Blog Archives

Latest Posts

Monthly

All Posts in Visual

Mark Ollinger: Harmonizing Craft and Circumstance

Vancouver’s Mark Ollinger has trudged down the weeds into his own trail. As a sculptor, yeah, but also as an experimenter of mediums, a math head of sorts, a billiard enthusiast, and an advocate for a world of loving acceptance and connection that steers clear from the Canada Council of the Arts’ political agenda. From meeting our very own founder Vic from Gross over a decade ago while illegally installing street sculptures (shhhhh, don’t be a narc), to recently getting a new studio space in New York, Ollinger has always put his path in fate’s hands. We were lucky to be able to peep over the fence into Ollinger's world, exploring the depths of his inspiration, the beautiful mess of juggling a handful of projects, and his vision for the future.

Feeling at Home in the Hustle

Ollinger's creative process is a symphony of controlled chaos. A system for wrangling multiple projects at any given moment. "I tend to work on multiple projects at a time, usually having 4-8 on the go," he shares. But this isn’t a bad habit; Ollinger sees it as a mirror to life's beautiful mess. "I feel like I have forgotten what it feels like at this point, just a never-ending process like life".

Connection with craft is deeply personal, having, as he says, "followed the materials back to harvesting the wood myself, starting with a tree trunk and milling the wood into sheets". This intimate involvement with his medium is a hallmark of his artistic journey.

The Evolution Revolution

Ollinger's journey has been one of constant ebb and flow. "I've been fortunate to find myself constantly evolving with my design and craft abilities," he reflects. He began as a painter, but eventually found his calling in sculpture through pivot moments like figuring out panel work and freestanding design which helped sculpt (pun intended) his whole craft and what the potential of new equipment can spark in the future.

Ollinger isn’t known to scrap pieces, he’s in it for the ride. “I think I’ve finished 99% of what I’ve started. There’s been a few I’ve never shown and decided to shelve and a couple I’ve destroyed after finishing, but at this point I'm pretty good at visualizing what it'll be like and am almost always happy with how they turn out.” he says.

Heart of the Work

Ollinger's sculptures aren’t just easy on the eyes; they're visual stories about this carousel of life. "The Apathism idea is an attempt to create an image of the phenomenon of a human life spanning time," he explains. The choice of materials, particularly wood, is deliberate. "With that in mind being the foundation of the work, wood with the rings of the tree being the visual lifespan of the tree, tends to be the best material for the idea in my opinion," Ollinger shares.

His signature "intersecting lines and undulating shapes," have weight to them. "The weaving of the line over and under itself in different locations of the works are meant to represent circumstances in life both positive and negative occurrences," he elaborates, leaning back on the "karmic balance of life".

Art for Arts sake

Ollinger sees art as a powerful connector. "Art is the ultimate gap bridger," he asserts. He speaks from personal experience, acknowledging how art has transformed his own life and through his work, Ollinger has connected with people from all over, emphasizing that “it's my honest attempt to see the world objectively and focus on the fundamental structures and make the human experience universal, the things we all have in common are the things we all experience the same. Like gravity and density and other non subjective components of the human experience. It's through my work that I have found empathy and feel connected to the world around me and my fellow human beings.”

But this connection has been feeling somewhat fleeting when it comes to his home in Canada. “I have a whole theory on Canadian art now and the use of Canada Council of the Arts to politicize the vast majority of the art coming from here that the art scene doesn't really like. I see a lot of propaganda in the form of artwork these days and the use of the grant program to influence the politicization of messages about the work.” He explains, “The vast majority of Canadian artists rely on grants up here and I think that has been detrimental. I feel like I'm the only person calling this out. A lot of people feel the same way but are too worried about their career to speak out. It's actually crazy.”

He has a unique parallel of math and art – “all abstract artworks are process based and in order to create a cohesive body of work you must develop a similar process of production, and that brings us into formal systems and the foundations of math.” Ollinger doesn’t “see a line between artistic exploration and scientific inquiry at this point.” To him it’s an equation, “mathematics is the language of nature and everything fundamentally is mathematics”.

Looking Ahead

Ollinger's journey is far from over. With the new studio space in New York, he’s eager to immerse himself in the city. "I'm planning on working my way down there!" he exclaims. With new materials he’s eyeing, he's ready to "scale up and start working on some larger than life pieces".

Photos by Lia Crowe, courtesy of the artist

- No Comments!

Beers, Paper, and Legacy: Tom Marioni and the SIA in San Francisco

This story begins with beer. Or rather, it always began with beer if you were hanging around Tom Marioni’s studio in San Francisco any time after the 1970s. The man once declared, with deadpan conviction, that "drinking beer with friends is the highest form of art." And you know what? We're inclined to believe him.

