The Main Gallery: Fine Arts and Crafts Gallery in Redwood City, CA SF Bay Area

The Poetic Image

themaingallery — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:00:39 +0000

Teacups by Andrea Rosenman

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From Three Mornings In January by Pixie Couch

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Love the Questions by Erna Metzger

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Crow Tells Me by Nina Koepcke

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Escaping Art by Tony Williams

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Gentle Things by Belinda Chlouber

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Gold by Ginger Slonaker

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Wise Sheep by Teresa Silvestri

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A Series of Seven Paintings by Terri Wilson Moore

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The Poetic Image

A Collaboration of Words and Images

Redwood City, CA –On view April 25^th through May 26^th at The Main Gallery is the exhibition The Poetic Image with Belinda Chlouber, Pixie Couch, Diana Herring, Nina Koepcke, Terrie Wilson Moore, Andrea Rosenman, Ginger Slonaker, Teresa Silvestri and Tony Williams. The gallery, located at 1018 Main Street in Redwood City, will host a reception with the artists on Saturday, April 28^th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. There will also be a closing reception with poetry readings and artist talks on Saturday May 26^thfrom 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Here is a small sampling of what you will find from the exhibition The Poetic Image:

After passing away last year after a tragic illness, Belinda Chlouber’s mother, Carla Chlouber, whom she loved dearly, left many poems and short stories. Belinda states, “I have been working with her poetry and recently started working with my grandfather Arthur Sweet’s poetry after I found a long lost notebook of his poems at Christmas. Their poetry has greatly inspired my recent mixed media work and I feel I am collaborating with them in spirit. Two of the pieces in the show are based on my mother’s poems, ‘Sunday Evening’ and ‘Blackberry Wine’ and another is based on my grandfather’s poem, ‘Gentle Things.’ The small monoprints I am showing also have bits and pieces of both of their poetry. Working in this way with their poems has expanded my imagination, helped me heal the loss and see the invisible thread that runs through generations where life is a continuation not a ending.”

Mary Oliver, the American poet who is known for her poignant observations of the natural world, inspired Teresa Silvestri‘s watercolor paintings. Silvestri comments, “In my new painting ‘Wise Sheep,’ I could imagine the long life and maturity in the sheep’s eyes: She has seen much and is the wiser for it.” Oliver expresses the sentiment this way in her poem “Messenger”: “Are my boots old? Is my coat torn? Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished….” For Silvestri, the New England setting of Oliver’s poems also reminds her of her own recent trip to Cape Cod, which inspired her to capture a few of those special memories with her paintings.

For his photograph “Escaping Art,” which was taken at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, Tony Williams wrote his own poem to accompany the photograph. He is also showing a series of poetic desert landscapes. Williams will also have a display of his Perspective Image work at Kondeterei in Portola Valley for the month of May.

In interpreting the theme of The Poetic Image, Diana Herring chose to focus on the process of creativity. One piece in the show is entitled “Can the Poet Carry the Meaning of Life Across the Bridge of Art into the Land of Joy?” The other is a description of the “Seasons of Creativity”–spring, summer, fall, and winter. Another piece, in a slightly different style, is a comment on the great blues song, “Mother Earth,” as sung by Memphis Slim. Herring states, “These are similar to previous work I have done in that I can only get inspired by a humorous approach to life”.

Pixie Couch likes to transfer poems or pieces of poems onto clay surfaces. The words are either imprinted or written and the clay is formed to reflect the scene or feelings of the words. “I’m working with two local poets. Marian Slattery is a potter/poet and lives in Palo Alto. Her poetry evokes a range of images,” writes Couch. A line from “Drawn to the Dark” by Slattery holds special meaning for Couch: “mythic forests hung with tangled fronds, that way calls me.” Couch continues: “Philip Hubbard is a potter/poet living in San Francisco who writes Haiku as a daily diary. After a walk he recorded the event as this haiku:
Spring flowers swaying
by the San Andreas fault –
it’s only the wind.

Bringing that to a clay expression is just plain fun. Usually my work is thrown on the potter’s wheel, but all the work for this show will be hand built. Much of it uses varieties of clay and natural geologic stains for color.”

