Fine Arts at Garden Court in San Francisco

Posted on April 24, 2019April 24, 2019 by Jim Gallagher

An Archeaological Mystery: Discovering The Riace Warriors August, 1972.

Diver, Stefano Mariottini with bronze Riace Warrior statue, Aug 1972, Italy

On August 16, 1972 Roman diver, Stefano Mariottini, made a “macabre” discovery. He was diving at a depth of 8 meters in the waters of Marina di Riace (Reggio Calabria), when he noticed a hand sticking out of the sandy bottom. He began digging in the murky sea floor until it revealed at first a face and then a full body. Indeed, there were two bodies; one lying on his back another lying on it’s side. These are what are now known as the Riace Bronzes. Both statues are almost two meters in height.

In the following days municipal divers tied ropes to balloons that were then filled with air lifting the bronze statues to the surface. Statue B was recovered on August 21st, while Statue A was retrieved the next day (It had previously fallen back to the bottom once before being brought safely to the beach). ¹ ² ³

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The Riace Warriors (also referred to as the Riace bronzes or Bronzi di Riace) are two life-size Greek bronze statues of naked, bearded warriors. The statues are currently housed in the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia in the Italian city of Reggio Calabria. The statues are commonly referred to as “Statue A” and “Statue B” and were originally cast using the lost-wax technique ⁴.

These two warriors are an example of the severe style. The Severe or Early Classical style describes the trends in Greek sculpture between c. 490 and 450 B.C.E. Artistically this stylistic phase represents a transition from the rather austere and static Archaic style of the sixth century B.C.E. to the more idealized Classical style. The Severe style is marked by an increased interest in the use of bronze as a medium as well as an increase in the characterization of the sculpture, among other features. ⁵

The two statues are thought to represent Tydeus (Statue A) and Amphiaraus (Statue B), two warriors from Aeschylus‘ tragic play, Seven Against Thebes (about Polynices after the fall of his father, King Oedipus) ⁶ and may have been part of a monumental sculptural composition. The statues have lead dowels installed in their feet, indicating that they were originally mounted on a base and installed as part of some sculptural group. ⁷

Large cast bronze of head and torso, modeled after the Riace Warrior B; 20th century;

Currently, we have an imposing and detailed cast bronze torso and head modeled after the Riace Warriors, Warrior B. on display in our gallery at 1700 16th Street in San Francisco ⁸ ^jh

Lisa Espenmiller: The Way, Where You Come From.

Contmporary Bay Area Artist, Lisa Espenmiller

California Bay Area Contemporary Artist, Lisa Espenmiller “The Way”, uses line, movement, and space to focus intent on material and repetition of pattern, in a meditative process. Hers is a controlled technique akin to writing on a scroll. Espenmiller draws horizontal ink lines, one after the other, until the entire surface of canvas or paper becomes a field of meditative resonance. The lines and washes of color in her paintings are visual descriptions of the chi or breath-energy that flows through all things.¹

“I have this notion that art occurs in the process of life itself, and you don’t have to go outside of the context of your own life. It’s all there, and you just tap into it. You open up to it. You have to make yourself available to possibilities.”
— David Ireland, he Art of David IrelandThe Way Things Are ²

Lisa Espenmiller "Begin in the small," 2013 acrylic and ink on canvas over panel 20 x 20 inches — Lisa Espenmiller
“Begin in the small,” 2013
acrylic and ink on canvas over panel
20 x 20 inches

Lisa Espenmiller "Born in the void" 2013 acrylic and ink on canvas over panel 20 x 20 inches — Lisa Espenmiller
“Born in the void” 2013
acrylic and ink on canvas over panel
20 x 20 inches

Know when to stop, 2012 acrylic & ink on canvas over panel 24" x 24" — Lisa Espenmiller
“Know when to stop”, 2012
acrylic & ink on canvas over panel
24″ x 24″

Nothing slips through, 2014 acrylic & ink on canvas over panel 30" x 30" — Lisa Espenmiller
“Nothing slips through”, 2014
acrylic & ink on canvas over panel
30″ x 30″

Espenmiller.Ofitsownaccord.acrylinkoncanvas.24x24.1200 — Lisa Espenmiller
“Of its own accord “
acrylic & ink on canvas over panel
24″ x 24″

