Two new places to see art is always a good thing.
First there’s Darius Rug and Art Gallery–honest, that’s literally what it is, rugs first, art second, but art nonetheless.
minervini, robert
Right now, Rob Minervini has a small one-man show there mostly of flat men in suits in front of bright walls. Some of the men are flayed In one painting, a man is revealing girl’s underpants below a suit jacket. The men in suits are about people in uniforms, their unique natures suppressed and the uniformity steamrollering them into cut-out dolls (left, “It Takes Tough Skin to Stand Out,” left).
The flatness in these paintings suggests they are about making art, about the process of turning what is real into something that is unreal. The wonderful acid colors also suggest that and help to give this work its visual surprise.
In “Domesticate Everything” (right) a dog is on a chain and the wallpaper pattern appears to be an extreme closeup–a detail. The scale pushes the pattern repeat beyond the scope of the painting and makes it impossible to know what it looks like. The dog is also huge and compressed forward, the outline suggesting a cutout or drawing. This is not a free, frolicking dog.
I was curious about paintings in a rug store, although I did have the thought that paintings in cafes and restaurants were not much different. Darius owner and interior designer Davoud Rad has been showing art alongside his rugs for a couple of months. Rad said that he was interested in helping young artists get their work out, and that he was also interested in supporting art education.
Rad said in all modesty, that rugs were what he knew and sold, not art, so he relied on Sharon at QBix Gallery to select the work at Darius. Making money from the art, he said, was less important than giving artists a chance to show their work (see other images from Minervini in posts here and here).
Also new
The gallery space formerly known as Pringle is now San Vicente Gallery at 323 Arch St., with art from eight Latin artists, some of the work from folk traditions, some from academic traditions. Stepping into this gallery was a little like going to a gallery in a foreign country, the formality and decorousness of the people there a nice surprise.
