The Optimist Gene
Bryson Gill Solo Show
December 2, 2011-January 1, 2012
GALLERY CLOSED DECEMBER 22-25
SF Chronicle Article
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Triple Base is pleased to present The Optimist Gene, an exhibition of new paintings by San Francisco-based artist Bryson Gill.
Gill’s dedicated painting practice has consistently been focused on the tenuous relationship between abstraction and figuration. While in his past work, Gill has culled imagery from personal and historical references, for his upcoming solo show at Triple Base, Gill has created his own source material out of the simplest of materials—a blank sheet of white paper. Beginning with a “blank slate” allows the artist to create original compositions through a meandering process of cutting, ripping, folding and crumpling. Like a Rorschach blot, these resulting forms oscillate between abstract shapes and recognizable objects such as leaves and branches—exposing the often arbitrary, yet magical, part of the artistic process. These compositions are then collaged, photographed and painted with a trompe-l’oeil effect onto linen that has been under-painted with graphic patterns and painterly washes.
Gill’s newest series of paintings embody the way in which random acts and interactions can create both beauty and chaos. Referring to this new style of working, the artist claims. “I sort of think about making art these days like a dog chasing it’s own tail. And that makes me happy.”
Bryson Gill lives and works in San Francisco, CA and received his Bachelors in Fine Art from California College of the Arts in 2005. Gill has had solo shows at Co-Lab, Copenhagen, Denmark; Jace Gace, Portland, OR; Kayo Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT and Triple Base, San Francisco, CA. He has also been featured in group exhibitions at Baer Ridgway Exhibitions, San Francisco, CA; Galerie Davide Di Maggio, Milan, Italy; Galleri Kant, Espen, Denmark; Mahan Gallery, Columbus, OH, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA; and Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, CA. Gill’s work has been reviewed in The San Francisco Chronicle, Art Practical, The San Francisco Bay Guardian, Flavorpill, and Artspeak.
Triple Base Door Closing Party
Triple Base Door Closing Party
Saturday, January 7th, 8pm-late
Music by Big Boy Scene DJ Alberto Cuadros
A Note from Gallery Owner Dina Pugh:
After seven years of adventurous exhibitions and events by emerging artists, Triple Base will be closing its doors, with a closing party to celebrate all of our friends and accomplishments on Saturday, January 7th, starting at 8pm and going late. Join us on the early side to converse and on the later end to D-A-N-C-E!
I think of this not as an ending but a new beginning for the space on 24th Street, myself and the artists who worked alongside Joyce Grimm and me to build the gallery over the years. The physical gallery will turn into a thriving new art space lead by Lindsey White, David Kasprzak and Jordan Stein (please support them!) The Triple Base website and newsletters will remain a resource to gain information on new works and exhibitions by Triple Base artists as well as my new curatorial projects.
Although I have relocated to New York, I remain dedicated to the Bay Area artists I have championed over the years and I hope to build on this work through my art advisory service, independent curatorial endeavors and a new creative agency I co-founded with Adam Katz and David Kramer, Imprint Projects. Please continue to contact me at dina@basebasebase.com for any inquiries about new works or commissions.
Although we have shown countless artists through our flat files, events and exhibitions I would like to thank the core group that really built the ship and who I plan to continue to work with in the future: Jay Nelson, Rachel Kaye, Todd Bura, Alexander Kori Girard, Bryson Gill and Oliver Halsman Rosenberg who founded the gallery in 2003 with Clint Taniguchi. I am so proud of how all of these artists have flourished over the past half decade. Joyce and I started showing many of them fresh out of art school and watched them steadily expand their practice and their careers, now exhibiting throughout the US and internationally to critical acclaim.
I would also like to thank the many people whose support the gallery relied upon: Larry Rinder who was a mentor and advocate since the earliest days of Triple Base, Steven Leiber our trusty critic and quiet champion, Leigh Markopoulos, Jens Hoffmann, Sabrina Buell, Kenneth Baker, Rene de Guzman, Marjory Graue and Marianna Stark. Although Triple Base did not have an official Board of Directors, these people (and many others too great to be named here) were integral to our past success and future accomplishments. I also have to mention all of our loyal clients who kept us afloat while giving our work meaning through their true passion for art.
We also owe so much to Will Brown who has led the gallery for the past six months, and to our many die-hard interns throughout the years (most recently Heidi Rabben, Anouk Jonker, Brandon Holmes and Leef Smith). Thank you, thank you!
I also write this letter on behalf of Joyce Grimm, my partner and Triple Base’s co-director who re-invented the gallery with me in 2005 and worked hard to create a new kind of emerging artist space for six years, one that did not rely on the traditional commercial gallery model, but integrated the values and strategies of non-profits and entrepreneurial upstarts. We are humbled by the outpouring of support Triple Base has received over the years. Please stay in touch and come join us on January 7th for a celebration!
All the best,
Dina Pugh