"!@#$%" Selected Group Show
By Mary Hrbacek

Surprises abound in this lively arrangement of mostly works on paper, curated by Mariko Tanaka and Alredo Martinez, where the unexpected seems to be the rule. Even a manual elevator which stops on the gallery floor is outfitted with audio art by Hong Kai Wang. In all, twenty artists are included in the show.

Standouts include a wall installation by Yuko Oda, swarming with delicately cut paper flowers whose petals double as tentacles; hanging butterfly by Oda, with tissue paper wings made from q-tips hovers nearby, and Ben Ruhe's Divine Daze of Deathless Delight; a painted and collaged sketchbook that features a busy cartoon-like hero is a wonderful work of book art. Another is Damon Shair’s pyramid-shaped installation of poetic drawings executed on printed pages, pinned loosely to the wall. This installation succeeds as a unified whole; but each page is also a complete work unto itself that echoes the playful approach of Paul Klee’s imaginative works.

Collage informs three predominately pink colored multi-media works on canvas, with personalized Mexican imagery by Tamara Gonzalez. A group of dramatic paper-works rendered in acrylic, ink, collage and magic marker by Jacob Williams brings a somber tone to the proceedings, with Japanese pop-culture-based horror images of free-flowing forms and over-lapping figures. These robust pieces contrast with Emily Noelle Lambert's very personal works, in which images of young girls interacting with their friends trail off the page. These pictures team with imagery.

Digital photography, as a distinct medium, is represented here in an installation of photographs by Olimpia Dior and J. Miller depicting stages of graffiti as it appears on urban buildings. This ironic series succeeds in immersing the viewer in a hands-on "do it outdoors" art-making adventure that mimics a wall of graffiti. In a similar vein, Niki Kelce uses mostly red marker, paint pen and pencil, to create overlapping circles within spheres, dotted lines, spirals and funny dolphins in a semi-abstract diverting array of forms and images.
Most of these works are sophisticated and hip, characterized by their free form style and a fresh use of materials; there is also an added excitement in the way the show’s curators have managed to reinterpret prevailing art trends with an emphasis on surprise.

5/23 Through 6/6.