Trek Kelly
December 18, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO, CA. – Frey Norris Gallery is pleased to present, “Hotel California” the debut solo exhibition for Los Angeles based artist Trek Thunder Kelly, opening Thursday, March 15 and continuing through April 29, 2007. Transforming the space into a hotel lobby (only a block from one of many real Hotel Californias) will allow Kelly to explore dozens of facets of California’s identity and impact in the larger world.
About the Art
Trek Kelly contributes major canvases - four by six foot portraits - of icons like Lauren Bacall, James Dean, Clark Gable and Jim Morrison. These Golden Age giants meld in typical Adobe Photoshop fashion with contemporary celebrities like Demi Moore and Kobe Bryant, ringing as doubly glamorous and doubly hollow our obsession with beauty and notoriety, the popular deifying of figures caught in the light of fame for fame’s sake. Painted in crisp acrylics, they demonstrate the artist’s mastery of traditional skills of draftsmanship and composition, as they simultaneously worship and debase the subject matter.
A giant Sequoia tree made with stitched together wetsuits will fill the two floor gallery atrium under the skylight, dripping with a chandelier of glass and synthetic streamers of kelp, and evoking the east/west California axis of outdoor activity, from sun and surfing to our world-famous mountainous national parks. The artificiality of this compression mimics the experience of millions of tourists looking for the exact fulfillment of the postcards that lured them here in the first place.
A life-sized bear decked out for ballet guards the back of the gallery, homage to the performing monsters of the old circus and the glorifying of our state symbol (emblazoned on our state flag).
Golden keys completely blanket one gallery wall, running up onto the ceiling, one for each of the last year’s suicides off the Golden Gate Bridge. These “Keys to the Golden Gate” speak of the enormous tragedy of what may be the most popular sight for suicide in the United States, kept conspicuously out of the headlines, though the last year saw much controversy over whether or not to install “suicide barriers” on this magnificent American icon. Embedded clues and ciphers will lead one lucky gallery visitor to buried treasure somewhere within the confines of San Francisco’s city limits.
A door to Room 13 conjures Rod Serling, breathing a host of haunting bar room sounds. This contains interlaced fountains for immigrants and Americans, parodying our own unique California caste system. Did Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger inhale? You bet, and on camera to boot. Trek Kelly gives us even more proof in a small action figure ready for play.
A Cialis and Levitra cushioned casting couch invites visitors to relax and contemplate the rest of the show – perhaps inviting the artist to make an inappropriate sexual advance?
A Steve Buscemi look alike contest examines with poignant humor the desperate and manic hunger of hundreds of dreamers lured to L.A. by the hope of any kind of break, no matter how remote, in the Hollywood fame-broker machine. The winner will get $250 and a role in a short film directed by the artist.
The artist explains one of the show centerpieces as follows:
“Kid Auto Makes an Observation about Kid Blue in Venice’ is from a William Blake Poem. Aldous Huxley used the line for the title of his book on LSD. Jim Morrison used the Aldous Huxley title to form the band ‘The Doors.’ The title of the piece will be painted backwards in script on the wall opposite the mirror. When you look in the mirror, you will be able to read the writing behind you, but the message will be fractured by the angled reflections. ‘There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.’
“Kid Auto Goes to the Races in Venice” was Charlie Chaplin’s first movie. “Kid Blue” was a movie starring Dennis Hopper during the 70s. Both stars were/are Venice Beach locals. The title refers to the riddle of the mirror. Charlie (who perches on Hopper’s shoulder) is making an observation about Dennis. The answer to this observation is in the pictographs surrounding the center piece that form the shape of a question mark. These read: I can not see you smile (eye can knot sea you smile). All pictures (except for Hopper and Chaplin) were taken one afternoon on the boardwalk in Venice. The “eye” is a fortune-teller, the “you” is a local graffiti artist, the “smile” is a homeless man that bills himself as the world’s greatest Wine-o.
Hotel California
March 15, 2007 – April 29, 2007
Press Contact
Wendi Norris
Frey Norris Gallery
T: (415) 346-7812
F: (415) 346-7877
Trek Kelly: Hotel California
March 15 – April 29, 2007
- Witness the complete transformation of Frey Norris Gallery into the slickest quintessence of Californiana ever to grace a gallery space, an examination and celebration of the many things perverse, sentimental, magnificent, cliché, warped and saccharine that often define our enchanting state.
- View four by six foot painted portraits of conflated icons like Lauren Bacall, James Dean, Clark Gable and Jim Morrison with modern day celebrities like Demi Moore and Kobe Bryant.
