Thank You

Nicole Hayden, "Tout le Monde en Veut et J'en Veux Aussi" Oil and acrylic on canvas 60 x 84 inches

Since the gallery will be closed on November 26th and 27th for the Thanksgiving Holiday we thought we would lay out who and what we are thankful for today.

First, thank you to our fantastic artists:

Jose Arenas, Jenny E. Balisle, Olivia Brown, Sukey Bryan, Ed Calhoun, Dana Chen, Jimmy Chen, Jeff Dikio, Peter Dimick, Ann Eby, Leah Feinstein, David Fullarton, Gerald Gavzy, Fain Hancock, Nicole Hayden, Jennifer Hendricks, Phillip Hua, Bryan Ida, Eric Jabobsen, Ivy Jacobsen, Phillipe Jestin, Andrzej Michael Karwacki, Hugo Kobayashi, Yoon Jeong Lee, Katja Leibenath, David Lippenberger, Jeff Loehman, Jeanne Lydon, Jessica Martin, Liz Maxwell, Anthony May, Marty McCutcheon, Carolyn Meyer, Mark Oberlin, Tjasa Owen, Siddharth Parasnis, Heather Patterson, Eddie Rodriguez, Catherine Saiki, Michael Shankman, Addie Shevlin, Angela Simione, Piero Spadaro, Anne Stryke, Joel Tarbox, Katherine Valentine, Nicholas Van Kridjt, DAVe Warnke, Ann West, Tim Yankosky, and Ute Zaunbauer.

You are a pleasure to work with, and your art never ceases to excite and amaze.

Thank you to our staff:

Shanna McBurney, DJ Harmon, Piero Spadaro, Erica Willingham, Jenny Hay, Andrew Rogers, and Heather Neumann.

Your dedication keeps the gallery running like a well oiled machine.

And, last but not least, thank YOU!

We love having you in the gallery, whether you are an art lover, a collector, or renter. You help make HANG a special place.

If you are thankful for something that is not on the list, add it to the comments below.

DAVe back in the Mission

DAVe Warnke, "Brilliant Corners" mixed media on canvas, 72" x 60" 2006

HANG artist DAVe Warnke got his start running around San Francisco’s Mission district with a pocket full of stickers and a healthy disregard for private property. Several years later DAVe is back in the Mission, this time in more legitimate terms at Farina Focaccia & Cucina Italiana. If you want to see the piece, you have until January 2, 2010.

For those of you in for more of an art adventure, DAVe’s work can still be found in its native habitat, on the streets and buildings of Oakland.

CH+D Hit List

HANG ART artist Phillip Hua has been featured in the November/December edition of California Home and Design. The editors nominated Phillip, and then polled to the Internet to get the peoples choice. Phillip won by popular vote, and as we all know, it is the popular vote that counts.

The article reads…

When San Francisco artist Phillip Hua wanted to make a statement about the economy, technology, and the environment, the old mediums just weren’t cutting it.  For his newest series, “Re:action” Hua traded in the canvas and paintbrush for less conventional materials: Sheets cut from The Wall Street Journal are carfully collaged together to create the “canvas” on which he prints ethereal images of trees the he creates in Photoshop. Hua then seals the finished product with carefully applied strips of packing tape and mounts it on aluminum. The pieces have caught the eye of both the art and design communities. Hua will be part of a show opening in January at Hang Art in San Francisco.

Congratulations to Phillip!

The Beginings of Model Behavior

The aftermath...

On Sunday, November 15th we had a select group of HANG ART artists over to the gallery for a private figure drawing and painting session. We closed the doors and set the gallery up as a studio, hired two models, and provided snacks and beverages while the artists went to work.

Hugo Kobayashi working on a painting.

We started off slow with several five minute gesture drawings, and eventually increased into longer poses.

HANG ART Business Administrator and Sales Consultant Erica Willingham

Even members of HANG ART staff set up their palette next to our artists and took part in the exercise.

