The Excitable Gift

Thu, Feb 2
6:00pm-8:00pm
FREE

The Excitable Gift
Vanessa Blaikie, Eila Kovanen, Joey Piziali, and Robin Ward

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 2nd, 2006 6-8pm

Lisa Dent Gallery is pleased to present the work of Vanessa =

Blaikie, Eila Kovanen, Joey Piziali and Robin Ward in a collaborative =

project entitled The Excitable Gift. In this project the four =

artists question and interpret the meaning of the gift by bringing =

artworks normally viewed in a gallery or museum setting into an =

urban environment, including city parks, buildings and streets. =

Implicit in each artist's work are questions about the value and =

reach of art in contemporary social culture, the way human =

connections occur through art, and the nature of the "gift" and what =

happens when art is defined through this lens. The gallery =

presentation will consist of documentation as well as remnants of the =

pieces themselves, taking form as video, photographs, drawings, text, =

sculpture, and written communiqu=E9s by street participants.
Vanessa Blaikie's project, inspired by the spatial rhythms of =

birds and wires in the city, involved quiet, simple installations =

throughout China Basin/Potrero neighborhoods of cutout drawings; the =

original pieces from which these works were cut will be re-envisioned =

in the gallery space. Vanessa Blaikie received her MFA in painting =

from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2004, and her BA in Art =

History and Visual Arts from Columbia University, New York. She has =

exhibited work throughout San Francisco at Build Gallery and Root =

Division, and most recently at Gallery 16.
Eila Kovanen stood on the street corner at Montgomery BART on =

Market Street and handed out signed, limited edition prints to =

grouchy, Monday morning commuters. She videotaped their reactions =

and will install the last edition of each print in the gallery. Eila =

Kovanen has recently exhibited at the San Francisco Arts Commission =

Gallery, Mixed Use Gallery, and Palazzetto Giardini in Italy. She =

received her BFA in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute.
Joey Piziali recreated large sculptures identical to slices of =

the urban landscape- a topiary and a graffitied wall- and installed =

them in very different neighborhoods from where he originally found =

them. By recontextualizing these pieces outside their original =

"homes" he hopes to begin larger discussions of what art is and how =

it is created and valued. Joey Piziali received his M.F.A. in =

painting from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2005. He has =

exhibited widely throughout California including shows at Smith =

Andersen, The Shooting Gallery and 33 Grand. His work is included in =

the collections of the de Saisset Museum and the City of Palo Alto.
Robin Ward's project revolved around the fact that the Dolores =

Park area was formerly a cemetery. Ward hand-painted small panels =

and attached post-cards containing historical facts about death in =

the park to these panels. Each panel was left for passersby to take =

and keep. Robin Ward received her MFA in Painting from the San =

Francisco Art Institute and her BA from New College, Honors College =

of University of South Florida. She has shown at such venues as the =

Headlands Center for the Arts, Works San Jose, and the Walter and =

McBean Galleries, and had her first solo show with Lisa Dent Gallery =

in 2005.

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday through Saturday 12:00-6:00 and by appointment

Venue:

Lisa Dent Gallery
660 Mission St. 4th Floor
San Francisco
415-975-0860
www.lisadent.com

Additional Info:

415-975-0860
http://www.lisadent.com