see you in June

(June 9th-July 15th, 2012)

Opening Reception: Saturday, June 9th, 6-9pm
Closing Tea & Artist Talk: July 15th, 3-6pm (talk at 4pm)

Crystal Morey will explore the impact and stresses mankind has imposed on animal life and our natural world. She will pay particular attention to species that have been endangered or have become extinct due to urban development, industrial agriculture, over-hunting and loss of habitat. She will also examine how these changes may affect human psyches, emotions, and actions.

Crystal will look at the way mankind interacts with the natural world and the predator versus prey relationship that they share. Nature has always governed human and animal life; evolution had its own timeline and plants and animals coexisted. Crystal will address and examine the acceleration that has occurred in natural lifecycles caused by technology and human growth. One way for us to gauge our effect on the earth is through the health of other species around us.

Crystal wants to bring awareness to these ideas through sculpture that expands beyond what is true and what we know into an enigmatic realism that is of another world. Through combining human-like figures with ghostly animals she will draw a narrative of connectivity showing the relationship that exists between humans, animals, and nature. She will investigate the delicate, interwoven dependencies all creatures share, and the strengths and mysteries found in our world.

A look at the decidedly unstuffy North Oakland galleries and studios.

By Obi Kaufmann (Photo by Obi Kaufmann)

Click HERE to go to the online article

The Compound Gallery & Studios (1167 65th St., Oakland) has long been a noble outpost on the northern frontier of the Oakland art scene — happy in its own world, far from Art Murmur’s gravitational sway. Started four years ago (a long run in the volatile world of the gallery business) by powerhouse couple Lena and Matt Reynoso, The Compound has significantly diversified its offerings over the years, and they’re worthy of examination: In addition to the main gallery and more than twenty artist studios, it’s also home to a gallery featuring works made by its studio artists, a special collections room with flat files, the art subscription service Art in a Box, and The Admiral Dot Miniature Gallery, which proclaims to be the smallest gallery in the West. Yet the Reynosos say that their vision is only now being realized.

Given all the amenities offered there, The Compound aims to provide a full-service operation for the working artist. “So you have an artistic epiphany at 2 a.m., and you are suddenly hit by a moment of inspiration,” Matt Reynoso gave as an example. “You need to hand-forge and weld a steel sculpture, make a wood box for it with hand-printed silkscreen graphics, photograph it, put it on your website, print 1,000 letterpress posters commemorating it, and make a celebratory ceramic stein — this can all be achieved here.”

There is something so very right and strange about The Compound: an unapologetic welcome-ness where the spirit of creativity is fostered so communally that it becomes a purple, happy cloud that hangs in the air, intoxicating all. It’s decidedly unstuffy — a posture that promotes both a dizzying array of beautiful work and, sometimes, an overwhelming salon where the uninitiated eye is never able to appreciate any singular presentation.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Among the exhibits right now at The Compound are Buy American by Clare Szydlowski, in which she explores the American dream with new genre, including packaging in a pseudo-retail experience; Things Fall Apart, a group show curated by Oakland painter Alison OK Frost in the Studio Gallery; the imaginative works of Masako Miki at The Art in the Box headquarters; the paintings of Jeanne Lorenz in the special collection; and, lastly, Rex Waters in Admiral Dot. All shows run through May 6.

SATURDAY, APRIL 7th, 1pm

It’s also The Compound’s 4 year Anniversary, so we have a lot to celebrate! Bring the whole family!  Event is from 12:30-4pm. The RIBBON CUTTING is at 1pm SHARP!

Easter eggs will be hidden throughout with tiny prizes within. Every person that comes through the door will automatically receive a raffle ticket! Raffle prizes will be announced at 3pm. We will be raffling:

-A subscription to Art in a Box
-Art in a Box T-shirts
-artwork

New Work by Clare Szydlowski

(March 31st-May 6th, 2012)

Opening Reception: Saturday, March 31st, 6-9pm
Closing Tea & Artist Talk: Sunday, May 6th, 3-6pm (Talk at 4pm)

Buy American: New Work by Clare Szydlowski opens March 31 2012. In addition to Szydlowski’s solo work, the backroom of the gallery will features Things Fall Apart, a selection of work done by Compound Studio artists addressing the theme of fragmentation. Szydlowski’s solo exhibition continues her ongoing exploration of the American Dream. She often refers to the visual relationship between the areas she grew up in—from the towering industrial decay of Buffalo, NY to the sprawling antiseptic tract houses and strip malls of Orange County, CA.

In this show, she takes on the bargain store: a land of great buys, exclusive offers, giant values, money back guarantees, chances to win, last chance savings and free trials. Packages hang on peg hooks and sit on shelves, patterned with ribbons, banners and starbursts–trappings inherited from the traditional awards presented at county fairs. There is something comforting about this place. Something assuring in the symbols and terminology present in these packages, in the movements of shoppers as they lift products off the walls, examining prices, ingredients and claims.

However mundane, curious, or bizarre–this setting is uniquely American. In America, outlandish daydreams become manufactured realities, just as perfectly manicured lawns pepper the Arizona desert. If American promise is limitless what about our desires as Americans—is there something we are looking for amongst the claims: security, guarantee, and value–assurance that our choices are good ones? Szydlowski follows this inquiry through cut paper, multilayer screen printing and repetition. By borrowing the language of packaging, in Buy American, she illuminates these inarticulated desires that fuel our compulsion for material acquisition.

