Kevin E. Taylor and Sarah Smith @ Swarm

There's an awesome show up at Swarm Gallery in Oakland right now. I was there gallery-sitting the other day and here are some photos I took of the work. Great stuff!

CCA Holiday Fair

California College of the Arts is having their annual Holiday Fair on Saturday, December 1st. I've been before and let me tell you that is a wonderful opportunity to get some cool (not to mention cheap!) art while supporting local art students. There will be music and food as well so put it on your calendar.

CCA Holiday Fair
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, December 1, 2007
Oliver Art Center on CCA's Oakland campus
5212 Broadway (at College Avenue)

Code Switching

We had a really fun opening last night at Swarm for Code Switching. The show is based around a group of artists that are part of the collective Quorum. There's a little something for everyone in the show, from painting to sculpture to new media. I'm mad at myself for not taking pictures of the party but here's my favorite piece from the show:


Laurel Roth
Cheap Thrills
made from fake nails, hair clips, false eyelashes and other drugstore miscellanea

Thanks for Coming!

We had lots of fun last night at Swarm. Hooray for bloggers and friends! I thought the whole night was enjoyable (okay, maybe not when the insane elderly man wandered in) and was so happy to show off all the cool stuff we do at Swarm to some folks. See you all again on October 13th when we go to the SF Conservatory.

Studios Available for Rent @ Swarm

In case anyone knows an artist looking for a studio, here's the listing for two studios that just opened up at Swarm in Oakland...

About the Studios

Studio 6 and Studio 10 available October 1, 2007.

Studios available are 225 sq ft and 160 sq ft.

Contact Swarm for viewing, or visit during gallery hours
Tu-Su 12-6PM

Swarm Studios provides an atmosphere of creativity, production, inspiration and opportunity for working artists in the Bay Area. High redwood ceilings and an industrial concrete floor characterize the beautiful studio space. There are 11 private studios and a large common space.

Swarm Studios is ideal for artists working in painting/drawing, small sculpture, jewelry, bookmaking, sewing, multi-media projects, digital and more. No large/loud sculpture fabrication.

24-hour secure access
Natural and artificial lighting (fluorescent and halogen 0-UV)
High ceilings
Common clean-up sinks and bathrooms
Shared kitchen
Ventilation
Canvas and personal storage
Parking on evenings and weekends
A mailing address / Virtual tenants OK
Wireless Internet
Month-to-month rental agreement

The building is safe and well lit, located in the commercial district of Jack London Square. Studios range in size from 80 – 225 square feet

Artists may apply for a private studio by downloading a rental application form and submitting it by email or snail-mail. Swarm will host events such as openings, classes, and workshops, which may preclude the use of the common space. Drop-in day and week rates available for common work space.

Contact: info@swarmstudios.net for leasing information

Artifice of Form

We had the opening for Artifice of Form at Swarm Gallery last night and it was a great time. I finally got to meet Josh Keyes, whose work I have loved for quite a while now. The show stays up until October 14th so there's no excuse not to come and see it. There was also the debut of the Oakland Art Shuttle which took all the drunk-o gallery hoppers to the different openings. I think Oakland is really kicking San Francisco's ass right now in terms of supporting the art galleries and the visual arts in general. I hope we can catch up someday.

Mark Your Calendars!

Kevin and I are setting up another Blogger's Night event, this time at the lovely Swarm Gallery. You'll finally get to see what I've been blabbing about! So if you came to the symphony event, or even if you didn't, mark down October 4th for a night of artsy fartsy fun! Email me if you wanna be put on the list: jennifercrane@gmail.com.

Critical Chaos!

If you've got nothing better to do on Thursday night (Aug. 16th), or even if you do, come over to Oakland and visit me at Swarm Gallery. The opening of Critical Chaos is from 6 to 9 p.m. I saw the work for the first time today and really loved it. Here is some proof of the awesomeness:


One of the works by Erik Friedman



Detail of a piece by Ema Harris-Sintamarian