by Dara Kerr/WEST OAKLAND

Oakland’s art diversity was the theme of the evening at Oakland Art Gallery last night. The work of twelve local artists was brought together by guest curator Aimee Reed for the opening of Bay Area Currents.

“This show has a little bit of everything, it’s a really nice representation of what’s happening in the Bay Area,” said Nicole Nedictch, the co-director of the Oakland Art Gallery.

Jessica Pezalla with her work, Driftings, made of driftwood and epoxy clay

Wood block prints, saran wrap sculpture, and video were some of the mediums artists used, along with traditional materials. The art concepts also varied, ranging from political to abstract. Yet, the show still had cohesion.

Reed said this was intentional and “what resulted was a repeating reminder of the Bay Area’s diversity in both background and aesthetic choices.”

The Oakland Art Gallery is in the Lionel J. Wilson Building in City Hall Plaza. Lionel J. Wilson was the first African-American mayor of Oakland, and he is well known for embracing the diversity of Oakland. The gallery itself was established as an agreement between the city of Oakland and more than 50 local artists who used an adjacent building for art studios from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Over 300 artists applied to the open call for this exhibition, which is an annual event at Oakland Art Gallery.

Interested in the collapse of bee colonies and the relation to food supply, Alanna Risse had two oil paintings in the show. The paintings are depictions of beekeepers and bee environments rather than actual bees. The reason why she didn’t paint bees, she said, is because she wanted to show “everything is connected. The fall of nature is the fall of man.”

Robb Putnam created “snouts” – sewn pieces of found and used fabric that resemble animal noses poking out of the wall. “They are pinned with dress maker pins, which makes them precarious and vulnerable and suggests there is something on the other side of the wall,” he said.

Noah Sakamoto poses with his piece, "Monte"

The Oakland art scene is typically described as “emerging,” which is why Reed was excited when she was selected to curate this show. “Traditionally, the [local] artists are known to be on the periphery, but that makes them freer and more willing to take chances,” she said.

Two of the most striking pieces in the show were Noah Sakamoto’s four by six feet pieces of wood covered with a collage of torn pieces of black paper that depicted images of Oakland kids playing in the street. Sakamoto said he became overwhelmed with tools and set out to work with the fewest amount. He ended up with wood, paper and glue. On why he choose the subject matter he said, “the images represent a feeling of exploration and something new.”

Bay Area Currents will be showing from October 15 to November 21, for more information go to www.oaklandartgallery.org.

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