Fresh Friday Finds: Seeing Things Gallery

“Eat With Your Eyes,” says photographer Jai Tanju, co-owner of Seeing Things Gallery located in downtown San Jose with wife, Blanche Gonzalez. Oftentimes, that’s totally what happens there – a sense of visual nutrition, filled with inspiration and collective ideas. The gallery exhibits monthly solo and group shows, sells art, photo books, zines, tees, and totes.

Deadbeat Club: Field Trip

I’ve been lucky enough to check out some really rad art these past few months now that I live and work nearby. From Lance Cyril Mountain’s “Multiple Personalities” mixed media show to Deadbeat Club’s “Field Trip” group photography show, and I recently stopped by the gallery to check out “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore,” a Morrissey group show currently on display.

Morrissey Group Show – Current Exhibition

Frida – Resident Dog

All Photos © Bernadette Cruz

Follow Seeing Things Gallery on Instagram and Facebook for more information and upcoming events. If you find yourself in the South Bay this weekend, Friday 6/6 & Saturday 6/7, stop by  their booth at the SubZERO festival in downtown San Jose and say hi. They will be selling some books, zines, and other merch.

 

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Fresh Friday Finds: Zio Ziegler

Today’s Fresh Friday Finds is Zio Ziegler, a San Francisco based spray paint muralist, painter, screen printer, and sculptor.

© Zio Ziegler

Ziegler’s got an awesome signature solid black patterned style that is easily recognizable, whether he’s painting giant murals around San Francisco, getting commissioned to paint a Porsche Carrera 911, live painting at the Vans Village for SXSW in Austin last month, preparing for his solo show, “Et in Arte Ego,” that just opened in Milan, or collaborating with Pottery Barn Teen.

Check out this time lapse video of Ziegler at work to promote his Arte Sempre project!

From ZioZiegler.com

I’ve often been asked what my symbols mean in relation to one another, and while I hint at their meanings with a reference in a title, their meanings are as ephemeral as the process itself. This transience of meaning serves as catalyst for each viewer’s understanding. Because each painting lacks a singular explanation, the viewer is faced with self-reflection of his or her own life and internal pursuit. My paintings have subjectively different meanings for each person that views them, and through the observer’s own balance of reason, context, and intuitive reaction, each one serves as a starting place of thought and reflection rather than a means to an end.

There is no conclusion, only more questions. There is no meaning except for that which the viewer designates. My paintings begin with an existential journey, and can only end with an absurdist conclusion – the rest is just a vehicle for conveying this.

 

 

Monday Funday: Lance Cyril Mountain’s “Multiple Personalities” at Seeing Things Gallery

I went to the opening night of Lance Cyril Mountain’s “Multiple Personalities” show at Jai Tanju‘s Seeing Things Gallery in San Jose this past Saturday. I checked out some rad art, met and congratulated Mountain, caught up with some dudes, and met the artist’s father and skateboard legend, Lance Mountain too. Somebody pinch me!

photo © Bernadette Cruz

Mountain’s “Multiple Personalities” exhibits minimalism through a variety of works – from mixed media collages with typewritten messages and large scale paintings to framed photographs, screen prints, and paintings on canvas. His pieces go back to basics by showcasing familiar lines, shapes, primary colors, earth tones and splashes of metallic. This approach provides viewers with an accessible and unassuming window into Mountain’s abstract visual form of expression.

photo © Bernadette Cruz

I got the chance to see owner Jai Tanju again and reconnect with San Jose local skater Jason Adams. I hadn’t seen Adams since his NYC visit back in 2010 when we checked out his “American Boarders” portrait at Paul Rusconi‘s solo show at Upper East Side’s Stellan Holm Gallery, and then a couple months later at The Movement‘s fifth art party presented by Jersey’s own Sic Chix Production. I got to catch up with The Kid again, but now on this cool spring Saturday night on the west coast in San Jose – just over the hill from my new hood and home. After nearly six months out here, I still can’t believe this is my life!

photo © Bernadette Cruz

Be sure to check out Lance Cyril Mountain’s “Multiple Personalities” at Seeing Things in San Jose if you find yourself in the South Bay these next few weeks. Visit http://www.seeinghthingsgallery.com for a full list of all artwork, pricing, and shows!

Art Opening: Caia Koopman’s “Gear up” at Bela La Vie Boutique & Gallery

The “Gear up” show featuring paintings by pop surrealist Caia Koopman at Rachael and Steve Caballero‘s Bela La Vie Boutique & Gallery is this Saturday, October 19 from 7-10pm at 311 E. Campbell Ave. in Campbell, CA. Come support local shops & artists if you are around!

From CaiaKoopman.com:

From the land of surf and sea, Caia Koopman has emerged as one of lowbrow’s preeminent female artists.

With a well-rounded background from her years spent obtaining her BA in Fine arts from UC Santa Cruz, to her time spent in the skateboarding and snowboarding scenes, Caia’s environment has both molded and provided an eclectic background that makes her paintings come to life. With her fine detail for beauty, inclinations toward nature, and collectiveness of the female spirit, Caia has quickly become one of the quintessential artists fully encompassing the elegance, strengths, and vulnerabilities of femininity.

Her work is alluring and has a hint of whimsy. It delves into the fascination of women, in both our conscious and subconscious ideals of the feminine role in society. Caia consistently submerses herself in subject that matter that is ingrained and full of cultural connotations.

Caia’s work is infused with a variety of cultural, political, environmental, sociological, and dreamscape references. Her influences serve as an amalgamation bringing her world to life through deliberate references and reverent imagery, with the finished work deriving strength and beauty from the artist herself. Her playfulness in her brush strokes is a constant struggle with the reality and solidity of the paint itself which comes across in her work as complimentary forces bringing together a gorgeous and powerful masterpiece.

Art Opening: Jimbo Phillips’ “Skate and Create” at Bela La Vie Boutique & Gallery

Pro skater Steve Caballero and wife Rachael Caballero opened Bela La Vie Boutique & Gallery in Campbell, CA a year ago. Tonight they celebrate the store’s one year anniversary with an art opening reception for graphic designer & illustrator Jimbo Phillips‘ “Skate and Create” show from 7-10 pm at Bela La Vie located at 311 E. Campbell Ave. Support local shops and artists and check it out if you are in the area!

Opening Reception: “Friendly Fire” at Seeing Things Gallery

Jason Adams & friends collaborative art show opening reception for “Friendly Fire” at Seeing Things Gallery in San Jose, CA this Friday, March 29 at 7pm PT!