Oakland, CA 94612

Exhibition dates: Dec. 2, 2010 - Jan. 29, 2011

Two Opening Receptions (in conjunction with Oakland Art Murmur):
Friday, December 3, 6-9pm
Friday, January 7, 6-9pm

Artists' Talk: Saturday, December 4, 2pm

image: Chela Fielding

SOLO SHOW
Chela Fielding: La Fe

Artist Chela Fielding creates installation and sculpture exploring a range of materials from wood and metal to rubber and cloth, along with found objects like shoes, paint, drawers, old letters, and photographs. In one of Fielding’s latest sculptures, two thick wires are threaded with a prized collection of found objects which she has collected for a number of years. Beaded like an oversized necklace is a paint brush, a plastic horse, an old band-aid tin, a wooden cow, and painted wooden numbers, among other items. The juxtapositions are as unique as the objects themselves and the work displays the colors and patinas of the past.

Fielding also presents two energetic, larger than life canvases covered in layers of pencil, pen, oil pastel and paint. Through the layers, text is written and erased and written again; images emerge: an arm, a balloon, an outline of a bear. You can almost derive some kind of meaning, grasp a story but then it disappears and you are left with a mystery beyond reach. The artist has also been experimenting with new media and developing her unique brand of humor. In this show she unveils six new photographs of herself in Photoshop-bright colors.

Chela Fielding graduated with a BFA in Painting, and a minor in Film, from Humboldt State University. After her undergraduate work she joined the Peace Corps for two years, working on Hillside Farming in an isolated village in the hills of Ocotopeque, Honduras. Returning to Oakland, she worked as an after-school art teacher for five years. She went on to receive her MFA in Sculpture from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Currently, she is a Site-Coordinator for a board and care resident facility for adults with mental disabilities in Marin County.

 

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image: Margaret Chavigny, Mary V. Marsh, Dave Meeker

GROUP SHOW
Mercury Multiples: Artist's Editions

Mercury 20 Gallery is proud to present a selection of limited edition Artist's Multiples created by current gallery members. These works provide affordable acquisitions for collectors as well as adventurous alternatives for holiday gift-givers. From Marcel Duchamp's Ready-mades, to Conceptual non-objects, to the boxes, books and strategies of Fluxus, to Correspondence Art, (distributed by mail outside the gallery system), Artist's Multiples have an outsider history with an insider cachet.

Continuing this history, some of the exhibiting artists present work that is outside their usual materials and contexts. Charlie Milgrim bakes up some whimsical Duchamp Cookies, while painter Margaret Chavigny explores the repeated image in her drawing series Half Empty/Half Full. Taking a break from painting and sculpture, P.K. Frizzell and Kathleen King show new photographs of paint cans/lids and wooden houses respectively. Painter Jill McLennan presents hand-pulled prints based on her photos and Mary Curtis Ratcliff shows photographs taken in India and Cambodia.

Also showing photographs, though in a smaller size than his signature work, is Peter Honig. Dave Meeker's Monopoly Homes are sculpted from pennies and Julie Alvarado's set of small drawings called Trailer Life is influenced by vintage magazine photos. Maya Kabat shows drawings from her MYBH Series while Julianne Sterling is Waiting for Snow White in small oil on panel paintings. Jamie Morgan and Mary V. Marsh show prints along with Marsh’s handmade artist’s book, The Coffee Diary. Laura van Duren offers a selection of her cast resin Birds. Mixed media work by Jo Ann Biagini and quilted squares by Chela Fielding round out the show.

link to view a selection of images from "Multiples"

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Founded in 2006, Mercury 20 is a contemporary art gallery established, supported and operated by East Bay artists. Mercury 20 maintains a venue for its member artists to exhibit, develop, and advance their work and is committed to exhibiting art of diverse media and content. Exhibitions rotate monthly and the gallery presents a well-attended opening event every first Friday in conjunction with the Oakland Art Murmur. ARTISTS REPRESENTED: JULIE ALVARADO, JO ANN BIAGINI, ERIC BOHR, MARGARET CHAVIGNY, TERRYL DUNN, CHELA FIELDING, P.K. FRIZZELL, PETER HONIG, MAYA KABAT, KATHLEEN KING, MARY V. MARSH, JILL MCLENNAN, DAVE MEEKER, CHARLIE MILGRIM, JAMIE MORGAN, MARY CURTIS RATCLIFF, JULIANNE STERLING, LAURA VAN DUREN, JOAN WEISS

For more info: mercurytwenty@gmail.com, 510-701-4620, http://www.mercurytwenty.com

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