Nina Koepcke tells us, “The pieces that I made for this show are outgrowths of my interest in and observations of ravens, crows and other birds. I read a great many poets’ writings before settling on the works of four poets. Two, Charlotte Muse and Len Anderson, are personal friends and two, Philip Levine and Charles Wright, are former national poet laureates. Each poet had something unique and inspiring to say about birds and their relationship to the human condition. I spent a great deal of time thinking about these poems and how I might best interpret them in ceramic form.”

Koepche will be traveling to Berlin, Budapest and Prague with nine other artists from around the US at the time this show opens. They will be visiting galleries and artists’ studios and sharing images of their work with artists in all three cities. She will also be visiting Barcelona on her own at the end of this trip to see the Gaudi sculptures there.

Erna Metzger is showing handmade paper pieces with a simple, earthy feel to them. Metzger states, “I found the process of making a visual response to poems very stimulating and discovered many, many great poems to inspire future works.

Alara Slonaker, Ginger Slonaker’s fourteen-year-old daughter wrote a poem entitled “Mr. Gold“ which inspired her mother to create a diptych after the poem. Alara Slonaker states her poem “Is about sacrificing what’s really important for artificial reputations and material wealth….it’s about Rumpelstiltskin”.

The show richly mixes famous poets with local poets and aspiring poets then giving the poems a visual voice. The closing reception will host poetry readings and artist talks and is scheduled for Saturday, May 26 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the gallery. Please come join us where you can enjoy hearing the art and seeing the art!

The Main Gallery, an artists’ cooperative with some 23 members, showcases the work of some of the best local talent in the Bay Area. The Gallery is located at 1018 Main Street at the corner of Main and Middlefield in the historic yellow Victorian Cottage in Redwood City. The Gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

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themaingallery — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:05:46 +0000

Another Look – Artists’ Choice,

themaingallery — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:15:42 +0000

On view March 21st through April 22^ndat The Main Gallery is the exhibition Another Look with Arup Biswas, Katinka Hartmetz, Nina Koepcke, Nancy Terrebonne, Robert Terrebonne, Tony Williams and Susan Wolf. The works are all favorites from earlier shows, being given “Another Look”. The gallery, located at 1018 Main Street in Redwood City, will host a reception with the artists on Saturday, March 21^st from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Here is a small sampling of what you will find from the exhibition Another Look;M

“The screen ‘Food Chain’ was a lot of fun to produce!” Katinka Hartmetz says. “I knew what I wanted to portray the damage and loss of integrity of our sources of food, so I searched through old mid-century design books and magazines for images of food and farms. The result was images of chickens, farming and food.” Hartmetz will also be exhibiting “Red Wine” which she states, “Is my favorite collage I’ve ever done.” The piece has a lot of color, mainly red and uses handmade papers she has collected over the years and some papers she made herself. Hartmetz is a master at using “upcycled” material, “Food Chain” reuses closet door panels and many of her pieces you would never recognize the original piece for it!

For Susan Wolf, “These are the pieces that came out as I had planned – the colors, the proportions, the whole look of them. In a few cases they were even better. And yet, the gallery’s patrons didn’t feel the same way!” Don’t worry, patrons, you will get another chance!

Having not displayed a few of his favorite pieces in the gallery for a while, Arup Biswas, carefully selected his pieces for Another Look. “However, an artist never stops growing, so, I refined these photographs to bring them in line with my current interpretation of the images. Color plays a dominant role in the pieces but I try not to use color as a decorative element. Rather, I am fascinated by the role color plays in evoking the deep emotional response in the human psyche.” Biswas successfully intertwines his native Indian culture with his adopted American to create visually fascinating images.

Nina Koepcke, is showing pieces from three of her favorite series; Women artists as portrayed through their clothes, a series of sculptures of gloves and birds and a sculpture series of my basset hound, “Fred”. Koepcke states, “The women artists’ series portray articles of the their clothing along with aspects of their life and art such as bones, animals, sketch pads, etc. The glove pieces grew out of the clothing series and were a way of looking at the nature/human interface and the Basset Hounds were life size portraits of my pet two dogs at the time.” These are lively and thoughtful pieces which are delightful!

