Author: robert
Elizabeth Eicher and Hélène Schlumberger in The Ramp Gallery, April 30–May 21
What: “Awards Presentation” by STADIUM
Where: The Ramp Gallery, a community curated space at 934 Brannan St. (between 8th & 9th)When: April 30–May 21, 2012
Presented by STADIUM, ”Awards Presentation” explores ideas within the competitive natures of accomplishment and failure. The show displays various tokens of achievements. STADIUM wants to learn how to succeed in failure and fail within success.
Jesus Landin-Torrez III in the Ramp Gallery
What: Manifesting the Soul by Jesus Landin-Torrez III
Where: The Ramp Gallery, a community curated space at 934 Brannan St. (between 8th & 9th)When: April 30–May 21
Manifesting the Soul is the introduction of a life-long project of Jesus Landin-Torrez III. It is an attempt by Jesus to record and represent the human soul. He does so by using the theories of quantum physics and psychoanalysis within the early Orchestra of the Soul journals of the astronomer-cosmetologist Dr. Marlo Shotgun. Jesus transposes consciousness and human experience into musical scores. When played, these scores become a manifestation of the individual’s soul. This exhibition displays the artifacts, ephemera, notes and diagrams of the project.
Alex Wang in The Ramp Gallery, April 2–April 16
What: The Fire Escape Series by Alex Wang
Where: The Ramp Gallery, a community curated space at 934 Brannan St. (between 8th & 9th)When: April 2–April 16
The Fire Escape Series contains seven drawings that document a series of street interventions conducted from the artist’s fire escape throughout 2011. At their core, these drawings attempt to address the curious disparity between art (creative practice in general) and Art (fine art subculture). By re-presenting site-specific actions and made-for-gallery drawings, the artist seeks to investigate the benefits (or lack thereof) in tailoring these practices for the Fine Art arena. The artist is interested in how the realm of relational art has been recently integrated into contemporary institutions. The work here explores how a critical stance can be maintained between two seemingly distant art practices.
Alex Wang (b. 1983) lives and works in San Francisco. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Social Practice at the California College of the Arts.
Kenny Kong in The Ramp Gallery, March 12–April 2
What: Fortune and Funk by Kenny Kong
Where: The Ramp GalleryWhen: March 12–April 2
Crafting stylized sculptures from both a traditional Chinese and an urban cultural heritage, Kenny Kong explores what it means to find one’s own culture by embracing another. The hybrid of traditional Chinese forms and modern-day hip-hop seemingly oppose each other. For example, the 12 Chinese zodiac determines one’s fate from birth, and hip-hop provides a platform for spontaneous self-expression. Fortune and Funk brings the two together. By doing so, Kenny hopes to put the power of one’s fate into the viewer’s hands. 
Dalia Anani in The Ramp Gallery, February 20–March 12
What: Preoccupied Series by Dalia Anani
Where: The Ramp GalleryWhen: February 20–March 12, 2012
In the words of the artist, Dalia Anani, “My work is fundamentally concerned with the historicization of invisible cultures, and specifically that of the Arab-American diaspora in a post-9/11 political climate. My present work moves forward from the #occupymovement, as I have already begun to witness its early misrepresentation in the media. The Preoccupied Series attempts to shift the dialogue around strategies of protest, while formally paying homage to the long histories of the domestic, feminist, and labor movements. In this series I employ the strategy of my past work, and utilize soft materials to convey harder narratives.”
Jack Leamy in the Ramp Gallery February 6– 20
What: Asphalt Meditation by Jack Leamy
Where: The Ramp GalleryWhen: February 6–20, 2012
In the words of the artist, Jack Leamy, “These portraits are culled from death mask archives of American statesmen that I have painted on asphalt. The asphalt becomes spatial like a starry night and symbolizes the road behind us and beyond us; it is the slate of memory and destination. The challenge is to breathe life into these literal headstones, these death masks. Like the ghost of Hamlet’s father come back to enlighten us, these portraits are intended as warnings. These American fathers are made into living indictments questioning the state of our union and individual socio/political accountability.”
Nolan Jones in The Ramp Gallery through February 6
What: Nolan Jones in The Ramp Gallery
Where: The Ramp GalleryWhen: January 14–February 6, 2012
This body of work, designed and created by Nolan Jones, is based on research into the text-based visual art of John Cage, who often played with typography and graphic design in innovative ways. After designing the web graphic for Get Lucky: The Culture of Chance, Nolan was asked to further explore the concepts of his design for a solo show in The Ramp Gallery.
The large piece on display in The Ramp was created by building a highly varying font-type lexicon and applying a chance operation structure. The smaller work highlights Nolan’s custom font for Get Lucky.
