Oakland Art Gallery

Pro Arts and the Oakland Art Gallery present Bay Area Currents 2009, the annual juried exhibition showcasing the depth and variety of inspired artists currently working in the Bay Area art scene. Twenty-seven artists from a pool of almost 300 were selected for studio visits from which the juror made eleven final selections for the exhibit.

Selected Artists are: Bert Bergen, Adam Friedman, Daniel Healey, Donna Anderson Kam, John Patrick McKenzie, Stephanie Metz, Billy O'Callaghan, Joan Osato, Elizabeth Pedinotti, Alex Potts, and Annie Vought.

Sculptor Stephanie Metz investigates the relationship between humans and other animals in a unique and engaging medium: felted wool. The Bay Area native utilizes a laborious craft technique - needle felting - to shape wool fibers into solid free-standing sculptures that blur the line between art, science, and science fiction. On display are seven of her ‘Overbred' animals that bear the imagined results of domestication pushed to absurdity. They are both strange and familiar: the future product of bioengineering and the somehow logical next step in the process of taming nature. Metz's creatures contribute to the ongoing dialog surrounding the human demands that affect the biological world. More of her work can be viewed at www.stephaniemetz.com.

Juror Kevin B. Chen, Program Director for the Visual Arts, Literary Series, and Jazz at Intersection for the Arts, has been involved in the San Francisco Bay Area arts community for over 15 years as a curator, arts administrator, and visual artist. He serves on selection panels for such entities as the Creative Capital Foundation, San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grants and Public Art Programs, City of San Jose Cultural Affairs Office, Alameda County Arts Commission, Arts Council Silicon Valley, WORKS/San Jose, San Francisco Recycling & Disposal, Inc. and the Headlands Center for the Arts.

www.proartsgallery.org
www.stephaniemetz.com

LOCATION: Pro Arts at Oakland Art Gallery
150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza (entrance on Kahn's Alley) Oakland, CA 94612

PRESS CONTACT: info@proartsgallery.org or 510.763.4361

IMAGE REQUESTS: stephaniegmetz@gmail.com or 408-910-5476

EXHIBITION DATES: June 23 - July 24, 2009

OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday, June 25, 5 - 8pm

ARTIST TALK: Thursday, July 16, 6pm

GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday - Friday, 11am - 6pm, Saturday 11am-4pm, Closed Sunday and Monday. Open late every third Thursday. Admission is free.