Bay To LASeptember 11 - October 4, 2010

ABOUT THIS SHOW

Bay to LA

 

Norm Maxwell Gallery and fabric8 presented Bay To LA, a group show featuring works by Ursula X Young, Reuben Rude, Norm Maxwell, Erik Otto, and Brian Barneclo.

This show was the Los Angeles debut of two of San Francisco’s most prolific and loved painters, Ursula X Young and Brian Barneclo. It also showcased pieces from well-regarded SF artists Erik Otto and Reuben Rude, as well as Los Angeles-based painter and gallery owner Norm Maxwell. Curated by fabric8, Bay To LA marked the first outside art exhibition by the San Francisco-based gallery.

The opening coincided with the Fairfax Art Walk, a monthly event spearheaded by the Norm Maxwell Gallery to encourage retail collaboration and celebration on the block that features hip establishments such as Turntable Lab, HUF, Diamond Supply Company, Animal Restaurant, and Canter’s Deli.

Ursula X Young is a painter, illustrator, and graphic designer whose urban fairy tale images have become a trademark of street culture in San Francisco and beyond. She finds inspiration in the organic yet urban landscape of the city and its surroundings, and is also highly influenced by her travels and the variety of beings that she encounters along the way. She holds a degree from Parsons School of Design in Illustration.

Reuben Rude was born in San Francisco as the sun set on the Free Love era. His bohemian parents then moved "back to the land" of Northern California where, without a television, he spent almost every waking hour of his childhood drawing and painting. When he moved back to the city to attend the Academy of Art, he got into all the usual trouble with graffiti writers, skateboarders, and art students. He now lives with his wife, their daughters, and yes, a television.

Norm Maxwell, aka Nomzee, is a Los Angeles-based artist with roots in Philadelphia and San Francisco. His art began as graffiti writer "ICE" on the streets of Philly and continued on with studies in painting and illustration at the Hussian School of Art. Throughout his career, he has fused graffiti with professional training, as well as various other timely influences, to capture and express the perception of his experiences. His work reflects the social conscience and psychological hopes and anxieties of an urban generation.

Erik Otto exhibits in galleries nationally and internationally. With an education in Illustration, Design, Screen Print, and Street Art, Otto practices his art across multiple disciplines. Otto recently completed the acclaimed Artist-in-Residence program at Recology San Francisco and is committed to using recycled paint and materials to produce work that is both expressive and conceptual. He received his BFA from San Jose State University and currently lives and works in the Mission District of San Francisco.

For the past decade, Brian Barneclo has adorned the walls of the Bay Area’s restaurants and streets with his jazzy, colorful murals inspired by life in San Francisco -- NoPa, Puccini & Pinetti, 83 McAllister Street, the SF Bay Guardian Building, the Food Chain Mural @ Foods Co, Escape from New York Pizza (Redwood City), and the Santa Cruz Mural (Santa Cruz). He was named one of San Francisco’s top muralists by 7x7 Magazine in 2008.

Bay To LA was on exhibit from September 10 through October 4, 2010 at Norm Maxwell Gallery, 430 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles.

 

ARTWORK FROM THIS SHOW