A painting in progress by Eddie Rodriguez

The three and a half hour workshop served as a generative process for our December exhibition, appropriately titled, Model Behavior.

Katja Leibenath, working on a sketch

After the workshop was over we transitioned into an artist potluck. We had a blast hanging out with our artists, and we think they had a pretty good time too.

Check out more images below.

Phillip Hua getting ready to paint.

Sukey Bryan

Eddie Rodriguez

Liz Maxwell

Drawings by David Fullarton

 

Twenty Four Seven – Compressed

We set up a camera to take one photograph every thirty seconds of our opening reception for Twenty Four Seven.  The results were then compressed into the video above.

Between the video, and the artwork online you are just a glass of wine from actually being there!

Q&A – How do you hang art?

Do you have a question that you have always wanted to ask a gallery, but felt too intimidated? Well, following the fine lineage of Dear Abby and tracing it all the way to Savage Love, we are now answering those nagging questions. To kick things off we are tackling the age old query of “What is the right height to hang art?” If you have a question of your own, preferably related to art and the gallery world, please drop us a line at blog@hangart.com, or in the comments below.

A willing volunteer for a hanging demonstration, Eddie Rodriguez, "A Glorious Ruin"

Q: What is the proper way to hang art?

A: As our name implies, we know a thing or two about hanging art. Placing that perfect painting on the wall takes a some work, as well as some tips of the trade.

The first thing you should know is that, like most galleries, we hang art at 56″ on center. This is number has been passed down for generations as the optimal average height of the human eye. Now, it’s not set in stone. Sometimes with a lower ceiling, or a larger artwork we tweak it a little. However, 56″ on center serves as a great general rule.

Unfortunately, this does not mean that we can just tack a nail at 56″ from the floor and Bob’s your Uncle. On center means that the center of the painting should be located at 56″ from the floor.  Determining how to center the painting at 56″  requires a little math and a touch of planning. To make things easier we have broken the whole process down, step by step, with pictures.

1) First, make sure that you have the appropriate tools. We have our hanging hardware, a hammer, measuring tape, level, a calculator, and a pencil.

A calculator isn't necessary, but it helps.

It's important to have the painting too.

2) Second, measure the height of your painting, and divide it in half to find the center.  In our example the painting is 30″ tall. When divided in half, we determine the center is at 15″.

30" tall

3) To get the center height for banging the nail into the wall we need to take into account that the painting is hanging from wire. We do this by measuring the distance from the wire to the top of the painting. Keeping in mind that the wire will be taught when hanging. In our example the wire is 5.75″ from the top.

Make sure that the wire is taught

4) This is where the calculator comes in handy.

Starting from the top we take 56″ and add half the height (15″) to get 71″. Subtract the wire height (5.75) and we end up with 65.25″!

Starting from the top we take 56" and add half the height (15") to get 71". Subtract the wire height (5.75) and we end up with 65.25"

5) After we mark the height we are ready to pull out the hammer and start nailing away. We use picture hooks, especially important in seismically challenged San Francisco. Make sure that the bottom of the hook, where the wire rests, lines up with your mark.

6) Go ahead and slip the painting on to the hook and eyeball it to make sure its level.

Sometimes we have a hard time leveling by eye

7) Finally, get a spirit level out and make sure that the piece is nice and level.

8) Now you all you have to do is sit back and enjoy your artwork.

If this still sounds intimidating, we can recommend a couple of fantastic art handling and installing services that will take all the guesswork out and get your artwork on the wall.

Keeping Art Alive

Jose Arenas "Evening Gross Beak (detail)" one of the many pieces availiable at the Visual Aid auction

When HIV/AIDS hit the Bay Area art community Visual Aid was quick to respond by helping, “produce, present and preserve the work of professional, visual artists in need, those whose careers are challenged because of any life-threatening illness.”

