FIREHOUSE GILMAN ART GALLERY & STUDIOS

Through 2013 into January 2014, the temp space, on 1360 10th Street in Berkeley, is housing the Firehouse Gilman Village Art Gallery and Studios. 

Please come and meet some of the twentyfive plus artists on second Fridays "Art Attack" Open Studio. They will have refreshments, eclectic art of mixed media and you can buy local directly from the artists. 

To see a list of the growing list of Firehouse Gilman Village studio artists you can click here. 

Former Firehouse Art studios being rebuilt

While the new Firehouse Gilman Village studios are being built, as a second story of the old building (see architectural drawing below) which is currently being taken bare bone (see photo), and rebuilt to a thriving neighboorhood area with a cafe, shops, yoga studio and Whole Foods across the street and already in existence T.Rex retsuarant plus all the known local hangouts, the developers coin it the new "Berzerkeley", we are happy to have found such a nice home for our thriving arts community.

To reserve a spot on the new building, see the architecyural drawing below, with bayviews and affordable prices starting at $ 200 (which you can also share if you like) and an open floor plan, you can contact us here. We take applications and downpayments starting in September. Sign up for our NewZine here to recieve monthly updates on this development.

Architectural drawing by Avila Design

Posted by: Julia Lazar
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JULY 2013 EXHIBIT @ GALLERY NORTH

Helen and Harry Kottler

Long time meditation practitioners from Southern California are bringing their vibrant folklore inspired art to the Firehouse Gallery north in the Berkeley Gourmet Ghetto.

OPENING NIGHT

FRIDAY, JULY 12, 7-9PM

MEET THE ARTISTS, REFRESHMENTS SERVED, 

ARTIST'S TALK HOSTED BY TOM FRANCO

Harry Chitrakar Kottler

Artist statement:

From seventeen to nineteen I painted watercolors on the kitchen table by the window. It was a meditative experience. All of these paintings were autobiographical. Many were about love. I painted a giraffe who was like me, his head was apart from his body. The last painting I painted was of a Christ rising in a red sky. I knew this would mean that I would stop painting this way for a while, and go through a difficult period
and then resurrect. That is what happened.
During my first year of my Master of Fine Arts Degree at Pratt Institute, I was criticized for painting a symbolic painting, so I immediately switched to making hard edged paintings, the style of the time. Although I would have been successful with this style, I stopped. I felt it was pointless. For a few years I didn't paint, but then I went to the Art Students League in New York City and studied realistic painting. In January 1973, a year before I met my master, I began to draw ink drawings similar to the ones I had drawn at seventeen to nineteen. One of them, depicted me with the giraffe fading while I approached a master who held all the cards of life. I spent four of the eight years that my master lived in his company. For the next several years, I didn't paint. I looked after my father for six months after he had a stoke. We lived the South Fallsburg and the Miami Beach ashrams. A few months after my father died in the Miami Beach ashram in January 1980, I began to paint. I painted thousands of paintings. In a dream I was told, I had worked through many lifetimes of karma through painting. My paintings are now about experiences of transcendance, ecstasy, peace, and universal love. I sign my paintings Chitrakar because that was the name my master gave me. It means God as the artist.

Helen Savitri Kottler

Arists statement:

I always wanted to paint, but I feared the revelation art always is to the artist and the world at large. Every art piece is in someways a self portrait. I could not bring myself to do anything which might reveal my inner turmoil. After meditating for some years under the guidance of a master, the desire arose in me to express the essence of the spiritual teachings of the Indian scriptures in paintings. I met Harry and watched him paint for a few months. I then realized how much I envied his absorption in self expression; he poured his inner world out onto canvass. I now had the couage to do art. Harry taught me to paint from inside. My paintings, at first away to witness and resolve inner issues, have now become the leaves of a spiritual diary which celebrate and reverberate with my experience of ecstasy. I paint symbols of profound experiences and the intuitive moves to complete the paintings develop my understanding of the experiences' significance. The paintings are joyful with a ground of silent energy. I sign my paintings Savitri. Savitri is the spiritual name given to me by my master. It is another name for the goddess Parvati, the wife of Shiva. The Indian goddesses represent the creative energy of the Lord.

FIREHOUSE ART CO

For more information and directions please go to the facbook event page here.

Posted by: Julia Lazar
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Firehouse Gallery North March 2013 Exhibit and event

San Mateo—Hillsdale High School art students showcase their work, 

March 2013, at Firehouse Gallery North, 1790 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709

The exhibit, “Aspiring Artists Showcase” on view from March 8th through March 31st 2013, features 50 paintings and photographs by twenty-eight Hillsdale High juniors and seniors. 

Opening Night:Friday, March 8, 7-9pm

Live music by Chloe Little

Forum conversation with the artists and Tom Franco

Poetry readings

A collaboration between Hillsdale art teacher Cindy Lynch, and the Firehouse Art Collaborative curation team, Tom Franco and Julia Lazar.

“Our collaboration presents a unique learning environment for our students to explore their own work and their potential future as an artist,”Hillsdale Visual Art Teacher Cindy Lynch said. “We are grateful to the Firehouse Art Collaborative for making this possible.” 

Students featured in the exhibition are Haley Amoroso, Kyle Okano, Camila Benavides, Jean Ma, Philip Thomas, Kylan Wong, Christopher Hernandez, Jenny Lee, Jazmin Bustamante, Kelly Wang, Brian Spiekerman, Noam Margalit, Ava Donovan, Julia Yarak, Elise Phillips, Michael Yan, Kelly Lemons, Chang Liu, Emily Pichel, Travis Abrams, Kathryn Ullrich, Ricky Gonzalez, Danielle Gaggero, Lisa Raimondo, Shannon Song, Alex Herzog, Eric Newgard, Jordan Smith and Allison Lee.

