Amazing gallery exhibition of contemporary fine art automata in San Francisco

Artwork by Tom Haney

I am thrilled to tell you about an upcoming show at Heron Arts titled Perpetual Motion: Contemporary Interpretations of Fine Art Automata.

It is hard to believe, but this will be among the first gallery exhibition of contemporary fine art automata in the United States.  The group show features eleven well known kinetic sculpture artists.

From the press release:

Curated by Heron Arts director Noah Antieau and Atlanta-based automata artist Tom Haney, exhibiting artists were chosen based on their craftsmanship and lifetime dedication to this artistic medium. Exhibiting artists include: David Archer (AUS), Chris Fitch (USA), Nemo Gould (USA), Tom Haney (USA), Thomas Kuntz (USA), Pat Keck (USA), Richard Landon (USA), Paul Spooner (UK), and husband and wife collaborators Dean Lucker and Ann Wood (USA).

Now THAT is an impressive list of names! You will not want to miss this one.

Here is a nice article about the show that was recently released by SF Station. Here is a recent blog post about the show by Tom Haney.

What:
Perpetual Motion: Contemporary Interpretations of Fine Art Automata

Where:
Heron Arts
7 Heron St, SF, CA 94103

When:
Opens on April 16th, 2016 with a reception from 6-9pm and runs through May 14th, 2016

Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Saturday 3-7pm and by appointment

Website Info:
heronarts.com

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Artist Chris Fitch gives an in-depth explanation of the mechanics of his incredible swimming fish kinetic sculpture

Artist Chris Fitch took the time to of put together a video in which he explains the mechanics of his limited edition piece titled, Tantalus Mackerel. I don't need to say much more here, because his explanation is so good.

As for the piece, here is what Chris Fitch as to say about it:

The story of Tantalus has been, since its Greek origins, a consistently applicable metaphor for the human condition. Tantalus angered the gods by trying to feed them the flesh of his own son, passed off as ambrosia. For this, he was chained to the bottom of a lake that reached to his chin. With luscious grapes drooping from vines above his nose, starving Tantalus was unable to enjoy either food or drink, as they were pulled away whenever he reached. I won't go on about how I think this relates to American culture today, which suffers from a kind of self-inflicted hunger from unrealistic expectations. Nor will I attempt to make any connection between the story of Tantalus and our current global problem with mercury levels in deep sea fish, and how we are our own gods and are punished by our own actions when we poison our own food supply. Let me just say, instead, that this piece is about a frustrated fish trying to catch a bug.

It's an incredible piece in every way: the narrative, the artistry, the mechanics. He only made three of these beauties, and (as of this writing) one is still available. For more videos and photos of sculptures by Chris Fitch, visit http://www.chrisfitchsculpture.com.

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Move Me - kinetic sculpture exhibit now in Boston

Move Me is a exhibit featuring the kinetic sculpture of Chris Fitch, Arthur Ganson, Tom Haney, Steve Hollinger and Erica von Schilgen. The exhibit is located at AXIOM Center for New and Experimental Media outside of Boston, Massachusetts and runs from April 28th to May 28th, 2011.

From the AXIOM web site:

The works explore the intimate, poetic drama created as electricity, clockworks or human interaction physically "moves" kinetic sculpture but also emotionally "moves" an observer. Ranging from the clandestine use of mechanics and electronics to the intentionally obvious revelation of the inner workings, the show explores the relationship created between artwork and viewer when moving sculpture's narratives unfold in real time.

Where:
AXIOM
141 Green Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

When:
April 28th to May 28th, 2011
Opening Reception and Artist’s Talk
Thursday, April 28, 2011 6-8 pm

Here is a link to the AXIOM web site for more information on the Move Me exhibit.

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Giant mechanical fern sculpture by Chris Fitch

Take a look at this gorgeous video of a beautifully done sculpture by artist Chris Fitch.

From the sculpture description:

Originally inspired by looking at ferns on a walk in the woods, "Spring" is a mechanical abstraction of the same unfurling action that occurs in fiddleheads. The title is a double-entendre referring also to the coiled spring-like shape that the sculpture assumes. In fact, in an earlier version of this piece, there was a coiled spring incorporated into the mechanism.

See more kinetic art by Chris Fitch on his web site.

[ Thanks Ellen and Dave! ]

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