Review of SF Art Market

Location: Fort Mason, San Francisco, Dates: 4/27 - 4/29,  Tickets link

What did you think of this year's show?

This year had many more toned down rich people at the event than last year.  I think one of the favorite things to note is what kind of crazy haute culture will be shown by people.  The most notable I think was a possible Russian mafia figure with shiny Pretty Woman black plastic coat on, which was pretty entertaining.  There was also a guy wearing red faux fur and platform heels with crazy spikes and a 5-oclock shadow.  Of course, only on the VIP night will you find the really exotic people.  I think the event if you're not buying anything is likely much more enjoyable on say Saturday or Sunday after the art mob has already seen the show.

What were some of the most notable pieces?

One of my favorite pieces was by a Korean gallery that had this traditional Chinese style landscape reimagined with tiny details of modern life interspersed in medieval landscape.  Then because this is a live TV installation, you see figures float by on bombs and then a massive attack chopper flies by.  I love the message of this.  It was like Korea was being bombed by Western culture as if the art titans of America controlled how Trump thought about nuking the entire North Korea for the purpose of being right and forcing Kim's hand.  It's interesting because this piece works on your mind after awhile. 

Another really strong piece was called #MAGAburger.  It was an installation of a microwave, a set of instructions and a football tub of Tang.  On the back of the wall is sprayed MAGA in red in simple tag style and then off to the right is the Renoir that hangs in Trump's NYC condo.  The instructions are to take a burger, microwave it, then pour a tang drink and consome.  Then all will be MAGA! Total hilariousness.  The curator will let you know that the Renoir at Trump's condo is actually a fake, which surprised me since he could in theory have bought a Renoir no sweat.  Of course, in a Trump hotel there was a fake Playboy magazine even though he has a real Playboy article.  ​

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Another trend was art with a high level of pattern detail with a high-level of intense craftsmenship.  Above we have the artist cutting wood or plastic into little triangles, paint them and glue them into this square on one end.  It doesn't really say anything, but is pure beauty from an asthetics standpoint. 
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Were there other aspects of throwback to previous styles?

I think that is one of the constants in the art world and this show was no different.  You had all kinds of repetition of past successes: hyper-realism with no idea behind it, pop art replays and reimagined art.  One example would be Vemeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was redone as a photo of an Asian lady priced at $5000 I think.  It's well done, but is a remake worth $5000? I don't know as it really doesn't tell me anything of today's world.

Did you see massive success at the show?

​I think the most successful was GATS art.  He had at least 80% of his artwork: skateboards and painted driftwood sold already.  I would have put in an offer, but having $0 income almost really limits your spend.  

What were some of the best paintings?

I think my favorites were the abstracts as the hyper realism just didn't say anything to me.  So great art, but a photo would have said the exact same thing... snooze fest.  The art above was shown last year and I really enjoy this style as it has great variety of color, values and light with beautiful impressionist colors.  

Another really great surprise was these mirror works done on 4 inches of depth with a feel of 10 feet feel of depth.  It really blows your mind visually and only walking behind the works convinces your mind you are not looking at 10 feet deep work.

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What do you think was the crowd pleaser?

There is an artist that does these paintings of book reports by a 8-10 year old kid and then given an F by the teacher.  It really captures the adult version of an 8 year old report with the annoying adjustments by the teacher trying to reel in the creative imagination of a child.  They were great last year and another hit this year.

If you had $10,000 to exhibit in the SF Art Market, which artwork would you show?

Asexual Affliction Absolution - 48 x 48 inches 

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 I could show them say this work "Asexual Affliction Absolution" in my Metal Mayhem style.  This is a technique using a base layer in brush work and then using metal tools to finish off the painting.  I chose the name based on the colors of the asexual flag, which I stumbled upon.  You can see a painting demo here

If I did have a $10,000 spot though I would also show my Architectural Abstraction style.  Below you have the work that I initially thought was going to be limited in color, but ended up adding many colors. All these works are based on strict geometric relations of 30/60/90 degrees. I think its like geometry at war with itself and highly violent.  This work was finished close the accidental atomic sensor set off in Hawaii that freaked out the civilian population for no reason due to clumsy technician between shifts or maybe a deliberate take by Trump to show how serious he is to North Korea.  Who knows? 

Accidental Atomic Aloha - 48 x 48 inches

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