Rachelle Cohen

Title: new topographic

9"x10"

mixed media on paper, 2007

My practice is invested in how maps can portray issues that effect the environment, particularly a changing landscape. In this piece, the United States is a dense and lush environment, a landscape that refers more to its past than present or future. I am interested in how one's landscape effects their life and the pending consequences of climate change. I create new scenarios that are not based on scientific data of the future of the earth’s formation, but they raise questions as to what is plausible.

By Rochelle Cohen

http://www.rachellecohen.com/

philippe jestin

"Stream pose"2006
38”x 32"
Resin , wood , paint

“This work is the third piece in a serie started in 2004 where the drawing is extended out of the panel . In this process, I carve a shallow drawing in the wood surface which is then painted with multiples layers of white paint , sanded and polished . For this particular type of work , I use silicone molds to extend the drawing out of the surface. The pigmented resin is then poured into the shalow drawing to the point of overflowing on the surface creating a translucent relief. Hopefully the object is completed with the least traces of my intervention. This particular type of work is driven by a desire to bring forth a sculptural nature to a two dimensional surface.

Stream pose , is an allusion to two opposite states and also the color , rose. A human form isolated in the white surface and extending out of the frame in a frozen flow,within the idea of fluidity and the potential for transformation. Working with silhouettes of human bodies seems to generate a need to identify to define. In this particular serie the dripping resin can heighten the uncertainty. Moving out of a frame of thinking or being requires flexibility . I like to think of a visual fluidity as seeing and moving through . These are thoughts I carry in my life and my creative process. Beyond that it is up to the viewer and the many states of minds. One person once told me looking at this particular work that because of the resin extending down , it really felt like the body was missing the legs. I found this remark very interesting because of all the portraits that have been painted over centuries and all those heads missing their bodies. Later on that comment got me thinking and inspired me to start a new serie of works. "

By Philippe Jestin
www.philippejestin.com

A little about Philippe:
"A secret dear to me is as follow, I think therefore I am …not so sure…. "
Live and work in San Francisco.
Currently showing with Hang Gallery, San Francisco and looking for more representation out in the world…

Kevin Taylor

"Allegiance"
6 x 9
Materials: gouache, whiteout, graphite
Created in 30 minutes

"Once, when I was visiting a friend in Atlanta, Georgia, we were walking through his neighborhood which is called Cabbagetown. We came upon a nice pile of thrown out goods on the sidewalk. Amongst some other random items, was a really classy, tattered, and ancient notebook. The cover of the book was blank except for a yellow post-it note that read "Poetry from my early teens". Most of the book was empty, but on a few pages there were newspaper cutouts of published poems by whom I believe was the owner of the book. The cutouts were all published between 1925 - 1927. The paper had a great quality and naturally caught my eye. I took the book with the mind to fill it up with some drawings of my own. The image below, "Allegiance", is one of the drawings from that effort. Like a lot of my drawings, I begin not with an idea, but rather a stain. I spill or spit some fluid onto the paper, creating a random puddle of some sort. After the paper dries, I then get to looking "into" the stain for appealing imagery. Once the foundation of the image is established I begin excavating the image from the stain. The drawing is finished when a fully realized rendering arises from the once ambiguous blob. I enjoy this "looking glass" process quite a bit since it always produces some visual that would not have been created through a conscious mind."

By Kevin Taylor
www.kevinearltaylor.com

A little about Kevin:
Live/Work: San Francisco
Next upcoming show: The conference room, Feb. 16th, los angeles, www.theconfroom.com

Arthead Fundraiser at 111 Minna!

Arthead is hosting a fundraiser benefiting Kiva at 111 Minna Gallery on Tues. February 5th from 6-9pm!

I'm still looking for more artists to donate art to be auctioned off (silent auction style), so if you're interested please email me at nicolewintermyer@hotmail.com. And please pass this info on to anyone you think might be interested.

"Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back. " And with the money you get back, you can sponsor again. And again and again!

And, hey, if anyone knows a DJ who might want to donate his time...