Artists:

Misun Ahn
Mark Berton
Susan Bregman
Patrick Brockway
Darren Clark
Tram Davies
Geoff Day
Micah Dion
Ivan Dryer
Mark Fields
Derek Fitzer
Karen Gellert
Andy Hoets
David Hwu
Mark Interrante
Robert Jones
Paula Kelly
Ryan Ketterman
Artemy Kolchinsky
Roger Krueger
Amy Lawrence
Matthew Lennert
Adam Moore
George Seitz
Ron Tarver
Mark Teitelbaum
Michael Van Vooren
Andrew Vogt
Tony Walton
Angela Wang
Mark Warren
Vincent Wolf
Pat Yingst

What constitutes a "Biennial Nocturne," anyway?

Lets go back to the original exhibition from which this show (and the site itself) takes it name: The Nocturnes, installed at Gallery Sanchez, in San Francisco in 1991. Perhaps the curator's statement from that show will shed some light on the darker shadows of the topic

"Darkness comes early this time of year. It's the end of the harvest, and winter is coming. The band Blue Rubies rehearse their druidic mantras, blending Leonard Cohen, Curtis Mayfield, the Clash, et al. into a deathly brew. The Rituals - Day of the Dead, Halloween, Samhain (the Celtic New Year), and the upcoming winter solstice - have become important to us. The Prevailing Imagery - death and destruction (and a day that looked like night) in the Oakland Hills, senseless death in the stormy Sonoma night, the anniversaries of the runaway car accident in Noe Valley, and Loma Prieta (Dark Hill) - is embedded in our collective psyche. And These Images - the deadly stillness of alien landscapes, the decaying autos, buildings, freeways, graveyards, and monuments; forms that echo ancient Celtic dolmens and passagegraves; Death Row and Death Valley, in "living color" - all touch us, and hopefully bring us closer to an understanding of our fragile relationship with the world around us. What we call our life.

I did not set out to curate a show with decay, destruction, and death as thematic goals. But the overall sense in viewing these pieces is one of mystery, of deathly quiet, of hinted-at rituals, of people-less landscapes. Darkness does come early this time of year."

Tim Baskerville
Curator, The Nocturnes
November 1991

© Adam Moore

© Andrew Vogt

© Derek Fitzer