Oakland

Dr. Brains(ane) Will See You Now

by Sarah Bass | Jan 12, 2024 12:36 pm

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Posted to: Visual Art

Joseph Kowalczyk
Fm Gallery
483 25th St.
Oakland

On a small pedestal at waist are a clutter of ceramic sculptures, none more than 10 or 12 inches high. They are a small selection of Joseph Kowalczyk​’s (pronounced ko-val-chick, according to his business card) irreverent and also slightly dark ceramic sculptural works.

Kowalczyk is one of 10 artists who share studio space at Fm Gallery in Oakland. It is still open to the public every first Friday as part of Oakland Art Murmur (even though the street fair is currently on hiatus). The artists work in all manner of media and had a wide variety of works on display for visitors. Metal skeleton-sculptures hung from the ceiling in one area, detailed oil paintings occupied another, and, my other favorite corner of the night, a wall of watercolor paintings by Aaron Bos-Wahl.

Let’s start with these two, since they were positioned at the front of the small display. They are ​“Lollipop Monster: Tooter,” and their lopsided grin-maces and and oddly emotive eyes, perched atop large lumpy bodies spoke to me. Their hands may be hanging, they may be balled in fists. Their expressions are indeterminate, but not upsetting. Are they happy, sad? Confused, inquisitive? The glossy black eyes of the pink figure say one thing, the duller red of his chrome cousin another. 

“Father LipLick 2”’s face is also set in a manner unclear to me. Are his eyes closed or gone? Is he singing, praying, whistling? His hands clasp, his small protruding ears curl, his shiny helmet of Lego-man hair catches the light. His tiny chin juts. Where is his tongue if he is to indeed lick his lips? Where is his other in ceramic lip-licking brotherhood?

Elsewhere in the tangle of figures (they were really quite close to one another, so apologies for the angles) was Dr. Brainsane. His bulging a‑woooo-ga eyes on rods, his cherry-red mouth hole and bubblegum pink tongue, and crisp shirt collar are the sort of details that might finish off another, simpler piece, but here they fade into the background, with a metallic knife in one hand, crackled skull cup in the other, and, naturally, a head full of exposed brains. Maniacal but cheerful, he appears a danger mostly to himself, and his brain folds as much of a pain to dust as the horseshoe of textured brown hair below.

Bos-Wahl’s painting ranged in size, subject, and style, with most tacked up to the white wall unframed. Those with a natural theme interested me the most, a centrally positioned image of a plywood board in the bed of a soft green pickup truck parked in the shadow of a magnolia tree being my favorite. I learned via his instagram that it is entitled ​“Adopt The Earth and its Young People” and was taken of a truck he sees around regularly. 

The plywood grain is a simple and highly effective painting, with the lettering given a real stenciled feel. A royal blue handkerchief hangs tucked partially behind the board, the single brightest spot. The dappled light of the rich leaves of the magnolia tree, instantly recognizable to me, is warm on the truck door, and the avocado colored paint is uneven with swirls and strokes, yellows and grays. The image is so ordinary and rendered with real delicacy and love, a record of the mundane and an extension of the message shared by the real truck each day.

Open studios are a really great way to engage with the most contemporary of art and artists. Several members lounged with each other or in their own studio spaces, lending a very lived-in feel to the tidied studio. And a spin around a studio of 10 markedly different artists displayed in close proximity is bound to elicit a feeling or two from most any visitor.

Studio hours are Saturdays 1 – 5 m., every first Friday of the month 5 – 9 p.m., or by appointment.

Tags: Open Studios , art walk , oakland