Review of Never/Always, Post-Narrative Finds by John Casey, ArtBusiness
May 9, 2009
"Matthew Scheatzle sculpts playful and unpretentious ceramic objects which he mounts on the MG Gallery walls. Some of his sculptures look like cut stones. Of these works, the earlier ones are noticeably hand-built and have expressive and painterly surfaces, while later works are more precise (almost machined in appearance) with realistic rock-like patinas. Other works that combine both wood and ceramic have playful, organic shapes."
See the photos and read more by John Casey on ArtBusiness.com
Critic's Choice: Sublunary by DeWitt Cheng, East Bay Express
March 18, 2009
"The title of this installation is a variant of sublunar, below the moon, i.e., earthly. In classical Greek astronomy it denotes the area between two orbiting bodies, a zone of flux where earth, air, water, and fire collide and combine, surrounded by the eternally changeless ether containing the sun and the other planets. Zoe Friedman explores the implications of an alarmingly enlarged, enormous full moon, a symbol of "ecological disarray" (even though we disequilibrated lunatic terrestrials have not technically caused the moon to crash down yet). Small framed graphite drawings (alienated/embracing lovers, the waxing/waning moon, a building afire, a foundering container ship) are mounted on walls adorned with a collaged landscape, and illuminated by a small rotating flashlight -- a kind of lighthouse beacon and caution signal. A video animation accompanies the installation."
Go to East Bay Express for more by DeWitt Cheng
Zoe Friedman: Sublunary by Jeffery R. Segal, Shotgun Review
March 23, 2009
"...The show is very well-suited to the gallery's 180 square feet. The first thing I noticed when entering the space of Friedman's multimedia installation Sublunary was the feeling of the room closing in amid a barrage of tactile, aural and visual sensations. And that's fitting, because Sublunary is an artistic exploration of what would happen if the lunar orbit of the moon were broken and it began to approach the Earth..."
See this review and images of Zoe's show on Shotgun
Oakland Art Openings: Johansson Projects and MG Gallery by John Casey, ArtBusiness.com
January 17, 2009
"Daniel Nevers follows his month-long residency and show at Southern Exposure with this tidy show at the compact MG Gallery. His use of Home Depot Building materials has a visceral quality. Attic insullation seems fleshy and stiff; wire marker flags penetrate a cinderblock wall like large acupuncture needles."
See great images of the opening and read more by John Casey on ArtBusiness.com
Critic's Choice: Unconstructed by DeWitt Cheng, East Bay Express
January 28, 2009
" A man's home is his castle and lifelong weekend project: Sarah Winchester would have agreed (in principle). Daniel Nevers' sculptures at the tiny MG Gallery explore the DIY/cocooning impulse as "the new self-help," creating "defenses ... [that] we build and renovate over time" -- ineptly: our home improvements somehow always "teeter, sag, bend and sway." In "Soft 'n' Supple," a ball of rolled-up green garden hose is glued with urethane foam to the window of a makeshift interior wall; supported by a 2x4 diagonal brace, it infuses minimalist sculpture with absurdist humor. In "Hard Knocks," four wall-mounted rolls of epoxy-coated insulation are rolled up like turf, or gigantic pastries, doggie chew toys, or intestines and their by-products. In Nevers' wall sculptures, each of the holes drilled into the wall grid sprouts a tiny metal flagpole -- it's "Lightning Field" crossed with miniature golf and rotated ninety degrees. Unconstructed runs through February 7 at MG Gallery (5532 Shattuck Ave., Oakland)."
Go to East Bay Express for more by DeWitt Cheng
MG Gallery and Sentence Drawing Sentence, Claire Light, KQED Arts
November 2, 2008
"MG Gallery is poised right at the opening of a number of Bay Area paths: community studio, residency space, artists collective, local gallery. Any of these is fine, and necessary, but MG has the potential to create a very modest but high-energy combination."
Go to KQED Arts for the full article.
Bingo For Art, OakBook Magazine
September 16, 2008
"The MG gallery is the latest addition to Oakland’s perennially changing art gallery landscape. The brainchild of sculptor Kari Marboe and her partner, glass blower Adam Green, MG gallery is a tiny 180 sq. ft. space spread out across two rooms with very white walls and skylights, which hopes to develop a niche in site-specific installations and art that the audience and patrons participate in..."
Go to OakBook's website for the full article.