San Francisco Dump Artist in Residence Exhibitions: Work by Ferris Plock, Suzanne Husky, and Bill Russell January 21, 2011

The Artist in Residence Program at Recology San Francisco will host an exhibition and reception for current artists-in-residence Ferris Plock, Suzanne Husky, and Bill Russell on Friday, January 21st, from 5-9pm and Saturday, January 22, from 1-5pm. This exhibition will be the culmination of four months of work by the artists who have scavenged materials from the dump to make art and promote recycling and reuse. Friday night’s exhibition reception will include food provided by the El Tonayense Taco Truck.

Ferris Plock: Hunt and Gather
While at the dump, painter and character illustrator Ferris Plock has continued to build on a recent body of work that incorporates elements of Japanese ukiyo-e prints and iconography from world religions with other motifs that hold personal significance. Meticulously rendered paintings simultaneously contain an elegant reverence and Plock’s characteristic humor and playfulness. Much like Plock, who had to proverbially hunt and gather at the dump for materials to make his paintings, figures in the works are engaged in their own mythic quests. Plock has used scavenged and recycled paints on panels crafted from old shipping crates and other wood retrieved from the Public Disposal and Recycling Area. Background patterns were created from stenciling found materials such as planter trays and milk crates, and found fabrics and papers served as sources of inspiration for the colorful patterns that appear in the garments of his characters. Plock’s work has been exhibited widely and included in exhibitions in Tokyo, London, and Paris.

Suzanne Husky: Sleeper Cell Raising
The wealth of materials available to Suzanne Husky during her residency at the dump enabled her to construct small habitable structures that had previously existed only in her drawings. The artist’s intention for these forms, which appear like tiny homes for characters in a folk tale, is that they be placed in a forest or garden, potentially to be slept in. While the shelters in nature-inspired shapes such as a porcupine convey a humorous charm, Husky’s description of them as “sleeper cells” alludes to more sober concerns—people living off the grid in anticipation of an environmental apocalypse, ecoterrorists mobilizing in forest hide-outs, and a metaphorical rising up of nature against encroaching industry and technology. Structures are furnished with the cast-offs of consumer culture and are even on wheels, allowing for the easy deployment of this woodland force. Husky received her MFA in 2000 from the Beaux-Arts School in Bordeaux, France. She has had residencies at the deYoung Museum in San Francisco and at Pollen Monflanquin near Bordeaux; her work will be included in Bay Area Now 6 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in 2011.

Bill Russell: Recology Sketchbook: Portraits and Stories
Visual journalist Bill Russell spent his four-month residency getting to know the people who work at Recology and metaphorically scavenging for their stories. He drew and interviewed employees and produced a book, Recology Sketchbook: Portraits and Stories, which features these biographical profiles presented in the form of an artist’s sketchbook. Route drivers, welders, company executives and recycling sorters are just some of the people featured in this book whose subplot is the story of San Francisco’s consumption and waste and what is required daily to manage it. For his exhibition, Russell will present prints of drawings made during his residency, many of which are included in his book. The publication will also be available for purchase. Russell has frequently documented the lives of workers, including in his Bay Folk Sketchbook which ran for two years in the San Francisco Chronicle. His monthly series on cabdrivers appeared in TODO magazine and a regular feature on chefs preparing basic recipes was included on Chow.com.

When:
Reception-Friday, January 21, 5-9pm
Reception-Saturday, January 22, 1-5pm
Where:
Art Studio located at 503 Tunnel Ave.
Environmental Learning Center Gallery at 401 Tunnel Ave.
http://www.recology.com/AIR