Lisa Espenmiller, "Some breathe gently", 2013 | acrylic & ink on canvas over panel | 36" x 36" — Lisa Espenmiller
“Some breathe gently”, 2013
acrylic & ink on canvas over panel
36″ x 36″

Artist’s Statement

The lines and washes of color in my paintings and works on paper, visual descriptions of the chi or breath-energy that flows through all things, seek to sober and quiet the mind. When the mind quiets it becomes susceptible to inspiration, to movement from the microcosmic to the macrocosmic. Whether the body of work attempts to depict the inner scenery of breath-energy (The Way, Where you come from), the ever-shifting inner and outer landscape (the groundless ground), or talismanic power (chant), the goal is to engender a stilling of the hyperactive mind so the viewer can recognize the existence of a source that transcends human or divine authority – what Lao Tzu refers to as “dark-enigma” – the chi-tissue of empirical reality and the empty opening of consciousness itself.

The paintings and works on paper function both as mirror and window. Viewers are encouraged to stand before each one allowing the piece to offer a reflection of what’s inside or a view into another layer of reality. Think of them as modern mandalas or yantras.

As in meditation, my process requires that I remain rooted and immersed in the realization of the piece for a focused, uninterrupted period of time. There is little time or space for the logical mind to intervene in an attempt to control the outcome. The pace of each line, the movement of the brush or pen are guided by intuition and “no-mind,” accepting and trusting what presents itself in each fluid, changing moment.

These Featured works by Lisa Espenmiller are presented by Art Consultant, Laurie Ghielmetti Interiors + Art ³ and can be viewed at Garden Court Antiques at our 151 Vermont Street Showroom in San Francisco’s South of Market Design Neighborhood.

Artist’s Social Portals

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Connie Goldman: The Constancy of Change and The Predictability of Uncertainty.

Much of Bay Area Artist, Connie Goldman’s ¹ work relates to upset equilibrium and the tension between stasis and flux. Her work is reductive and abstract yet deeply personal. As with equilibrium, it is not static but always on the brink of changing in one form or another.

As part of our Temporary Contemporary Fine Arts Exhibit Garden Court has introduced Connie Goldman’s abstracts to our Vermont Center Gallery. Combining contemporary alongside the antique reflect the juxtaposed styles of designers and collectors today. Our Fine Arts Exhibit is presented by Art Consultant, Laurie Ghielmetti Interior + Art ².

Connie Goldman, Phasis XI, 2007, Oil-on-panel, 32 in x 60 in.

Connie Goldman, Phasis X, 2007, Oil-on-panel, 32 in. x 60 in.

Phasis Series

Phasis n. a manner, stage, or aspect of being; phase .

Phase n. (1) any of the major appearances or aspects in which a thing of varying modes or conditions manifests itself to the eye or mind (2) a stage in a process of change or development (3) the particular appearance presented by the moon or a planet at a given time.

Lunar Phase – Lunar phase refers to the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer, (usually) on earth.

The multiple panels allow for time elapsed and changing points of view. These pieces speak to the constancy of change, the predictability of uncertainty. ³

The creative process for Ms Goldman often begins with sketches and words. Phasis began with sketches ( At point 1:25 in the video above ) and a rift on ‘Phases of the Moon’. A self-confessed ‘Geek’, Ms Goldman loves words. She will sit and read the dictionary. “Language, music, poetry”, she says,”has a certain meter to it, a regularity like our own heartbeat”. She’s also a “Quote Junkie” having collected thousands of them over the years. These quotes serve as a type of shortcut to express ideas and a personal point of view. Ms Goldman read a few of her favorite quotes to Blogger, Phillip J. Mellen of Ahtcast in a 2013 interview. ⁴

Robert Henri ⁵ (leading figure in the Ashcan Art Movement ⁶ of the early twentieth century): “The object isn’t to make art, It’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable” ⁷

Frank Lobdell ⁸: “Sometimes it’s not what one puts into a painting but rather what one leaves out that makes a compelling picture.” ⁹