“The work I am offering brings back great memories. All of the images touch me in a very profound, historic way given they are milestones on my journey as an artist.” says Tony Williams. A couple of images were recorded on William’s 2005 trip with two of his daughters and one son-in-law to Germany. Another was recorded before dawn at the foot of the Dumbarton Bridge in 2002.

Remember, none of the pieces in this show were created for this show – they are all favorites from earlier shows, being given ‘Another Look’. Not to be missed!

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Erna Metzger

themaingallery — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:25:45 +0000

In the course of doing much figurative work, combining painting and drawing elements, I “discovered” the world of paper, with its myriad of textures, colors, translucencies. These papers are incorporated into recent mixed media work along with other items such as silk, thread. I begin a work with a vague idea, perhaps a theme, often figurative. Papers are collaged,colors applied, layers added. Something emerges, disappears and then maybe resurfaces. The relationship between background and foreground is dynamic and it is this relationship which intrigues me and then propels me to the finished work.

Transparency remains an important theme, with many rudimentary marks showing through. All layers of the work act together serving as a metaphor for our public and private lives.

These glimpses of worlds underneath are central to my current work. The history or the process of the work has become as important as the final piece. It is my hope that each passage or layer of the individual work might trigger a connection to the viewer and his/her own life.

Mainly Clay

themaingallery — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:45:58 +0000

The Main Gallery is excited to announce their annual Mainly Clay show, which opens February 15^th and runs through March 18^th. This year the gallery’s three-dimensional artists, Pixie Couch, Doris Fischer-Colbrie, Stephanie Harper, Nina Koepcke, Andrea Rosenman, Vicki Wilkerson, Susan Wolf and Susan Yamaguchi have come together to bring you exciting new work. Andrea Rosenman, a fiber artist and Stephanie Harper, a glass artist add a touch of something different than clay, thus “mainly” clay! The gallery, located at 1018 Main Street in Redwood City, will host a reception with the artists on Saturday, February 18^thfrom 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Here is a small sampling of what you will find from the galleries three-dimensional artists for the Mainly Clay show:

“For amusement I have been playing with animals in utilitarian ware and in wall pieces. Some have taken the form of cake testers and others appear on platters. Birds populate wall pieces. All aim to delight,” states Doris Fischer-Colbrie. In addition, Doris’s constant exploration of surface treatment of vase forms continues.

By pressing clay bits onto cardboard boxes she uses for molds, Pixie Couch says she makes “boxes from boxes.” After making two of the same box, the pieces are joined together to make a closed box form. A hole in the top and feet are added and “voila” they become small vases, making wonderfully unique gifts.

Couch is also continuing her wall angel series, stretching out clay for wings, and incorporating the human face into the pieces. Couch exclaims, “I have a new lovely white matte glaze that I’m using for my functional bowls, cups and plates. It gives the brushwork decoration a soft, pastel quality.”

Although Susan Wolf doesn’t think of it as a theme, most of the work she presents for this show has to do with butterflies. The Rain Forest Exhibit at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco inspired Wolf and “she knew she needed to do something with butterflies.” Wolf goes on to say that when she makes butterflies out of clay, “they are far more earthbound than I had hoped, but then, clay is about as far away from butterfly wings as one can get. I’m getting some of the colors that I want, and at the moment I am trying to finish a set of teapots with butterflies, that, I am hoping, will convey some of the lightness!”

Nina Koepcke has several themes and sources of inspirations for The Mainly Clay Show; Nursery Rhymes, word play on themes and titles, combining earlier work with new elements to refocus the meaning of the original pieces, and combining found objects with clay images. These lively playful pieces will add that “bit of whimsy and joy” to help remind us to never stop “playing”.

Don’t miss seeing a sampling of some of the Peninsula’s best three-dimensional art at The Main Gallery!

New Year, New Work

themaingallery — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:50:39 +0000

Redwood City, CA –Please join the Main Gallery artists in celebrating the New Year with a sneak peek at their latest work. The New Year New Work show opens January 11th and runs through February 12th. The gallery, located at 1018 Main Street in Redwood City, will host a reception with the artists on Saturday, January 14th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m..

