UP NEXT... "I WISH I COULD TALK" BY SUPERDEUX OPENING THU 9/1

September 1 thru 29, 2011
Peek Gallery presents
"I WISH I COULD TALK"
by SUPERDEUX
@ Peek Gallery at The Summit, 780 Valencia St., San Francisco

September 1 thru 29, 2011
Peek Gallery presents
"I WISH I COULD TALK"
by SUPERDEUX
@ Peek Gallery at The Summit, 780 Valencia St., San Francisco

On Thursday, September 1, Peek Gallery is thrilled to present "I WISH I
COULD TALK" by multi-media French artist Sebastien Roux aka SuperDeux.
Over the last year, The Summit has explored artistic collections with
media, framed murals, hand-painted signs, and recently photography. With
work spanning toys to television, SuperDeux introduces The Summit’s first
exploration into graphic art and media with an eclectic collection of
works centered around "Moody" - a seemingly playful hand-character who is
inspired by its own visual power of trying to express and "iconify"
everything. This show will feature limited edition hand screen printed
wood panels, a set of resin sculptures, and an Interactive video
installation created in collaboration with SecretFeature Studio.

Sebastien Roux’s work in animation and graphic art began in the late 90’s
where it ultimately led him to superdeux.com. Roux’s dynamic spectrum of
colors and comic shapes were not originally intended for commercial use,
but Superdeux’s early work caught the eye of Pictoplasma – an online
design catalogue considered to be the preeminent point of supply for
advertising executives. Roux is now a resident of San Francisco, where he
serves as Creative Director of mochimedia.com.

Several SuperDeux designs are available in the form of toys, prints and
t-shirts at kidrobot and other stores worldwide.

Exhibition Dates:
September 1 – 29, 2011

Opening Reception:
Thursday, September 1, 2011, 7-11pm
Special Guest DJs

thesummit-sf.com
superdeux.com

The Photos: IF IT FITS IN THE BACKPACK...10 Years On the Road with MOCHILLA.

If It Fits In The Backpack... 10 Years of MOCHILLA, a set on Flickr.

"IF IT FITS IN THE BACKPACK...10 Years On the Road with MOCHILLA" features over 30 photos shot by B+ and Eric Coleman as MOCHILLA over the last 10 years, showcasing their cultural imprint on music from all over the world and their brilliant execution as photographers and videographers.

All prints are 16x20 Type Cs.
They are printed personally by the photographers.
They are artists proofs.
Framed $550 Unframed $350

Limited Edition Show Posters
Individually signed
All posters are 11x17
Poster $25

For sales or inquiries, please contact Gallery Director, Marky Enriquez: marky[@]thesummit-sf.com

Opening of IF IT FITS IN THE BACKPACK...10 Years On the Road with MOCHILLA at Peek Gallery

The opening of Mochilla's 10 Year Exhibition at The Summit SF/ Peek Gallery was pretty incredible. Still feelin the effects... Thanks to everyone who made it out, all the press/media/friends for the support, and a BIG THANK YOU to Mochilla for sharing their work on our walls, honored! In case you missed it, show runs JUN 2- JUL 7 2011 at Peek Gallery inside THE SUMMIT SF.

Here's Mike Park of Mochilla's photo recap of the event... via @ Mike Park on Parallel Park

VIEW FULL SET


via @ Mike Park on Parallel Park

VIEW FULL SET

IF IT FITS IN THE BACKPACK...10 Years On the Road with MOCHILLA.

Peek Gallery in association with Noise Pop presents
IF IT FITS IN THE BACKPACK...10 Years On the Road with MOCHILLA
The photography and films of B+ and Coleman
@ Peek Gallery at The Summit, 780 Valencia St., San Francisco

On June 2nd, 2011, Peek Gallery in association with Noise Pop proudly presents an exclusive photo gallery IF IT FITS IN THE BACKPACK...10 Years On the Road with MOCHILLA. Between B+ and Coleman, Mochilla's co-founders, the two have photographed some of music's biggest icons, including Eminem, Lauryn Hill, Black Eyed Peas, DJ Shadow, MF Doom, Dilated Peoples, Blackalicious, David Axelrod, Mulatu Astatke, J.Dilla, EPMD, Snoop Dogg, Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli), Damian Marley, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Madlib, Jay Electronica, and many others. Outside of their photography work, Mochilla developed into a full service production company, producing 3 groundbreaking music films which include KEEPINTIME, BRASILINTIME, and TIMELESS, all exploring the connection between Jazz/Soul/Funk/Brasilian music and the latter generation of DJs and producers who were so influenced by the previous generation's music and aesthetic. Recent video projects include Eric Coleman's video work w/ Jay Electronica in South Africa; B+'s travels w/ Nas & Damian Marley in Jamaica; an interview with the legendary Jose Maria "Curro" Fuentes (producer of some of Colombia's most important musicians and orchestras on his own Discos Curro imprint); and their combined work on Banksy's film, "Exit Through The Gift Shop."