Drinking Beer with Friends, 1970, Museum of Conceptual Art (MOCA)

Tom Marioni is a conceptual artist and a quietly towering figure in West Coast art history — a sort of artistic monk crossed with a social sculptor, operating on his own wavelength while inadvertently building one of the most enduring scenes in contemporary conceptual practice. Founder of the Museum of Conceptual Art (MOCA SF) in 1970, Marioni turned his weekly studio gatherings into living artworks: beer (and martinis), conversation, and performance as medium. It wasn’t about spectacle. It was about showing up. If you know, you know — an inner circle kind of thing.

That’s what makes the latest exhibition at GCS Agency so surprisingly significant. Society of Independent Artists: Works on Paper feels almost too chill to carry the kind of historical gravitas it does, and yet, here we are. This is an homage to a 55-year lineage of anti-institutional creativity that ultimately managed to smash right into the institutions anyway.

Installation of Beer with Friends at The Hammer Museum, 2013

The show is anchored by Marioni as the leader, but he's far from the only heavy-hitter in the room. A third of the 36+ participating artists have works in the permanent collections of institutions like MoMA, SFMOMA, the Getty, and the Smithsonian. Yeah, this is a low-key salon-style group show. Kind of nutty. And yes, you’ll be standing in front of works by people who have and continue to define what contemporary American art even is.

Tom Marioni in his studio. Photo by Sonja Och for The Chronicle

Let’s name drop a bit, because why not? (It’s fun) There’s Susan Middleton, whose haunting portraits of endangered species live in the Smithsonian and have graced the pages of National Geographic. It’s giving raw childhood wonder and amazement. There’s Robert Bechtle, one of the acclaimed godfathers of Photorealism, with paintings that depict calm suburban scenes as mythical, powerful moments. Bechtle’s works are now held by 18 global museums, including The Whitney, The Met, MoMA, SFMOMA, The Guggenheim, and The National Gallery, among others. Eleanor Coppola (yes, that Coppola) has her own body of collage and visual work that supplements a life of storytelling already cemented in American film history. Also, Roman Coppola (Eleanor’s son) has works included making this a family affair.

Paul Kos (b. 1942) Alkali Flats, 1974 Black and white photograph, unique 14½ x 21½ in.

Enter big boss Paul Kos, whose video and installation work (uhhh Sound of Ice Melting… !!) practically wrote the West Coast conceptualist playbook.. His poetic handling of silence, time, and sensory space does not scream for attention, but it’s hard to forget once you experience it. Then there’s John Held Jr., mail art’s archivist-in-chief, who turned his obsessive commitment to ephemera into one of the most important documentations of a movement that refused to be pinned down.

The rest of the artist lineup is no filler either. No fluff here, folks. Organized by Alberto Cuadros, a longtime attendee of Marioni’s Wednesday gatherings (and now a card-carrying SIA member himself), the show is a testament to the intergenerational reach of this community. It’s a very special exchange of experience. Artists range from Bay Area educators to international exhibitors, from seasoned sculptors to photographers, painters, and the rare type of person who still sends actual mail with art inside.

Alberto Cuadros, SIA member and organizer of this exhibition

And what ties it all together? Paper. Humble, analog, unassuming paper. Works include drawing, collage, print, and conceptual notation. Some are crisp and beautiful; others are strange and coded; a few look like they could disintegrate if you breathe too hard. But they all feel alive—they all feel like part of something bigger than any one moment or trend.

In a time when everything is optimized, digitized, and built for metrics, Works on Paper feels like a beautiful glitch in the system. It’s art for the sake of making, thinking, riffing, and remembering. There’s no algorithmic urgency here, no branded content loop. Just a bunch of relentless artists, who could justifiably be resting on their laurels, deciding to show up for something loose, collaborative, and real.

So sure, show up for the Marioni of it all. But stay for the Pacificos, the funky drawings, the quiet power of a legacy that doesn’t need to shout to make its point. This is San Francisco art history in its least filtered form.

Opening June 18, 5–8pm @ 201 Jackson St., San Francisco

RSVP here. Be there.

Just don’t forget the password: social sculpture.

- No Comments!

New York City’s Creative Renaissance: Meet Two Tastemakers Behind Its Revival

Historically, coffeehouses, taverns, speakeasies, bookstores, and pubs have been vital centers for spreading new ideas and hosting intellectual exchange and debate. These establishments were melting pots where artists, writers, and activists gathered to challenge societal norms and spark revolutions. They provided fertile ground for creativity and, above all, camaraderie—where friendships were forged, alliances were born, and movements were ignited. However, as societal dynamics evolved, we’ve lost the lively discussions held in these traditional gathering places to digital interactions and commercially-focused, consumer-driven environments. Despite these changes, there remains a deep longing for community and a pervasive nostalgia surrounding these historic venues, which has led to efforts to reclaim them. Driven by my yearning for these spaces in New York City, I sought to speak with two social connectors driven by their shared passion to facilitate organic conversations in home-like settings, allowing people to let their guard down and let genuine connection in. Luke Haverty, founder of A Supper Series, and Alex Bass, founder of Salon 21, shared with me the thriving atmospheres they’ve cultivated that bring strangers together to experience novel creative endeavors.

