5 picks for August ArtHop
ArtHop, the monthly open house of galleries and studios in the downtown and Tower District neighborhoods, runs Thursday, Aug. 2, at most venues from 5-8 p.m. Check the Fresno Arts Council roundup for a complete list of locations and times. In the meantime, some options for you on this summer ArtHop evening:
Gallery 25
Hot enough for you? The Gallery 25 cooperative, located inside the M Street Arts Complex, offers “The Hot Show.” Gallery 25 members participating in this exhibit were invited to express their particular take on the word “hot.”
Pictured above: Valerie Runningwolf’s “Intensity.” It reminds me of that momentary soul-crushing blast of heat that envelops you in a sun-baked car before the air conditioning kicks in.
Spectrum Art Gallery
Works by Mikko Kangas, Dave Youngs and John Moses are featured in Spectrum’s August show.
Moses, a film studies professor, offers the exhibition “Projections.” It’s a series of composite images blending film locations with ghostly traces from the movies filmed in those spaces. He explains:
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Some of the locations are famous in their own right, while others go unnoticed by most passers-by. Likewise, some of the movies glimpsed in “Projections” are among the most acclaimed Hollywood has produced, while others are the stuff only a cinephile’s dreams are made of. “My process” Moses says, “was to choose movies that have stayed with me, like Vertigo and Chinatown, and to arrive at the locations with only my memory to guide me.
Kangas, meanwhile, presents “The Spirit of Sur.” Youngs offers “Transformations.”
CMAC
Pop in to the beautiful downtown studios of the Community Media Access Collaborative. Featured ArtHop artist is Karen Molta Rumia, a local artist originally from Colombia, who offers a show titled “Kare-N-Creations.” A description:
Her artistic journey began during childhood when her and her cousin would entertain themselves by drawing cartoons, people, and everything else they saw to create their own colorful world. She continued to develop her skills as a professional with her individuality prospering when she connects her heart and soul.
Also, drop in at 8 p.m. to watch another live broadcast of “The Lowe Down LIVE,” featuring the local band Alternate Roots and live tattooing from artist Matthew Tuell. It’s hosted by my favorite producer, Kyle Lowe (and Lisa Talley, too). Hey, Kyle, are you going to get a CMAC tattoo?
fres.co
Andrea Torres is the featured artist at fres.co (next to the Crest Theatre) with a show titled “Piel Perception.” She writes:
I am captivated by the physical structures that the human figure presents. While exploring feminists theories and the human form with oils and acrylics, a desire to have the figure consume my compositions was born. Scale and color are the main elements in the pieces I create. … Legends and Mexican folk tales inspire the subject matter in these pieces.
JSA
At the Jeffrey Scott Agency, Chris Ruh presents “Poor_Connection.” He’s an L.A.-based artist obsessed with faces and color, and how art is perceived in the digital age:
Growing up as a graffiti artist, Christopher is drawn to bold color palettes contrasted against stark black. Since working as an art director, Christopher’s work has taken a more design and illustrative form. His portraits feature subjects glitching, or residing, into colored squares as if they’re turning into bits of information or pixels. In the era of information overload, Christopher hopes his works will make people pause and take a moment.
The show runs 5:30-9 p.m.
