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The Beat Goes On

Gallery Exhibition

The visual artists of San Francisco’s Creativity Explored get in the groove with a new exhibition that pays tribute to music and its legendary stars

October 5 – November 22, 2006
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 5 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm

SAN FRANCISCO…This fall, Creativity Explored, San Francisco’s premiere gallery of artwork by artists with developmental disabilities, will be rocking the Mission District with a lollapalooza of an exhibition that pays tribute to music and some of its most famous idols. From Bowie to Beyoncé, there’s something for every artistic taste in “The Beat Goes On”, on display at the Creativity Explored gallery October 5th through November 22nd. The show opens with a special reception featuring live music and a chance to meet the artists on Thursday, October 5th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. The gallery is regularly open Monday through Friday, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, and Saturday from 1:00 to 6:00 pm. All artwork is available for purchase.

Exhibition Curator Eric Larson, who began working at Creativity Explored as an instructor two years ago, quickly discovered there were several artists there that shared his passion for music. “There are some big fans here just like me,” he says. “We have a great time talking about our album collections, the music, the artists and the art on the covers.” In fact, album covers were the inspiration for many of the pieces in the show. Artist Steven Geeter who spends most Saturdays browsing vinyl at record stores all over the city, has created several striking portraits of his all time favorites like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and more.

Portraits of well-known musicians are a major feature of the exhibition. Willie Nelson, curiously, topped the list as the person most often drawn by Creativity Explored’s more than 100 artists. But scores of others are represented in everything from a watercolor of Led Zepplin by Walter Kresnik to a detailed sketch of a souvenir Elvis ID from Graceland by Jimmy Miles to a ukelele covered with the names of pop stars in the distinct handwriting of John Patrick McKenzie. Artist Sarah O’Sullivan had her own reasons for doing a portrait of Neil Diamond. “He’s my favorite,” she says. “He has a hairy chest.”

While musicians were a popular subject in the studio, so were musical instruments. “I think the form of the instruments really caught the eye of the artists that work a lot with shape,” says Larson. Vincent Jackson contributes several bold, multi-colored and almost cubist guitar sculptures. Walter Kresnik’s wonderfully bulbous three-dimensional mandolin is a tribute to a special person in his life. Pulling out a very worn black and white photo of a young man playing the mandolin from his wallet, he explains that his grandfather played and taught Walter a few licks too. Melody Lima, in a series of Dr. Seuss-like drawings on wood, invented her own instrument – the viotar. “It’s half violin and half guitar,” she says, pointing at the painting. When asked how it is played, she shakes her head, laughs and says, “I have no idea.”

Calendar Listing

The Beat Goes On

GROUP EXHIBITION AND OPENING: This fall, Creativity Explored, San Francisco’s premiere gallery of artwork by artists with developmental disabilities, will be rocking the Mission District with a lollapalooza of an exhibition entitled “The Beat Goes On” that pays tribute to music and some of its most famous idols. From a watercolor of Led Zepplin by Walter Kresnik to a detailed sketch of a souvenir Elvis ID from Graceland by Jimmy Miles to a ukelele covered with the names of pop stars in the distinct handwriting of John Patrick McKenzie, portraits of the legends of contemporary music are a major feature of the exhibition. Other work includes several bold, multi-colored and almost cubist guitar sculptures by Vincent Jackson and a series of Dr. Seuss-like horns painted on wood by Melody Lima.

What

The Beat Goes On – A group art exhibition that pays tribute to music and its legendary stars by the artists of San Francisco’s Creativity Explored

When

• Opening Reception: Thursday, October 5, 2006 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm
• Exhibit Dates and Times: October 5 – November 22, 2006, Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, Saturday 1:00 to 6:00 pm

Where

Creativity Explored Gallery
3245 Sixteenth St. at Guerrero, San Francisco

Creativity Explored is a nonprofit visual arts center where artists with developmental disabilities create, exhibit, and sell art.

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# Posted on August 10, 2006