...cultivating compassionate and welcoming individuals engaged in compelling pursuits.

Former Private Equity investor Luke Haverty is bridging the gap between artists—chefs, ceramicists, painters, designers, and photographers alike—by creating dinners centered around creativity in an inclusive environment. After relocating from the Midwest to New York City during COVID-19, he found the city he envisioned was missing something. Over the next year and a half, he attended various social gatherings in search of real connections but struggled to engage deeply with others. Bars were too loud, and parties felt superficial. The vibrant buzz of conversation he had hoped for was nowhere to be found. Overworked and uninspired, he began exploring the idea of bringing people together in a fresh and meaningful way. His “aha moment” was inspired when he learned about his family friend’s long-standing dinner club from the 1970s, which continues to be celebrated annually. This shared story propelled him to bring the first Supper Series to the big city. Today, over two years later, he hosts intimate gatherings where global culinary creations prepared by talented chefs are paired with thought-provoking conversation, all while indulging in unique experiences provided by local painters, sculptors, and musicians. Luke believes that stepping outside one's comfort zone and simply showing up to an experience fosters personal growth, emphasizing that a simple introduction could profoundly impact someone's life.

At the core of Luke's mission is cultivating compassionate and welcoming individuals engaged in compelling pursuits. He views A Supper Series as a hub for remarkable individuals affecting change, offering platforms for those forging paths outside conventional corporate norms and pursuing their passions. His goal is for others to leave inspired to unlock their potential, highlighting instances where attendees have left jobs to chase their dreams and equipped themselves with the tools to transform their aspirations into reality. This month marks a significant milestone for Haverty as he transitions from his full-time job to focus on growing A Supper Series and immersing others in the transformative power of storytelling. He sees these experiences as more than just dining occasions: “They fulfill a societal need for introspection and authentic connections, prompting participants to pause, reflect, and reassess their social circles.” Luke’s newest addition, A Journal Series, poses thought-provoking questions that ignite deep, meaningful reflection within ourselves and among others in unique settings like immersive saunas and ice baths. Both series embody his vision of celebrating the resilience of individuals pursuing their passions in a city overflowing with distractions and stimulation. Sharing a similar vision is Alex Bass who has crafted her own unique space in New York City with Salon 21, blending artistry and community in a contemporary setting. It’s more than an art gallery; it’s a cultural sanctuary nestled in the vibrant heart of Soho where people can find a venue and a nurturing environment to foster their creativity amidst dinners, figure drawing sessions, and collaborative art classes. During COVID, before opening a physical space, Alex envisioned a place where people could "spend their time and meet others while engaging in fun activities to decompress after work and escape the hustle and bustle of New York City." Her thoughtfully designed space fosters idea sharing, and since opening it, has featured rotating artwork exhibitions that spark conversation. This setup is reminiscent of the European salons, where people gathered in living rooms to discuss art and ideas. Armed with a BA in Art History from Columbia University, she envisioned Greene Street in Soho as the ideal canvas for her vision. Her multifunctional venue seamlessly integrates an art gallery with a social hub spanning 1,200 sq ft. Salon 21 is her brainchild—a space where she fosters artists' development while reintroducing European ideals to New York City's art scene.

...more than an art gallery; it’s a cultural sanctuary nestled in the vibrant heart of Soho

Drawing inspiration from historical salons spanning the 17th to the 20th centuries, Alex curates artworks in a salon-style display, evoking an intimate and immersive experience akin to those enjoyed by salon-goers of yesteryears. The loft features changing artwork and vintage decor, including a 1970s couch illuminated by LED lights, reviving an authentic, non-commercialized atmosphere within Soho's bustling commercial district.

Alex and Luke are driven by a shared vision: cultivating environments in New York City where people can expand their horizons and unleash their creative energies. Salon 21 and A Supper Series demonstrate a deep commitment to promoting personal development and honoring the determination of individuals who dare to seek more from urban life. Their efforts signify a pivotal chapter in the city's evolution, where tradition meets innovation to foster spaces as transformative as they are enriching. Both founders envision expanding their reach, creating more opportunities where creativity thrives and community flourishes. Their dedication to their craft and bringing people together will shape the city's trajectory for years to come.

Photos courtesy of Luke Haverty and Alex Bass.