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January 2, 2010
Mutant Anxiety
San Francisco Chronicle
'Mutant Anxiety': Angst, woes in colorful veins
by Patrick Knowles
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The cast of characters in the current exhibition at the Michael Rosenthal Gallery looks as if they came from the Island of Misfit Toys.
There are abominable snowmen dancing in knee-high socks, a buffalo surrounded by psychedelic droplets of stars, men in khaki pants holding wooden logs and what looks like a trippy Rorschach-esque pattern adorned with floating lips and snakes. "Mutant Anxiety," works by nine different artists from around the country, pops with playful color, bridges a street art sensibility with a contemporary gallery finesse and welcomes anyone who has ever felt like an eccentric oddball to explore.
When asked what anxiety or mutants might have to do with the collection, gallery owner and director Michael Rosenthal looks around the space and says with a smile, "Honestly, I still really have no idea. People will look for threads of meaning and some have a heightened academic approach to what art is and I respect that, but I want people to come see the work and find their own story."
He laughs and adds, "I suppose the one thing I did keep in mind was that this was a spirited show for the season, so I just tried to avoid paintings of people with knives in their heads or something."
Speaking by phone from Denver International Airport, Brooklyn artist James Benjamin Franklin contemplates modern-day nervousness and makes his way through crowded holiday lines. He says, "I don't think it is a new type of anxiety, but given the pace of life, we seem like we are all on a stage of high alert."
The sound of a woman's voice is heard in the background, informing people over a loudspeaker, that the U.S. threat level is orange.
"That was trippy," he says. "It's stuff like that that kind of mutates our lives these days I suppose. Maybe the work in the show is a response to that."
He adds with a laugh, "Then again, we are artists after all so maybe it just comes a bit more naturally to us."
San Francisco artist Matt Furie agrees. "I feel like this is an anxious mutated world we are living in right now," he says. "But then again, I also happen to draw mutated creatures that are worried about things. So while I didn't know about the title until later, it works just fine for me."
In the beginning of a year that saw a heightened economic strain throughout the art world, both collectors and artists alike are finally starting to see positive signs of change around the corner. In this context, the idea of having an unnatural fear is a fitting bookend to a decade with extreme highs and lows. While interpretations of the title will certainly vary, the success of "Mutant Anxiety" might indicate the fact that even though they were put through the ringer, the misfits of contemporary pop surrealism are here to stay.
- Patrick Knowles
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News Archive
September 08, 2010
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Megan Whitmarsh @ Fecal Face 10 Year Anniversary Show |
September 02, 2010
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Art San Diego Contemporary Art Fair |
August 07, 2010
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Amy Casey featured in NY Times Opinionator Blog |
May 21, 2010
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San Francisco Fine Art Fair |
May 15, 2010
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Alison Pebworth
Interviewed on Culture Wire |
April 03, 2010
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Kenneth Baker ( sf chronicle ) reviews Jane Fine at Michael Rosenthal |
April 01, 2010
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Alison Pebworth Receives CCI "Investing in Artists" Grant |
January 15, 2010
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Megan Whitmarsh
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December 3rd - 6th, 2009 |
November 21, 2009
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Lisa Adams
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November 12, 2009
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Megan Whitmarsh
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November 12 - December 19, 2009
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November 07, 2009
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Jillian Mcdonald
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November 7th, 2009 - January 3rd, 2010 |
November 06, 2009
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Amy Casey
Amy Casey and Jen Omaitz
Art Collinwood Gallery
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October 31, 2009
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Amy Casey
Amy Casey on the Cover of New American Paintings |
October 23, 2009
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Veronica de Jesus
Passport 2009
SF Arts Commission
October 23 + October 24, 2009 |
October 16, 2009
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Inga Dorosz
Team Painting: Stimulus Package
Atlantic Center for the Arts
Opening Reception October 16, 5 - 7pm
September 5 - November 7, 2009 |
October 14, 2009
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Jillian Mcdonald
Horror Makeup
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October 14, 2009 - January 31, 2010 |
