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Mercury 20 Gallery

February 18 - February 18, 2012

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475 25th Street Oakland, CA 94612
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Reception and Artist Talk Mary V. Marsh
Reception and Artist Talk at 5 pm for: Mary V. Marsh: Just Waiting for You to Look Continuing her Reader series, artist Mary V. Marsh presents new large scale prints and an artist's book printed at her recent residency at Kala printmaking studios in Berkeley, CA. The series title is inspired by a book of short stories by Ray Bradbury, The Illustrated Man. Marsh's prints are based on drawings of people reading that she makes during her daily commute to her job working in a library at the City College of San Francisco. These drawings are hand carved into linoleum blocks incorporating a background carved to look like a newspaper spread, and then printed. The subject, technique and materials used reflect on the changing format of media and our daily reading habits. Mary V. Marsh was born in Portland, Oregon and has been working in libraries and making art in the Bay Area since 1982. She received an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1992. She has exhibited in many venues in the Bay Area and makes unique and small edition artist's books under Quite Contrary Press. --- Jody Medich: Chairs Jody Medich's work explores fundamental human activities. She is drawn to marks, and the act of mark making. She is also interested in narratives--explicit and implied. From a mid-western, blue collar background where the skill of making is an almost primal requirement, Medich believes in the craft of making. These three values are always present in her work in a diverse landscape of mediums and contexts. The work in Medich's current show Chairs examines the way "chair" speaks in her visual language, and the depth of information communicated by such a simple symbol. It can speak of cultures/philosophies/social classes. Arranged, "chairs" are the setting/remnant/symbol of human experience. Alone, "chair" stands for the individual and the type of individual that might own such an object. It can reference a chair from your memory or confront you with the unfamiliarity of a chair you've never seen. Layers of "chairs" simulate a passing/rehashing/exploration of time. "Chair" speaks volumes. Jody Medich was born in South Bend, IN, grew up in Detroit, MI, and has lived in the Bay Area since 2001. She received an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 2008. Medich has exhibited throughout the Bay Area, is a member of the art group Five Ton Crane, and the co-founder and creative director of the design firm Kicker Studio. --- Gallery Artists: smART PHONE! curated by Paul Mueller What happens when a group of artists sets out to use the mobile phone camera as a tool in their creative process? The participants in smART PHONE! have accepted this challenge. Whether manipulating photographs after the fact, mixing phone photos with more traditional media, or collaborating with a dog, each of these artists embraced the ubiquity of the mobile phone in the making of these works. Participating Artists: Jo Ann Biagini, Kathleen King, Leah Markos, Mary V. Marsh, Jill McLennan, Charlie Milgrim, Paul Mueller, Mary Curtis Ratcliff