“We met Cindy Lynch last year and her passion and enthusiasm for teaching art inspired us to develop this opportunity,” Executive Directors Tom Franco and Julia Lazar said. “These students are extremely talented and we hope this show inspires other organizations to support high school art education.”

For open door times please check our Calendar page.

For more information contact
Cindy Lynch,650-558-2699, clynch@mail.smuhsd.org
Or email Julia Lazar:  firehouse.art.collective@gmail.com

To find out more about Hillsdale High School of San Mateo.

For the Facebook event page, please click here: https://www.facebook.com/events/235259859943348/

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MARKO YAMAGATA EXHIBIT GALLERY NORTH January 2013

"Dactylformes and Slumberines" 

"Sounding the Depths" alluringly strange dreamscapes by Marko Yamagata seem to chunnel between the ocean's dark abyss and the vacuum of deep space; between ancient ruins of surrealistic (Etruscan?) grandeur and a fantastical future designed by Pataphysicians. See it to disbelieve it." 

Opening night:

Friday, January 11, 7-9pm

1790 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley Gourmet Ghetto

Meet and greet the artist, plus a slice of Firehouse art collaborators who plan to come to help celebrate a new year. Snacks, bevvy donation bar, Marko's eclectic selected tunes and always a surprise or two. 

Marko Yamagata was born in January, a true pragmatist, who is also a principal Firehouse Artist and has had his art studio at the Firehouse Gallery North location for over 5 years.
With a BA of fine art from the University of Reno Nevada he is primarily drawing & painting mono print plus creates collages. His 3D work includes puppet type sculptures with deep sea themes. Paradoxes.

Keeping a balance between the grotesque and the comic his influences range widely. Alfred Jarry. Ken Price. Max Ernst and Art Clokey creator of Gumby...to name just a few.

He has had gallery shows in east bay since 1985.

We look forward to showing off one of our finest artists for the month of January 2013.
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Holidays! Back to celebrate Art and Peeps

Time to count all blessings of the year closing, to celebrate family, neighbors, connections made, losses and gains, friends and frenemies, our East Bay environment, collective accomplishments and collaborative learning. The whole gamut it takes to make up life at the cutting edge of authentic artist living.
Tons of gratitude to all the currency it takes to stay sustainable, even thrive, and those who manage to continue to support in every large and smallest way.

Gracias = graciousness and gratitude to Youz.
Big Holla out to our interns and volunteers across the entire bay!
Go Cal students and thanks a bunch to help put our events on the map.

At the Firehouse Art CoLab we like to THANK ALL our collaborators, for a year full of healthy growth, some healthy pruning, tons of creative nourishment, stellar food supporting our events and artists artists artists everywhere we venue. You are such an inspiration, we've listed you all year and look forward to showing you off to what's next to come.

Here is what's up for the last weeks of 2012:

Friday, November 30, 6-8 pm at the Public Market in Emeryville
Sparkling live jazz and DJ music, art exhibit opening for Carol Jenkins and Ellen Zucker curated and
hosted by Tom Franco.

Gallery North Open Door hours for the holidays, on 1790 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley CA 94709.
Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays 4-8pm hosted by exhibiting artists Robert J Knight and Julia Lazar extended show through December 31, 2012.

Friday, December 14, 6-9 pm at the Public Market in Emeryville
Holiday celebration made easy, with an FAC curated Feature Friday event, hosted and curated by Tom Franco and Julia Lazar. Featuring artists Annie Lourie and Leo Zubritsky who have a lifetime of awe inspiring art to show, live only- no website peeps, gotta come see their awesomeness in person.

Holiday Art Gifts will be available by some of our best diy Makers and Artisans coming to show & sell that day only. Experience a stellar line up under the coolest roof in Emeryville to date. Let's celebrate.
Also, bring your tiny peeps, as we will have our all time favorite face painter Tammy Artis on board again.
Located by the popular kid's play space ball pit by the back entrance.
Tip: Back entrance is also a great spot to park and enter.

ELLEN ZUCKER: Showing November-December

CAROL JENKINS: Showing November - December 2012

ANNIE LOURIE, in her 90s paints in her studio every day. Really. Showing December - January 2013

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November show open through December 1st

Thanks to everyone who came to the opening on Friday November 9th, Art Attack...we were packed to capacity at 9pm...Cool!
Stay tuned for the video, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Betsy Franco read poetry from her book "Metamorphosis", Tom Franco debuted his live singing and guitar playing skills, Jimmy Dillon sang "Hold on to your dreams..." friends, neighbors, cal students, artists, live punk rock, DJs, peeps from our of town...made this the kind of party you smile for days about...we did.

Robert J Knight's sculptures resonate, especially with the men folk, in a big way. Every time we open the gallery door people stream inside and marvel at the symbolism, craftsmanship, tactility and authenticity of the Heart in Wood sculptures.

"To facilitate the Open Door times for the gallery, the exhibiting artists volunteer to host on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 4pm to 8pm through Saturday. 

December 1st, is closing night with refreshments, music and hopefully You."

Updates about daily and weekly events are easy to find on our facebook page.

ARTISTS
Julia Lazar
"Picture the Art of Life"
Photography

Robert J Knight
"Hearts in Wood and mixed Media"
Sculptural wall hangings

Tom Franco CoLab
"2012"
Sculpture and paintings

• Photography exhibit chronicles the art of life...in nature, travel, current culture and surroundings captured by Julia Lazar. 
• New exhibit of Bob Knight's amazing heart sculptures carved of wood with symbolic renderings in metal and found objects.
• Experience two new paintings from Tom Franco's Art Lab 2012

Robert J Knight "Hearts in Wood" sculptures

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