Being a benefactor is difficult, which is why Visual Aid calls upon artists, galleries and collectors alike to come together once a year for their amazing auction. This year HANG ART, along with HANG artists Jose Arenas, Katja Leibenath, Hugo Kobayashi, Mark Oberlin, Addie Shevlin,  Phillip Hua, Angela Simione, Piero Spadaro and Tim Yankosky have donated work.

The auction takes place on Saturday, November 14th, 4-9pm at 934 Brannan Street in San Francisco. We will be in attendance, looking to get some good deals on art, and helping a worthwhile charity. You can get your own ticket here.

Academy Faculty + Alumni Art Auction

Siddharth Parasnis "California Baja 19"

Several of our artists have strong ties to the Academy of Art University. Quite a few are either Faculty, or Alumni, or in some cases both.  That’s why the line-up for Saturday’s Faculty + Alumni Art Auction looks very familiar.

Our feelings wont be hurt if you take a look at the catalog, or even buy a piece, since 50 percent of the proceeds are donated directly to the Student Scholarship Fund.

Twenty Four Seven – November 1-15, 2009

HANG ART is pleased to present Twenty Four Seven, a group exhibition of new works by HANG ART artists Jeff Dikio, Katja Leibenath, and Catherine Saiki. A reception for the artists will be held on First Thursday, November 5, 2009 from 6pm to 8pm at HANG ART, 567 Sutter Street, San Francisco.

On view November 1 – 15 2009, Twenty Four Seven takes on the varying perspectives of day and night. These artists each share unique outlooks on the every day and evening and the secrets that are unveiled within each hour. Whether it be a delicate painting of a deserted amusement park in the depth of twilight or a quiet and evocatively outlined scene of a of the fog meeting the sea – this grouping of art provides the viewer with an entirely different outlook on the day to day and night to night.

 

Jeff Dikio, "Fun Land"

Jeff Dikio’s paintings are narrations of life choices with simplicity of form and a distinctive personal painting style. In his figurative works, sparse landscapes rendered in a rich, dark palette focus the attention on the psychological state of his solitary personages. Dikio earned his BFA in painting at UC Santa Cruz and participated in a study abroad program in Prague.

 

Katja Leibenath, "China Basin #14"

Katja Leibenath began compiling a detailed photographic diary of her surroundings; her paintings are often based on these studies. Leibenath has been painting in San Francisco since 2006. Her work as been showcased at SomArts Gallery, Artist X-Change Gallery, RSSB at UC Berkeley, The Lab, and Liquid Spaces. Leibenath earned a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture from the Peter Behrens’ School Of Architecture in Duesseldorf, Germany.

 

Catherine Saiki, Pacifica III

Catherine Saiki’s abstract paintings are inspired by the industrial city — from the steel detritus left in the wake of urban development to the rusty patina of an ever-changing landscape. Saiki documents and reassembles these found moments through the textures and colors of her paintings. She received her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2005 and her BA from Scripps College in 1995. Saiki currently lives and works in Oakland, California.

HANG ART is located at 567 Sutter Street, between Mason and Powell Streets. Gallery hours are Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm and Sunday from 12pm to 5pm. For further information or high resolution images, please call 415 434 4264.

Art In Storefronts – Phillip Hua

Apparently we missed Mayor Newsom, but when we stopped by the Art in Storefronts opening on Friday, October 23rd the party was still going strong.

HANG ART artist Phillip Hua

HANG ART artist Phillip Hua was one of a handful of artists selected to transform a vacant storefront into a work of art.

His piece, titled Consider It, will evolve over the course of time to increase environmental awareness. The near vacant space features a clock, set to the eleventh hour, accomponied by a chair with the words “Stand-Up” stenciled on it.

Considerate - Consider It

The top of the storefront had the phrase, “The Time is Now,” serving as a friendly little reminder that a little action goes a long way.

You can check out the installation yourself at 984 Market Street in San Francisco, right next to The Warfield Theater. Just be sure to hurry, after all, “the time is now.”