

Lotus Gallery at Nydia’s Yoga Therapy 4680 Lockhill-Selma. Where? Hidden in this wall that stretches for a dozen miles? Thanks Goggle Maps. Nothing refreshes like a drive all the way out to Lockhill-Selma and Huebner at 6 o’clock, driving up and down Lockhill-Selma for miles, and finding that the block numbers jump from 3800 to 11300. Seriously, if anyone knows how to unlock the door to the other dimension and find this place I’d like to know.

Meanwhile back in the real San Antonio, Fishead Design Studio and Microgallery exhibits digitally modified photos from Phillip Luna and Danielle Cunningham. These are colorful images incorporating graffiti, text, the Lord, and the Virgin artfully hung in this truly micro space.

Phillip Luna and Danielle Cunningham

FL!GHT Gallery presents a group show featuring works that all bring a smile to your face. Derek Allan Brown’s small stereoscope photos are a hit with viewers. These inventive works portray local characters and their haunts (HEB freezer isle and a flea market booth) in 3-D. The antique parlor trick of stereo-optics coupled with Brown’s simple photos make for a successful series of pieces. Andy Benavides presents a comforting reminder nestled in nostalgia. A small music box attached to the front of the projection screen plays a gentle melody. Kerri Coar’s reference to art making points to a clever, self-effacing wit. Jung Hee Mun’s two pieces of swirling colors intertwined with figures look like the beginning of a project that should be pursued and refined. These motifs deserve further exploration and the brush work could use some sharpening. I think these would deliver a greater impact if they were on a larger scale.

Jung Hee Mun

Andy Benavides

Kerri CoarDerek Allan Brown

At first glance, Ruth Buentello’s series of paintings at 1906 Gallery seem to have a very strong Kehinde Wiley influence. Like Wiley, Buentello is portraying historically excluded figures on an embellished background. But unlike Wiley, Buentello’s portraits are heartfelt and telling of their subjects.

Ruth Buentello

Carlos Hernandez fills the SMART Art Project Space with graphics of Day of the Dead rock stars. Rock goes San Anto. Frankly these are a little silly and a kind of sloppy.

Carlos Hernandez

Lone Star Studios features a group exercise in quality craftsmanship. Carlos Don Juan shows some admirable contemporary portraiture.

Carlos Don Juan

At Gallista Gallery, Alejandro Padilla’s abstract compositions range from being too symmetrical to just poorly constructed. For me, these examples of pure design are too shallow to be engaging as fine art. These would a make a great album cover.

Alejandro Padilla

Marcus Rubio and the Gospel Chior of Pillows end the night’s festivities on a high note.

all photos Jeremiah Teutsch