October 07, 2009
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Amy Casey
Uncertain Times Review By Lauren Weinberg
Time Out Chicago |
October 05, 2009
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Jillian Mcdonald
Alone Together in the Dark - Social Studies Project 5
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October 5, 2009 - February 20, 2010
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September 11, 2009
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Amy Casey
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September 11 - October 31, 2009 |
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Jane Fine
Glad All Over
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Megan Whitmarsh
Yeti Crystal Rainbow
Krets Gallery, Malmo, Sweden
September 9 - October 11, 2009
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September 08, 2009
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Inga Dorosz
In Love With Night
Guggenheim Gallery, Chapman University
September 8 - October 9, 2009
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September 05, 2009
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Jillian Mcdonald
Shapeshifter curated by Michelle Handelman
Issue Project Room
September 5, 2009 8pm |
September 05, 2009
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Inga Dorosz
Team Painting: Stimulus Package
Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, FL
September 5 – November 7, 2009 |
August 28, 2009
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Tracey Snelling
Evolution of Print: Artists of Kala
Oakland Museum at the Oakland International Airport
August 28 - November 27, 2009
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August 19, 2009
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Jillian Mcdonald
Prozess curated by Jazz-minh Moore
Lyons Wier Gallery, New York
August 19, 2009 |
August 14, 2009
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Veronica de Jesus
Limited Edition Etchings
Now Available |
August 04, 2009
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Annual Biennial
In Your Face
KQED Review |
August 04, 2009
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Annual Biennial
Reception Photographs |
July 24, 2009
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Amy Casey
Interview by Vincent Wilkie
Diskursdisko
July 24, 2009 |
July 22, 2009
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Jane Hambleton
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Studio Visit
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July 18, 2009
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Mary Conrad
Impressions
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July 17, 2009
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Megan Whitmarsh
Artists draw on the tradition of comics for exhibit
Review by Jennifer Dean
The Press-Enterprise
July 17, 2009 |
July 16, 2009
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Amy Casey
IdeaStream Video Interview |
July 09, 2009
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Megan Whitmarsh
Now at Michael Rosenthal |
July 08, 2009
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Jillian Mcdonald
We Walk With A Zombie
Review By Johnny Ray Huston, Cheryl Eddy, and Tony Papanikolas
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July 8, 2009 |
July 07, 2009
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Lisa Adams
Interview by Qi Peng
Examiner.com
July 7, 2009 |
June 28, 2009
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Elizabeth Mooney
Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2006 State Museum Purchase Award
The State Museum of Pennsylvania
June 28 - September 20, 2009 |
June 26, 2009
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Lisa Adams
Lisa Pressman Art Blog Interview |
June 24, 2009
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Jillian Mcdonald
Monstrosities Reception Photographs |
June 23, 2009
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Jillian Mcdonald
Artist Talk at Michael Rosenthal
Thursday, June 25 7pm |
June 19, 2009
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Amy Casey
Cleveland Arts Prize |
June 17, 2009
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Jillian Mcdonald
Monstrosities
Written by Johnny Ray Huston
San Francisco Bay Guardian Review
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June 15, 2009
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Amy Casey
The Shiny Squirrel Blog Interview |
June 15, 2009
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Veronica de Jesus
Do The Waive
Review by DeWitt Cheng
Shotgun Review |
June 03, 2009
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Veronica de Jesus
Do The Waive
Review By Johnny Ray Huston
San Francisco Bay Guardian Review |
May 28, 2009
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Megan Whitmarsh
Visions of the Frontier
Le Institut Valencia d'Art Modern Valencia, Spain
May 28 - November 15, 2009 |
April 16, 2009
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Jane Fine
Middlebury College Student Weekly
Review by Ramona Richards
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September 01, 2007
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Tracey Snelling
Behind Closed Doors
Interview by Chuck Mobley
SPOT Magazine |
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