Grand Re-Opening of the Paul Mahder Gallery

It has been a month to remember, with renovations and repairs - but now the gallery is ready to open up its doors, have openings and events - and I could not be happier.

Drop in this weekend and help me celebrate our 2nd anniversary with champagne and chocolates and view the current exhibit of paintings by renowned Brazilian artist Antonio Veronese.

Mark you calenders for these not to be missed events below:

Thursday, November 12, 6-8pm - High Tea, Scones & Preserves with Pure Puer Tea, preserves by Blue Chair Fruit Company and scones by chef Afreen Wahab

Thursday, November 19, 7-9pm – Specialty exotic Mushrooms as Aphrodisiacs by Farwestfunghi with food tastings by chef Afreen Wahab

Saturday, November 21, 6-9PM . Opening Reception for new paintings by Nicaraguan artists Omar d'Leon and Otto Aguilar.

One of my Favorite Artists - George Tooker

The gallery is still being "renovated" - so hopefully we will be open by the beginning of next week, it's been a real mess - but thankfully all of the artwork escaped harm. Presently the gallery is being repainted.

I always like writing about my favorite artists.

(click any image to enlarge)

(Government Offices - George Tooker)

When I was in my early teens I sauntered past an art gallery near Washington Square in NYC. I was so taken with the mysterious images, I walked in and studied each one. A gent I thought was the proprietor asked me if I liked the paintings and I said I certainly did. "I'm George Tooker, the artist" he said. I remembered the name and the images and now years later he is still a prominent artist.

(Lunch - George Tooker)

Here's some additional information:

Subway - George Tooker

George Tooker was born in 1920 in upstate New York and set aside his own wishes to be an artist to satisfy his parents and instead attended Harvard University, while still devoting much of his time to painting. In 1943 he began studying at the Art Students League of New York. Early in his career Tooker was often compared with other painters such as Jared French, Paul Cadmus and Pavel Tchelitchew. (Future blogs will examine these three artists soon)

Self Portrait - George Tooker

Working in egg tempera in a style called magic realism, Tooker addressed issues of modern-day alienation with subtly eerie and often visually literal depictions of social withdrawal and isolation. George Tooker received the National Medal of Arts in 2007.

Read my review of the new movie Birdwatchers for Movie Magazine International

More Soon.

San Francisco Open Studios

The gallery plans to be open by Thursday (our exterior signs say "Renovating"), it has been quite a mess.

Big doings this weekend and for the next three weekends Artspan presents San Francisco Open Studios. Each weekend artists from designated neighborhoods have an open house to view and purchase their art. This weekend, October 10 and 11, it's the Castro, Duboce, Eureka Valley, Glen Park, Mission, Noe Valley and Portola.

Next weekend, October 17 and 18, its Buena Vista, Diamond Heights, Fort Mason, Haight, Hayes Valley, Marina, Mount Davidson, Pacific Heights, Richmond, Sunset, Ocean Beach, Twin Peaks and West Portal.

Weekend 3 - Financial District, North Beach, Potrero Hill, Russian Hill, SOMA, Tenderloin, Bayview, and Excelsior and

Weekend 4 - Hunter Point Shipyard

Find out more about ArtSpan.

Gurpran Rau, an artist presently showing at the gallery has her open studio on Weekend 3:

(click image to expand)

Water-logged Gallery

Well, a resident in the condominiums above the gallery sprung a leak so we will have to close for a few days while workmen install interior drying equipment like humidifiers, heat fans, tubing, wires and all manner of things to trip over which will force us to shut our doors. Give Paul and call and cheer him up!

More soon -

Our Current Featured Artist - Antonio Veronese

Untitled Number 19

Internationally recognized Brazilian artist Antonio Veronese currently lives and works in France. Born in Brotas, at an early age he was obsessed with drawing faces, often faces of the poor and disenfranchised. Veronese has continued painting faces, exhibiting in many museums, appearing in multiple public and private collections.He paints faces otherwise unseen.

Untitled Number 3

The painter remarks: "The image of a hedonistic Rio de Janeiro, all samba and soccer, has become a cliche and our intellectuals have become our worst natural disaster. Armored cars have become a status symbol, but a society that suffers from fear every day is in defeat. But the face, the face is inexhaustible, it expresses such a variety of emotions. "

Threatened with death because his artwork exposed entrenched official violence, Veronese escaped to France where he has shown in more than 30 art exhibitions. He still keeps tabs on the the pulse of juvenile justice in his home country of Brazil, suggesting Rio de Janeiro look in the mirror, "because shame is a good start!"

As they currently appear at the gallery

(sculptures by Corinne Whitaker)

I framed Veronese's works in black/gold frames to bring out the rich oils used by the artist. The oil on paper portraits are matted with gold fillets and white linen mats. See more of Antonio Veronese's portraits here.

Veronese's comments about Rio de Janeiro ring true. When I visited during Carnivale, there was little hint of the grinding poverty, just fun and games. I hope that a rejuvenated effort with the 2016 Olympics is shared with the community.

More Soon

Blog Introduction

Paul Mahder Gallery

3778 Sacramento (at Walnut)

San Francisco, California 94109

(415) 474-7707

Welcome to the new blog for the Paul Mahder Gallery in San Francisco. The gallery offers some of the finest original international, regional and local contemporary painting and sculpture available anywhere. Our custom framing is acclaimed across the Bay Area, and the gallery is also available as a venue for corporate events, screenings, charity events, meetings, engagement parties, and of course, weddings.

Open for two years we host art openings, receptions, food tastings (so far: wine, salt, caviar, chocolate, oysters etc.) - even sit-down dinners for 50 (complete with musicians and singers). Visit us and you will find a warm and easy atmosphere - Belgian chocolates, coffee, conversation and fine art, and assistance if you wish.

Visit us at the gallery

or try the virtual tour

Click on any blog photo for a better view

Our posts will keep you up to date on our goings-on at the gallery, our artists, our staff and our services. We will also be discussing favorite artists, living and gone, the art scene in San Francisco and the art of framing, with lots of photos and information, and of course, whatever we feel like airing.

Three of us operate the gallery. Paul Mahder, for whom the gallery is named, is a photographer himself, whose uncanny talent for photographing a true portrait comes from years of experience. Paul expresses himself in portrait, landscape and nude photography, employing a dramatic 5x5 camera exposure overlay process yielding textures as backgrounds and sometimes foregrounds, here is one of my favorites called "Held by Love."

Paul's professionalism is a magnet for other innovative artists the best of which end up at our gallery. The gallery is a haven for collectors of original art looking for an art investment worth having. Forget Dow Jones, invest in art. Our artists appear in collections worldwide. See more of Paul's photography here.

Rich P, our designer, assists customers with frames and mats for purchased or personal art. You always know if Rich thought up the design and color scheme - the mats and frames perfectly complement the artwork and the environment in which it hangs. The gallery has an in-home framing service too, just call.

I'm Jonathan, our custom framer. I work with the finest precision tools, and with Rich's designs; I take the time and have the skill and experience to transform your artwork into a work of art. Our specialties include multiple mat designs, conservation and archival framing, and conservation or museum glass. I am also the primary writer of the blog and I welcome commentary on the wide selection of features and topics I have planned. Read my recent movie reviews.

Just for starters, today's topic, I love a good mystery, is the Voynich Manuscript -

Written in unrecognizable script describing unknown plants, people and astronomical symbols, the manuscript has been traded by emperors and kings for 500 years, yet no one has any idea what it actually says. What do you know about it? Click here to take a closer look - send me a translation OK? - I know you're out there somewhere.

More soon.