Pearl Buck ¹⁰: “The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To them a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstacy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a God, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism, the overpowering necessity to create, create, create, so that without the creating of music, or poetry, or books or buildings or of something of meaning, their very breath is cut off. They must create — must pour out creation. By some strange unknown urgency, they are not really alive unless they are creating. “ ¹¹

Patti Smith ¹²: “In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life, may you proceed with balance and stealth.” ¹³

Marcel Proust ¹⁴ : “The real voyage of discovery consists in not seeking new landscapes but having new eyes.” ¹⁵

Anais Nin ¹⁶: “There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risks it took to blossom.” ¹⁷

Constantin Brâncuși ¹⁸ : on Abstraction. “When you see a fish, you don’t think of its scales, do you? You think of it’s speed, it’s floating, flashing body seen through the water. If I make fins and eyes and scales I would arrest its movement. Give it pattern or shape of reality. I just want the flash of the spirit. “ ¹⁹

Paul Cézanne ²⁰: “Painting is damned difficult. You always think you’ve got it but you haven’t. I could paint for a hundred years, a thousand years, without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing.” ²¹

Bay Area Abstract Artist, Connie Goldman.

Asked to apply three to five words to describe her work, Ms Goldman responded, “Quiet, understated, musical. My work is far-reaching, referencing other disciplines, language and music; the spaces that exist in music, haiku, proportion.” The creative process is never-ending. Of her work, Ms Goldman observes: “You can’t master it. You can’t completely master it.”

Connie Goldman, Captive I 2006 Oil-on-panel 53 in. x 43 in. x 2 in. — Connie Goldman, Captive I, 2006, Oil-on-panel, 53 in. x 43 in. x 2 in.

Connie Goldman, Captive II, 2006, Oil-on-panel, 48 in. x 39 in. x 2 in.

Artist Statement

Using a minimalist vocabulary and a reductive aesthetic that emphasizes the importance of space, rhythm, structure, and relations, I make works of art that are concrete and essential approximations of my own emotional and intellectual experiences. The work reflects my interests in architecture, music, science, sculpture, and painting as well as the threads of commonality that run between them.

The tendency or desire to gravitate toward unity and stability is in opposition to the urge toward independence, transition, and growth. My work evokes this same tension, the dynamic that underlies my own existence. I see each piece as being analogous to the rhythmic and contradictory forces of stasis and flux that propel my world toward both constancy and change.

The Artist’s social media portals

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Ann Holsberry: Nomadic by Nature.

Bay Area Artist, Ann Holsberry, works in cyanotype¹, a kind of photographic printmaking that yields a rich Prussian blue combined with gouache (an opaque watercolor paint). She uses this process in a painterly manner to convey vast impressions of the oceans and cerulean skies in her Migration series which is now on display at Garden Court’s Vermont Center Showroom presented by Art Consultant, Laurie Ghielmetti Interiors + Art ²

Holsberry’s Migration series is fluid and ever-changing. Using a combination of source materials—her Qi Gong meditation and movement practice, images from the Hubble Space Telescope, old maps, and her collection of nests, feathers, and other ephemera—Holsberry creates stunningly beautiful works that engage the viewer and encourage deeper reflection. Her pieces draw inspiration from nature and her fascination with migratory birds—which often appear as metaphorical symbols in her work —but her meditations on migration also delve deeper. Her works map emotional territory born from semi-annual trips to France.

Being somewhat nomadic by nature, I like to move about, establishing little studios wherever I land for a while. For the past decade, I have spent part of each year living and working in France, where I find inspiration in the rich cultural history and beauty of Europe – in particular, Paris. It is a place where serendipitous discoveries seem to lead me in unexpected creative directions.³

Additionally, she is moved by the experience of seeing family members and the increasing numbers of people being pushed and pulled around the globe; movement that needs to be expressed. Though deeply personal, Holsberry’s work maintains an important universality, drawing on the individual, yet shared, experience of moving from one place to another.⁴

Ann Holsberry: Hover, 2014, Cyano Gouache 72 in. x 38 in. — **Ann Holsberry: Hover**, 2014, Cyanotype & Gouache on paper, 72 in. x 38 in.

The name cyanotype was derived from the Greek name cyan, meaning “dark-blue impression.” ⁵ The cyanotype process, together with a number of other, older photographic processes, was revived by contemporary photographers in the 1960s The basic cyanotype recipe has not changed very much since Sir John Herschel introduced it in 1842.

