"Tame Nor Sane" by Van Arno

The Shooting Gallery Project Space is pleased to present Tame Nor Sane featuring five new oil paintings by Los Angeles-based artist Van Arno. The opening reception will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2013 from 7-11pm and will be on display, free and open to the public, through June 01, 2013.

Van Arno’s work channels the exalted emotion and mystical underpinnings of romanticism into a highly-charged eroticism all its own. In Arno’s hands the classical nude is contorted into positions meant to fully embrace a lush physicality of form. Hints of Caravaggio’s knack for exaggerated foreshortening make it clear the artist is drawing inspiration from the old masters, though the work is more brazen than anything in the grand tradition. In this exhibition Arno revisits mythology, both American and classical, turning the timeless subject matter into compositions that are at turns startling, humorous and lasciviously compelling.

Van Arno was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where he attended a Christian science school from kindergarten through high school. He was accepted at Otis Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles where he studied under influential artists such as Carol Caroompas and Lita Albquerque, supporting himself working late nights as a bouncer in nightclubs and adult video arcades. Van Arno’s hyper real depictions of the human form are as cartoonishly expressive as they are plastically pornographic. Dubbing his style as “uber-mannerism” he has shown extensively in Los Angeles, Seattle, Santa Fe, Nashville and New York and has been featured in Juxtapoz and Arrested Motion.

The Shooting Gallery opened its doors in 2003 to the edgy Tenderloin district of San Francisco; one known for its diverse culture and history. Owner and curator, Justin Giarla, founded the space to offer a welcoming environment for viewing the art he loves. Giarla has long since recognized the necessity to provide lowbrow artists with a platform, which is exactly what The Shooting Gallery has done for a full decade. In addition to the exhibition of leading shows in pop art, street art, and outsider art, the Shooting Gallery also participates in art fairs around the world and hosts annual fundraisers for local nonprofits.

Media Opportunities:

Interview with Van Arno

Interview with owner/founder/curator Justin Giarla

High-resolution images available upon request

Event Information:

“Tame Nor Sane,” by Van Arno

Opening Reception – May 11, 2013, 7-11 pm

On View Through June 01, 2013

@ Shooting Gallery Project Space (www.shootinggallerysf.com/project-space)

886 Geary Street, San Francisco CA 94109