Brandon Shimmel (MFA 15) in solo exhibition Leisure Destination: Recent Paintings
January 6 – February 4, 2017
George Lawson Gallery, 315 Potrero Avenue (at 16th St.) San Francisco
San Francisco Bay Area artist Brandon Shimmel is interested in the trappings and seductive science of consumer marketing and retail display. He uses materials associated with window dressing (polished aluminum, colored plexiglass, pearlescent colors and Trompe-L’oeil surfaces) to extend his picture plane beyond the traditional window frame and by implication, to comment on the manner in which the object of desire is leveraged in consumer culture. His ability to successfully meld his painted surfaces with the partial surround of his framing devices extends the aura and reach of his imagery.
From Glen Helfand’s catalog essay, “Sometimes he paints seductive, painstakingly detailed, patterns that could be lifted from designer handbags or Burberry houndstooth. These motifs accessorize the paintings, but also complete them. They also cross the economic spectrum—from Burberry to Blue Blockers, the low rent sunglasses that inspire a 2016 painting of the same name—in which orange plexi suggests a filter through which we perceive aspects of the artist’s vision.”
Shimmel is a 2015 MFA graduate of California College of the Arts. This is his second solo show with the gallery. A 50-page color catalog with an essay by Bay Area critic and curator Glen Helfand accompanies the exhibition. The show will be on view from January 6 — February 2, 2017. An opening reception will be held at the gallery, located at 315 Potrero Avenue, on Saturday, January 7, from 4 — 6 PM.
http://georgelawsongallery.com/exhibitions.html