The June 2nd, 2011 grand opening of IF IT FITS IN THE BACKPACK...10 Years On the Road with MOCHILLA will feature work made under the Mochilla aegis over the last 10 years, showcasing their cultural imprint on music from all over the world and their brilliant execution as photographers and videographers.

The photography and films of
B+ and ERIC COLEMAN (MOCHILLA)

Exhibition Dates:
June 2 - June 30, 2011

Opening Reception:
Thursday, June 2, 2011, 7-11pm
Exclusive film screening with Q&A starts 7pm
(films featuring Damian Marley, Nas, Jay Electronica, Quantic, J Dilla)
Special Guest DJs.

thesummit-sf.com
mochilla.com
noisepop.com

A sneak peek...

HEART SOUL SPIRIT Opening Reception + EXCLUSIVE video interview.

Thanks to everyone who came out last night to our opening reception of HEART SOUL SPIRIT, where peek gallery paid tribute to Michael Rios, one of the few pioneers of San Francisco's now thriving street art scene. We were thrilled to open up our gallery space to exhibit his vivacious, stirring, passionate work...if it weren't for Michael and his contemporaries, the art scene and San Francisco itself would not be the same as it is today.

In case you missed it, don't worry--Michael's art will be up until May 19th. So feel free to come stop by and see artwork that influenced and inspired many newer generations of artists to take their craft to the streets.

Last but not least, we've got a special treat for all of you...and that is our own peek gallery video interview exclusive with Michael! Go behind-the-scenes with Michael into his Mission studio where he talks about his past as an artist growing up, his first Mission murals, and about his times collaborating with Carlos Santana. Thanks to our wonderful friend Carmen, without her hard work and generous help this video would not have been possible:

Heart Soul Spirit: The Art of Michael Rios from VIZIBELLE on Vimeo.

- matt delong, peek gallery

The Connectedness of Art + Music

In our recent interview with Michael Rios (which will be posted very soon), he elaborated to great length on the connection between art and music. While rooted together in their own nature of self-expression, the two mediums do contain their differences. Audiences engage fine art visually, while, on the other hand, music remains purely an audible engagement. Being an artist and musician, Michael showed us that all art, no matter what medium, is connected by and deals specifically with what he calls "spirituality". 

Wait, spirituality? How does spirituality factor into art?

Being a host to art galleries, I'm always interested in hearing artists, in their own words, ruminate on their own perspectives of art. Michael's statement about art, about how it "fills people up, spiritually" seemed such an intriguing, yet simplistic take on art that I had never considered nor heard before. But how exactly did he arrive at this notion of spirituality being the essential framework for his artistry?

After we had sat down and talked with Michael in his studio for a while, he got up from his chair and moved over to the back corner of the room. There stood an amp and an older Gibson BB King signature "Lucille" guitar. He sat down on the nearby couch, plugged the guitar into the old amp, and started playing. And there we stood, watching him play his guitar as if he was hypnotized, his eyes closed as if to dig deep inside for each and every note. He kept playing, on and on, sliding through notes and scales fluidly as if possessed. And still we stood there, motionless in a gaze of sheer astonishment. 

It wasn't until that moment that we realized what exactly he meant by art relying on its spiritual essence to communicate to others. It was something you can't explain, you can't point out. No, it's an intangible, something beyond human perception. Except that when it's there, you feel it. It was this very essence of spirituality that he says he and Carlos both recognized, fostered and shared when it came to art, ultimately leading to collaboration after collaboration between the both of them.

Even just last year, Carlos touches briefly on the exact same point in an interview (quote starts @ 10:16) with the SF Arts Commission:

"That's when music is very liberating, this is why 'Imagine' is what it is...when you hear 'Imagine' [from] anywhere in the world...as soon as you hear the melody, people [sing] 'and the world will be as one'...B.B. King, James Brown, and Cream... they were able to penetrate people's hearts with the music...once you penetrate someone's heart, something happens to their eyes--they become brighter, they get chills, they start crying, they don't know why, they start dancing..."

After talking with Michael and watching the interview with Carlos, it seems that the very essence of art itself revolves around spirituality. As spirituality deals with the very truisms of the human experience that connect us all, art has to deal with the spiritual in order to fully communicate its meaning and have the power to resonate.

Alright, Summit people, exactly one more week til the opening reception...and be sure to stay tuned for our intriguing, exclusive video interview with Michael Rios, coming soon!

- matt delong, peek gallery