An art opening and dinner with Jack Hanley, Leslie Shows, et al

Jack Hanley owns a very respectable gallery in San Francisco. He’s responsible, some would say, for bringing a great many artists to life through showing them at his gallery. He has a keen eye and an interesting presence. His gallery really isn’t like most galleries. Sure it is a white room with art on the walls, but you get this feeling that Jack may have moved his couch, throw rug, and television to the backroom to make some space for the opening crowd.

There was a fairly big crowd at Leslie Shows’ opening, and no shortage of hipsters, strange haircuts, attitude, and road bikes. Her work is nothing less than amazing. She meticulously collages ephemera to huge sheets of plywood tying it all together using painting and drawing to create these incredible dreamlike landscapes that really can consume you.

Seeing her work is sort of like walking around without your wallet, feeling really hungry, and suddenly you pass a burger joint. The smell wafts in you nose and you peer through the glass to see a really fat, juicy cheeseburger (or vegiburger) that’s ready to get eaten; with nothing you can do, you just have to walk away from it with a beautiful dream and another wish. Oh yeah, and you’re not on earth during this experience, you’re walking around in some parallel magical world, like Narnia; so you could run into someone like Prince Caspian after this affair.

You have to see her work – click here!

After the show a few of us headed to this nice little Italian establishment a few blocks down. We swapped stories, shared some fine wine and appetizers, and ate a nice meal together.

I was told I look like a skinny version of Cake’s lead singer, John McCrea.