Ceramic artists, Pixie Couch, Susan Wolf and Doris Fischer-Colbrie have been working on new clay pieces for the current show, New Year New Work show and the Mainly Clay show, which will showcase many new ceramic pieces by the galleries ceramic group and is scheduled to open February 15th, 2012.

Learn more about our exhibit

The artists are excited to ring in the New Year and share some of their newest work with you! Here is a small sampling of some of the work you will find:

The unique square vases by Pixie Couch are made by stamping and pressing clay within small cardboard boxes. They are wonderful vessels for the safekeeping of those special cherished treasures.

“Seashells” are the continuing theme of Susan Wolf, she is exhibiting a couple of wall pieces that are elongated snail shells of smooth unglazed sculpture clay, one red and one green—“More or less!” Wolf states. For the Mainly Clay show in February Wolf is hoping to have some small butterfly wall plaques of porcelain along with some small cup sets, stoneware jars with painted birds and “perhaps” teapots.

Doris Fischer-Colbrie’s circular ceramic vases explore different surface treatments and use heavily textured glazes. These easy-to-use, dramatic vases have an earthy, raw feel that will enhance any living space. Colbrie exclaims about the Mainly Clay show in February, “I am excited about the new angular vases made from a very coarse clay that I’ll be presenting.”

Having recently found lost poetry written by her mother and grandfather, Belinda Chlouber has monoprints inspired by her grandfather, Arthur Carlos Sweet. “Youth: Love and Loss” utilizes images evoked from the poetry and intertwines bits and pieces of text throughout the work. The work is haunting yet beautiful in its portrayal of youthful love. Also exhibited is a piece inspired by a short story that Chlouber’s mother, Carla Chlouber, wrote, “Woman Not Born Beautiful.” Chlouber states, “In my new work, I want to reach back into the past and create what I call ‘generational art.’ In going through my mother’s papers I realized that I am far more connected as an artist to my ancestors than I had previously thought—that life and art continue across generations.”

This is just a sampling of what to expect with many other new pieces by the galleries artists so come enjoy an evening viewing art celebrating the New Year at The Main Gallery’s reception on Saturday, January 14th from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Stephanie Harper

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Susan Yamaguchi

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Tony Williams

themaingallery — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:36:57 +0000

Nearly twelve years ago, after having spent many years exploring metal sculpture (fun, but too much like my job) and poetry (enlightening, but accessible to so few) as paths to sate my creative desires and establish my place in the world, I found digital photography. This new technology freed me: it freed me from the darkroom; it freed me from the economic and physical limitations of film; it allowed me to be the master of my product. Most importantly the digital milieu permitted me to go out into the wide world, engage its never ending grandeur, record it as I see it, and return with beauty to share.

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Artists

themaingallery — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:10:29 +0000

Andrea Rosenman

The Main Gallery: Fine Arts and Crafts Gallery in Redwood City, CA SF Bay Area

The Poetic Image

Teacups by Andrea Rosenman

From Three Mornings In January by Pixie Couch

Love the Questions by Erna Metzger

Crow Tells Me by Nina Koepcke

Escaping Art by Tony Williams

Gentle Things by Belinda Chlouber

Gold by Ginger Slonaker

Wise Sheep by Teresa Silvestri

A Series of Seven Paintings by Terri Wilson Moore

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Another Look – Artists’ Choice,

Aspen Forest

Wild Canaries

Peony

Painted Bark Tree

Daisy

Eureka Dunes

Food Chain Screen (close up)

Erna Metzger

Mainly Clay

Flower Plate by Pixie Couch

Is the Cake Done Yet? by Doris Fischer-Colbrie

Woven by Stephanie Harper

Mmmm by Nina Koepcke

New Year, New Work

Necklace by Elfi Altendorfer

Green Relief vase by Pixie Couch

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Lips by Belinda Chlouber

Red Snail by Susan Wolf

Crawl-Swirl by Doris Fischer-Colbrie

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Morning Glory by Robert Terrebonne

Poppy and Pod by Irene Carvajal

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Stephanie Harper

Susan Yamaguchi

Tony Williams

Artists

Clay

Mixed Media

Painting

Photography

Printmaking

Textiles