Sanchez sculpture exhibit takes its cue from nature

Oakland Tribune, Mar 23, 2006 by Bonny Zanardi

'ORGANIC Matters" at the Sanchez Art Center presents nature- sparked sculptural work by students from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Curated by Cheryl Coon, the show includes works that range from the elegant to the humorous.

The sculptors have used materials that embody or mimic nature, such as crushed eggs, wax, vines, clay, bronze and resin.

Among the works is "Strange Fruit," Cynthia Kuhn's installation with a profusion of inventive flora and fauna that might have escaped from a genetic engineering lab.

Chrystal Powell's installations both fetishize and celebrate feminine adornment. Her materials include lipstick, hair and nylon stockings.

For Ed Reilly, wire is the material which is worked into airy wall sculptures. He uses his height and arm span to measure hundreds of yards of wire to begin the near-Herculean task of shaping the material to his vision.

Other artists in the exhibition are Cameron Bishop, Michael Braida, Shelley Monahan, Alexandra Ostroff, Jose Daniel Rojales, Dax Santi, Michael Steinmetz, Jennifer Surprise, David Swanson and Sydney Brown Tarman.

The Academy's sculpture department is led by Peter Schifrin, Margaret Keelan and Charlene Modena. They support and challenge their students to create work that explores conceptual, material and process-oriented sculpture.

You can see "Organic Matters" through April 8.

The Sanchez Art Center is at 1220 Linda Mar Blvd., Pacifica. Gallery hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Call (650) 355-1894 or visit http://www.sanchezartcenter.org.

Peninsula scenes

Mountain View artist Gladys Robinson is featured in the Portola Valley Art Gallery exhibit "Peninsula Scenes in Watercolor and Acrylic." The award-winning watercolorist is noted for her renditions of historical buildings.

She often sketches and photographs local landmarks such as the San Carlos Train Depot, Woodside Station or the windmills in Golden Gate Park, then creates the paintings in her home studio. "There is so much to enjoy on the Peninsula," she notes. "I do not need to go far for inspiration."

The gallery also is showing fired porcelain and stoneware pottery by Redwood City artist Jan Simpson.

The exhibit remains through April 23. The Portola Valley Art Gallery is at 765 Portola Road. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Call (650) 851-1563 or visit http:// www.portolavalleyartgallery.com.

Youth art

The 2006 Youth Art Show sponsored by the South San Francisco Cultural Arts Commission and Unified School District will be from 5 to 8 p.m. March 31 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 1 in the Municipal Services Building at 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco.

Admission is free. Call (650) 829-3800.

Land, sea and city

An exhibit of new paintings by Gene Zukowsky opens Tuesday at Gallery 9 in Los Altos. The Palo Alto artist creates landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes in a representational style.

Zukowsky has appreciated art since childhood. Now retired from a career in clinical psychology at the Veterans Hospital and on the teaching faculty at Stanford University, he has time to devote to the pleasures of painting.

His work has been shown at the Eriksen Gallery in Half Moon Bay and is in private collections on the East Coast and in California.

You can meet the artist at a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 30. Gallery 9 is at 143 Main St. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Belmont festival

This weekend in Belmont, the Sidewalk Fine Arts Festival will be at the Carlmont Village Shopping Center at 1049 Alameda de las Pulgas. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

A variety of art will be featured, including paintings, glass art, sculptures, photography, ceramics and jewelry. The event is free.

Call Pacific Fine Arts at (209) 296-1195 or visit http:// www.pacificfinearts.com.

Coffee art

Bean Street Coffee hosts an opening reception for "Cafe Cartoons" by San Mateo artist Tim McGee from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday. The shop is at 359 South B St., San Mateo. Call (650) 579-1844.

Information on visual and literary arts can be sent to Bonny Zanardi, San Mateo County Times, 1080 S. Amphlett Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402, faxed to (650) 348-4446 or e-mailed to bzanardi@aol.com.