Ann Holsberry: Towards the Seas 1, 2014, Cyano 72 in. x 38 in.

Ann Holsberry: Towards the Sea 2, 2014, Cyno 72 in. x 38 in

Migration by Ann Holsberry from Tina Toriello on Vimeo.

Artist Statement

MIGRATION
I am fascinated by the movement of humans and animals across the globe, and am drawn to illustrate their webs and networks of transit. I am also fascinated by cosmology, in particular the way the earth and other heavenly bodies travel through space. Accordingly, my current work is inspired both by the movements of planets and stars, and by the complementary movements of animals and people across the earth.
To express these ideas, I work with cyanotype, one of the oldest alternative photographic processes. Cyanotype was the original process by which blueprints were created, and its blue color evokes skies and oceans, giving the works a vast, dreamlike, atmospheric quality. I begin each piece by painting the chemicals onto paper in the darkroom in varying patterns, after which I expose the prints in outdoor sunlight, sometimes working in locations over which flocks of migratory birds fly, or near oceans and rivers where whales and fish are migrating. Following the exposure process, I add gouache, ink, pastel, or wax to some of the works to further develop them as paintings.⁶

Ann Holsberry on Instagram⁷

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Zuber Wallpaper: Vue de l’Amérique du Nord

Zuber Wall Paper Panels, circa 1852, Mounted as a Screen — Garden Court Antiques Seven Panel Screen: Views of North America, West Point, New York – Historical Zuber & Cie Wallpaper panel.

“West Point, New York” is one scene from the scenic wallpaper “Views of North America” first produced by the French firm Zuber et Cie in 1834. This scenic contains 32 panels and shows some of the natural wonders of the continent: New York Bay, Boston Harbor, West Point, & the natural bridge of Virginia. Scenic wallpapers were introduced around 1804 and remained popular with new designs being introduced until 1865. Scenic wallpaper allowed the viewer to visually access an historical moment during the July Monarchy (July 1830- 1848) in which America was idealized as the future of France.

“Vues d’Amérique du Nord” offers an idealized view of Jacksonian America as conceived by its designer, Jean-Julien Deltil, who may never have visited the United States and based hiswork on the designs of Jacques-Géard Milbert, and designed the paper for Jean Zuber et Cie in 1834. Zuber crafted the paper using 1,700 hand-carved blocks and 223 different colors. The Frenchman’s scenes of free blacks engaged in trade, dressed in finery, and residing happily alongside their white counterparts presented an idealized (bordering on utopian) view of the newly born country, which may have been intended as a slight to the English as much as it was a glorification of the Americans’ nascent democratic nation.

In 1852, Jean Zuber took advantage of a nationalist wave in the US and republished “Views of North America”, as “The War of American Independence”. He substituted foreground figures so the Boston Harbor became the Boston Tea Party. Peaceful scenes became battlefields.

Zuber et Cie Headquaters Rixheim , France — The Zuber Headquarters, Rixheim , France

Between 1804 and 1860, Zuber Manufacture de Papiers Peints produced more than 25 of these panoramas wallpapers. The process is labor-intensive, requiring hundreds of hand-carved pearwood blocks. Unfortunately, the method of carving the blocks is virtually a lost art, a set for one panorama took up to 20 engravers a full year to complete. For some panels, 70 to 80 different woodblocks might be required, applied one by one in an exacting order. To create the horizon, four people work simultaneously using a complex hand-brushing technique, producing a velvety matte. The papers are then refined by hand and dried on huge racks. Zuber et Cie’s wallpapers are astonishing in their scale and painterly attention to coloration, shading, and detail.

It was reported that Zuber’s wallpapers were so renowned that King Louis Philippe honored him with the Legion of Honor in 1834, the year that ‘Scenic America’ was printed. The Zuber blocks were recently deemed an historic monument by the French government.

Fascinating & beautiful video from the Manufacturer, Zuber et Cie, which shows us how these these large-scale scenic block-print wallpaper panels are made using the same craftsmanship and time-consuming artistry that has defined their work for centuries. ** We recommend you turn the audio off, there is no narration and the music is, well, lacking. :)

The White House.