ART & COPY

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

8:30pm Doors open
9:00pm Art & Copy

ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising’s “creative revolution” of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for “Just Do It,” “I Love NY,” “Where’s the Beef?,” “Got Milk,” “Think Different,” and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.

Click Here to go to our Art Movie Night Page

(February 11th-March 25th, 2012)

Opening Reception: Saturday, February 11th, 6-9pm
Closing Tea: Sunday, March 25th, 3-6pm

Featuring work by: Lisa Berman, Matt Chase, Tim Fite, Rachel Foster, Vanessa Huang, Jemmy Joe, Claire Kessler-Bradner, Bryan Kring,  Mary Laird,  Studio Lorzig, Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., Rebecca Peters, Lisa Rappoport,  Two Fine Chaps, and more.

Co-curated with Rebecca Peters

The Compound Gallery in Oakland, CA is pleased to present The Art of Letterpress, an exhibition celebrating the bygone era of letterpress printing.  A visual panegyric in honor of this distinctive form of artistry, The Art of Letterpress features some of the finest letterpress artists in the Bay Area and beyond.  Today, we text, email, and print at the touch of a button, making it easy to forget how labor intensive it was to simply make a sentence and reproduce it multiple times.  In an increasing digital age, people long for something that is tangible and tactile—analog. The characteristic texture, ink, and surface of letterpressed text declares it an antiquated champion of typography.

Typography was once used to express both language and visual imagery, and the process involved in producing prints involved both craft and artistry. This exhibition features the work of artists who work in letterpress using both traditional type setting and modern polymer and magnesium plates, and was co-curated with exceptional Bay Area letterpress artist, Rebecca Peters.  Although the Bay Area is home to a lively, active scene, which promotes the revival of letterpress printing, letterpress printing is often overlooked as a form of fine art.

Renowned letterpress artist Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. lives and works in Alabama and is known for his bold, boundry pushing prints.  Kennedy has been commissioned by CB2 to create a series of limited edition letterpress prints for Gay Pride Month, and he is the feature of a recent documentary titled Proceed and Be Bold!  (Screening at The Compound on March 22nd at 9pm) Lisa Rappoport is a Bay Area artist who publishes poetry broadsides and artists’ books and has produced a series of broadsides by the poets who teach at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers; she has also printed poetry broadsides for Lawrence Ferlinghetti and City Lights Books, Lyric Poetry Review, and many others. Tim Fite is a Brooklyn artist best known for his original music.  Esquire Magazine called him, “one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most subversive renaissance men,” but he is also an amazing visual artist. His letterpress printed linocuts are playful, telling images of love and strife.  In addition to a display of various letterpress prints, bins of small prints, books, and broadsides, this exhibition will feature timeworn letterpress paraphernalia, ephemera, equipment, and more.

THE BASICS OF HAND-SETTING TYPE FOR PLATEN PRESS 101

Saturday, April 28, 2012 1-5pm

$75 per person. No prior experience necessary. You’ll be walked through the basics of hand-setting type as we make awesome postcards that you’ll be able to take home. We’ll also be printing from a photopolymer plate. You’ll get some hands-on experience in feeding the press, but this will mainly be instructional. There will likely be a future class, where those of you who have taken this one can come in and set up your own type to print.

-Price of workshop INCLUDES material fee.
-Each student will also be able to take home 10 letterpress cards made in class.
-No previous experience is needed.
-Delicious Numi Tea and light snacks will be provided.

POSTER MAKING: HAND-SETTING TYPE ON A VANDERCOOK PRESS

Saturday, April 7th, 1-6pm

$90 per person. Class size is limited to 6, so please register early to get a spot. Class is taught by the fabulous Rebecca Peters. No previous letterpress experience necessary. Learn basic wood and metal type setting using large type and print a 12″x18″ poster to keep. Some block images available as well. Come with a phrase, text, or saying in mind and design your own poster on the Vandercook 14 & 5 hand proof presses.

-Price of workshop INCLUDES material fee.
-Each student will also be able to take home at least one 12″x18″ poster print. Students will print at least 6 prints and exchange so everyone comes home with multiple prints.
-Come with a phrase in mind to print.
-No previous experience is needed.
-Delicious Numi Tea and light snacks will be provided.

proceed and be bold  Movie Screening

Free Screening for our Art Movie Night on Thursday, March 22nd 2012, 9pm

At 40 years of age, Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. abandoned the traditional American Dream to follow his own. Unsatisfied with his comfortable, middle-class life, Amos traded in his computer for a printing press and his white collar for a pair of overalls. Armed with life, liberty, peanuts, and a meager yearly income of $7,000, Amos cranked out a new, mutinous declaration of independence.

Proceed and Be Bold! joins Amos for a titillating retelling of his story, while examining the pretensions and provisions of the art world. The work of this self-proclaimed “Humble Negro Printer” raises emotionally-charged questions and reveals remarkable depth beneath the bold print. By learning the rules and then choosing to break them, Amos redefines what life (and letterpress printing) can be: exhilarating and subversive.

[Show as slideshow]