- Dance under a giant Sequoia tree made with wetsuits, a life-sized bear decked out for ballet, thousands of golden keys (with a treasure hunt), a door to Room 13, fountains for immigrants (and the clothes off their backs), a Cialis and Levitra cushioned casting couch – all manufactured by the artist.
December 18, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO, CA. – Frey Norris Gallery is pleased to present, “Hotel California” the debut solo exhibition for Los Angeles based artist Trek Thunder Kelly, opening Thursday, March 15 and continuing through April 29, 2007. Transforming the space into a hotel lobby (only a block from one of many real Hotel Californias) will allow Kelly to explore dozens of facets of California’s identity and impact in the larger world.
About the Art
Trek Kelly contributes major canvases - four by six foot portraits - of icons like Lauren Bacall, James Dean, Clark Gable and Jim Morrison. These Golden Age giants meld in typical Adobe Photoshop fashion with contemporary celebrities like Demi Moore and Kobe Bryant, ringing as doubly glamorous and doubly hollow our obsession with beauty and notoriety, the popular deifying of figures caught in the light of fame for fame’s sake. Painted in crisp acrylics, they demonstrate the artist’s mastery of traditional skills of draftsmanship and composition, as they simultaneously worship and debase the subject matter.
A giant Sequoia tree made with stitched together wetsuits will fill the two floor gallery atrium under the skylight, dripping with a chandelier of glass and synthetic streamers of kelp, and evoking the east/west California axis of outdoor activity, from sun and surfing to our world-famous mountainous national parks. The artificiality of this compression mimics the experience of millions of tourists looking for the exact fulfillment of the postcards that lured them here in the first place.
A life-sized bear decked out for ballet guards the back of the gallery, homage to the performing monsters of the old circus and the glorifying of our state symbol (emblazoned on our state flag).
Golden keys completely blanket one gallery wall, running up onto the ceiling, one for each of the last year’s suicides off the Golden Gate Bridge. These “Keys to the Golden Gate” speak of the enormous tragedy of what may be the most popular sight for suicide in the United States, kept conspicuously out of the headlines, though the last year saw much controversy over whether or not to install “suicide barriers” on this magnificent American icon. Embedded clues and ciphers will lead one lucky gallery visitor to buried treasure somewhere within the confines of San Francisco’s city limits.
A door to Room 13 conjures Rod Serling, breathing a host of haunting bar room sounds. This contains interlaced fountains for immigrants and Americans, parodying our own unique California caste system. Did Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger inhale? You bet, and on camera to boot. Trek Kelly gives us even more proof in a small action figure ready for play.
A Cialis and Levitra cushioned casting couch invites visitors to relax and contemplate the rest of the show – perhaps inviting the artist to make an inappropriate sexual advance?
A Steve Buscemi look alike contest examines with poignant humor the desperate and manic hunger of hundreds of dreamers lured to L.A. by the hope of any kind of break, no matter how remote, in the Hollywood fame-broker machine. The winner will get $250 and a role in a short film directed by the artist.
The artist explains one of the show centerpieces as follows:
“Kid Auto Makes an Observation about Kid Blue in Venice’ is from a William Blake Poem. Aldous Huxley used the line for the title of his book on LSD. Jim Morrison used the Aldous Huxley title to form the band ‘The Doors.’ The title of the piece will be painted backwards in script on the wall opposite the mirror. When you look in the mirror, you will be able to read the writing behind you, but the message will be fractured by the angled reflections. ‘There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.’
“Kid Auto Goes to the Races in Venice” was Charlie Chaplin’s first movie. “Kid Blue” was a movie starring Dennis Hopper during the 70s. Both stars were/are Venice Beach locals. The title refers to the riddle of the mirror. Charlie (who perches on Hopper’s shoulder) is making an observation about Dennis. The answer to this observation is in the pictographs surrounding the center piece that form the shape of a question mark. These read: I can not see you smile (eye can knot sea you smile). All pictures (except for Hopper and Chaplin) were taken one afternoon on the boardwalk in Venice. The “eye” is a fortune-teller, the “you” is a local graffiti artist, the “smile” is a homeless man that bills himself as the world’s greatest Wine-o.
About Frey Norris Gallery
Focusing on important Bay Area artists and internationally recognized artists from Asia, Frey Norris Gallery provides one of San Francisco's most welcoming and dynamic venues for experiencing and purchasing contemporary art. Frey Norris Gallery exhibits paintings, works on paper (including drawings, pastels and watercolors), collage, sculpture, manufactured conceptual work and photographic media.
Address:
456 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
T: (415) 346-7812
F: (415) 346-7877
www.freynorris.com
Hours:
Tuesday — Saturday 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Closed on Monday.
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