Jacqueline Kennedy was so taken by the beauty and historical significance of these wallpaper block print panels that she had one installed in the White House in the 1960’s
The Diplomatic Reception Room in the White House is one of three oval rooms in the White House. It was refurbished in 1960 during the Dwight Eisenhower administration in the style of the Federal period with antiques selected by New York interior designer Michael Greer. In 1962, with advice from American antiques expert Henry Francis du Pont, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had the room papered with antique French scenic wallpaper produced by Jean Zuber et Cie in Rixheim (Alsace), France c. 1834. The Zuber wallpaper, titled Scenes of North America, and features scenes of Boston Harbor, the Natural Bridge in Virginia, West Point, New York, Niagara Falls, and New York Harbor.
The sweeping panorama on the elliptical walls provide a sense of space negating the lack of windows. Additional Federal-era furniture was acquired, and upholsteries and the carpet furthered a soft gold and blue decor.
~ [Source: Author: Paulus Swaen]

[wooslider slide_page=”zuber-wallpater” slider_type=”slides” thumbnails=”default” order=”ASC” order_by=”menu_order” limit=”20″]
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Maya Kabat: California, Color & The Urban Palette

Architectural forms, geometric abstraction, and the tension between balance, color & form inspire California Abstract Artist, Maya Kabat. The urban landscape of California’s Bay Area and the unconventional tools she uses further informs her art.

I paint to create a language for things I can’t articulate, to address the questions that don’t have answers.

For Kabat, the work is an ongoing process of refinement and regeneration. She uses drywall tools, to layer, build and add texture to her canvases. With seeming impetuosity, she may introduce a dissonant color or destructively wipe a canvas entirely clean to start over. She works fast and prolific, obsessive almost. The process dictated by an imperative inherent within the medium: She can only work as the paint is malleable. “Time” is not necessarily her friend.

[..] it means I really have to be fully committed to paint one of my pieces. I can’t leave it if it’s not done.

Maya Kabat - "Urban Field 18", oil-on-canvas, 24 x 24 in. — Maya Kabat – “Urban Field 18”, oil-on-canvas, 24 x 24 in.

Maya Kabat, "Urban Field 13", oil-on-canvas, 36 x 36 in., 2015 — Maya Kabat, “Urban Field 13”, oil-on-canvas, 36 x 36 in., 2015

Maya Kabat "Upper Span 3", oil-on-canvas, 24 x 36 in. — Maya Kabat “Upper Span 3”, oil-on-canvas, 24 x 36 in.

Maya Kabat: "Living Cities, Oakland 5", oil-on-canvas, 30 x 30 in. — Maya Kabat: “Living Cities, Oakland 5”, oil-on-canvas, 30 x 30 in.

Maya Kabat "Urban Field 17" 24 x 24 in., 2015 — Maya Kabat “Urban Field 17” 24 x 24 in., 2015

Maya Kabat "Two Cities 5", 24 x 48 in., 2013 — Maya Kabat “Two Cities 5”, 24 x 48 in., 2013

Maya Kabat "Two Cities 2", 24 x 48 in., 2013 — Maya Kabat “Two Cities 2”, 24 x 48 in., 2013

Maya Kabat, "Strike Fault 4" 30 x 30 in., 2008 — Maya Kabat, “Strike Fault 4” 30 x 30 in., 2008

Maya Kabat “started out as a kid who just needed to make things”. As a young girl she began knitting with her grandmother. She carried that skill on through high school and into college. “I always loved thread.”

She began “quilting” as an undergrad finding inspiration in improvisational quilters such as the unique and important African-American Gee’s Bend quilt makers and the renowned African-American quiltmaker, Rosie Lee Tompkins. The asymmetry and the improvisational approach to pattern, shape and color continue to influence her work.

Prior to graduate studies at the University of California, Davis Ms. Kabat began painting because she felt a need to learn about color in ways that quilt-making could not afford. Initially, she began primarily painting landscapes, understanding space — using the basic tools to construct realistic space.

Her present work can be considered “urban landscapes” embodying that sense of push & pull with space, of dark & light, of small worlds of pattern, color & texture, “just like the city itself”.