Thursday I attended this month's Art Mix at the Crocker in Sacramento. The theme was water, titled 'Quench'. I mostly went to check out the Armin Hansen exhibit and to see what the whole Art Mix thing was about since I had not been to it before. The event was fun. Maybe not as sophisticated as the DeYoung's Friday night soirees, but I had a good time. I think events like this one have a lot of good energy, if that makes sense.
There was a dancer set to give a water themed performance at 7:30, so we arrived in time to see that. Also in the main lobby area there was a water preservation/sculptural booth where patrons of the museum could convert their good water spending habits into lengths of tubing to add to a growing sculpture.
After the dance we retreated upstairs to visit Armin Hansen's Artful Voyage. I had already seen the exhibition of Ligare's work, which honestly I wasn't overly impressed by. Whether that was due to the work itself or to the way it was presented is up for debate.
Before we made it to the gallery rooms where Hansen's work was displayed, a room full of blue and white pottery caught my eye. This room would turn out to be one of the major highlights of this trip. This particular exhibit was of Shimo's blue and white porcelains, called Flowers of Fire and Earth. I was blown away by the melding of traditional Chinese porcelain and landscape traditions with more contemporary forms. These porcelains appear luminescent, particularly so placed within the round widowed room where they were displayed. I would highly recommend seeing these in person. Pictures just don't do justice to the visual quality of these pieces. Shimo lives in Sacramento and Shanghai and believes in melding themes of western and eastern art.
Going into the Hansen exhibit I wasn't expecting to be wowed. To be honest the whole theme of water and fishing is kind of blase to me. But I was wrong. I loved the emotion and use of harsh hurried brushstrokes mixed with dark highly pigmented colors. Some of the pieces showcased were very emotionally charged. Armin Hansen lived in the early 20th century and was a native of San Francisco.
Lastly I happened to see a work I had not seen before at the Crocker by contemporary artist, Beverly Rayner. Surveillance Apparatus, Infiltration Network Cell presents surveillance devices as living organisms. Her organisms are mixed media and she often uses photographs in her works. At the end of each tentacle Surveillance Apparatus has an eye looking out on its surroundings. I found this piece to be a really interesting invention that communicates well the fear of being watched. By converting machines into a living organism it is as if this living thing is watching us and judging us rather than a machine only recording what it sees.
