Frontrunners: The San Francisco Foundation 2011 Murphy & Cadogan Fellowship Awards Exhibition at SOMArts Cultural Center showcases the work of the recipients of the Jack and Gertrude Murphy Fellowships, and the Edwin Anthony and Adelaine Bourdeaux Cadogan Fellowships in the Fine Arts, that aims to provide assistance to promising visual artists from regional Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) programs working across disciplines, and are an integral part of the future of the Bay Area visual and media arts landscape. Local curators Susan O’Malley of the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Chris Perez of Ratio 3 Gallery, and Justin Hoover of SOMArts Cultural Center reviewed 120 submitted portfolios. After careful evaluation, they recommended these MFA visual art students to receive the annual tuition award of $3,500 and participation in this exhibition.
There are many parallels to this exhibition and the Bay Area Now 6 visual arts exhibition at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts not only in its inception, but also to the depth and complexity in the technique of artwork and the themes discussed. Both of these exhibitions have such exceptional work and both discuss pertinent topics and explore significant themes, it’s important to see both of these exhibitions to get a true sense of the breadth of contemporary Bay Area art and its artists.
As a side note, the spectacular visual and spatial experience, and artistic ingenuity of Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck’s Tomorrow should not be missed. Two synced time-lapse videos show two landscapes, sky and urban, harmoniously together until the last few moments when urbanism rises to its height and the bomber planes loom overhead, clouding the fair weather and cast ominous shadows over the city. The quick deluge of warfare catches the viewer (and presumably the city) by surprise, offering three viewpoints for reflection: the unfortunate fate for the city and people below, the tenacity and duty fulfilled of the pilots of the planes, and the helplessness of the viewer him or herself, only able to watch the events play on without ability to intercede, and to ask, “Is this really Tomorrow?”
Frontrunners: SF Foundation 2011 Murphy and Cadogan Fellowship Awards is on view at SOMArts Cultural Center un September 16, 2011 at 934 Brannan St. (between 8th & 9th).
