exhibit reviews:
Val
Britton, 301 Bocana Gallery
San Francisco, CA
by Klaus Menziel
Gary
Baseman, Modernism Gallery
San Francisco, CA
by Tonya Warner
Not
Given, SF Camerawork
San Francisco, CA
by Tonya Warner
Seeing
Beyond Sight, SF Camerawork
San Francisco, CA
by Tonya Warner
La
Femme de Nulle Part, doggerfisher
Edinburgh, UK
by Rea Cris
Val Britton: Near and
Far
301 Bocana Gallery
San Francisco, CA
10 March – 21 April 2007
by Klaus Menziel
301 Bocana Gallery is a place I stumbled upon quite accidentally while
on a spontaneous manicure and ice cream adventure up Bernal Hill. Tucked
away on a little side street off of Courtland, the small space is very
intimate – almost too much so, giving the feeling of walking into
someone’s office/living room. Unfortunately, like the thrift store
Out of the Closet, the work in the windows gave misleading optimism for
what was inside. I know this sounds harsh, and it makes perfect sense
to put the best work where passersby will see it, but I must say the show
really was mixed in terms of quality. The artist herself even seems to
recognize it, writing, “I often find myself teetering on the brink
of what is too much and what is not quite enough.” Truly, the weakest
works on show felt as if there was too much going on, that Britton had
tried to incorporate too many layers and colours together.
All the pieces are based upon road and topographic maps, as an allusion
to her truck-driving father, along with the “geologic layers that
constitute memories.” (sure, why not?) Although the premise does
not sound like anything too exciting, the execution of the delicately
cut and layered large scale pieces of paper is quite well done on many.
Like I said before, the show is hit or miss, and there definitely are
some hits. In the better works, Britton manages to draw from source material
that is calculated and factual and create beautifully abstract compositions
removed from their geographical signifieds, whilst maintaining a sense
of the organic. What had begun as a project to reconnect with the memories
of her father and to generate a mythology of travel has become something
else entirely. The end product feels far more aesthetic and tactile, more
of an exploration of line and form, as well as the elements of process
and craft and the meditative nature of intricate, repetitive work.
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