Shooting Gallery Presents:

A Thin Line

Shooting Gallery is pleased to present A Thin Line, a series of stunning new figurative works by Bay Area artist Aaron Nagel. This will be Nagel’s second solo exhibition with Shooting Gallery, and he has been working on significantly expanding his repertoire since his previous solo project Marks, just last year. The opening reception will be Saturday, June 11, from 7-11 pm, and the exhibition is free and open to the public for viewing through July 2.

A self-taught artist, Nagel exhibits an earnest admiration for classical oil painting techniques and traditions, and employs them to create lush, vivid renderings of the female form. Often in unconventional positions, the figures are frequently juxtaposed against carefully hand-lettered type, marked with glossy black paint, or encircled with halos of line and light. There has been some discussion over the religious aspect of Nagel’s work, but he insists that he uses the female nude in his works – not only as a counterpoint, but as a supplement to the idea of the divine. The figures are strong, seductive and curious – an elegant mirror of the medium itself, and a fantastic display of Nagel’s mastery within it.

Nagel’s most recent body of work expands upon the larger, more narrative works he is known for, and incorporates a new foray into smaller portrait-style works. A Thin Line alludes to both a new graphic element in many of the pieces, and the internal struggle he experienced while creating the series: finding himself torn between two seemingly disparate artistic directions.

Born 1980 in San Francisco, California, Aaron Nagel began drawing as a child and gradually made his way to painting.  Upon discovering oils in his early twenties, he became enamored with the medium and has been obsessed ever since.  Although he has had no formal training, he continues to relentlessly pursue a mastery of figurative surrealism from his home in Oakland, CA.

Nagels’ work explores the potential to create a new sort of iconography for the non-believer, with subtle commentary on the trappings of organized religion and theism.

Media Opportunities:

Interview with artist Aaron Nagel

Interview with owner/founder/curator Justin Giarla

High-resolution images available upon request

Event Information:

“A Thin Line,” New Works by Aaron Nagel

Opening Reception – June 11, 2024, 7-11 pm

On View Through July 2, 2024,

@ Shooting Gallery (shootinggallerysf.com)

839 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA

Sunrise Artist recently did a great interview with Aaron Nagel, featuring questions that Nagel answers with a clear ease and self-confidence, discussing topics such as his first art show in 2024 and his very positive attitude about expectations and disappointments. Nagel is a self-taught painter, an amazing feat considering the type of precisely formed figures he paints. Equally surprising is the astute advice he offers on what inspires his productivity, and how starting his own business influenced his perspective on painting. Whenever I look at Nagel’s paintings I wonder about the religious objects he includes within them, so it was a pleasure to hear what he had to say about his recurring use of such imagery, though his answers were a bit surprising: “I paint women with religious overtones not to provide some sort of commentary on the relationship between women and organized religion, but because thinking of beautiful women as gods, saints, etc. makes much more sense to me than the world’s organized religions.” Towards the end of the interview Nagel mentions his upcoming shows, one of which is very soon! Aaron Nagel’s solo show A Thin Line will be at the Shooting Gallery June 11th-July 2nd, so save the date!

Untied, oil on canvas.

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James Charles’ and Akira Beard’s opening last Saturday for American Iconomics was full of fun, converstaion and friendly faces! Thank you to everyone that came out to Shooting Gallery and helped make our weekend so great! We put a few photos on our flickr and will be adding more soon!

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It’s a busy week here at Shooting Gallery: we’ve just finished up a huge opening celebration for James Charles and Akira Beard’s American Iconomics show (which you should totally stop in and check out sometime this week!), and we’re preparing for our sister gallery White Walls’ involvement in ArtPadSF at the Phoenix Hotel this upcoming weekend. SO MANY ART HAPPENINGS!!

But in addition to all that madness, we’re also really excited for the next show here in the Shooting Gallery, and Aaron Nagel was kind enough to send over some studio shots of the work he’s creating for his solo show: “A Thin Line,” which will be up on our walls from June 11-July 2. Stay tuned for more on Akira, James Charles, ArtPad, and Aaron! Oh, and we have more images after the jump, just for you.

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James Charles graced the cover of 96 Hours, and Akira Beard was featured inside! Pick one up, it’ll be the perfect compliment to the pieces you’ll want from American Iconomics: New Works by James Charles and Akira Beard, which opens tomorrow 7-11pm, at Shooting Gallery. Read the full press release and RSVP here!

It’s install week yet again at Shooting Gallery, and this week we’re getting ready for American Iconomics, a dual exhibition of works by artists Akira Beard and James Charles. The guys have been busy painting, hanging, and prepping the space…as we get closer and closer to this Saturday night’s opening!

The work of Beard and Charles is hugely different, stylistically, and the result is a striking balance that compliments one another in a surprising way. Charles’ precise detail-heavy work is really brought to life through its juxtaposition with Akira Beard’s colorful washes and dripping paint. The difference in artistic approach finds commonality within the shared exploration of two pillars of popular culture: the American Icon and our society’s obsession with money. Both artists’ work questions what constitutes actual value. Is value an attribute that is determined based on monetary worth, societal recognition, or personal opinion – and just how definitive is it?  Watching both Charles and Beard unveil their work and arrange it during this week of installation has made me very confident in saying that American Iconomics (opening tomorrow night at the Shooting Gallery, 7-11pm) will be an incredible show!

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Pedro Matos, a talented young artist from the Portuguese city, Lisbon, has a solo show at Shooting Gallery this September! At just 22 years old, Matos’ has a grasp of realism that often takes many more years of training and experience. It’s not only his style that is impressive beyond his years, but his themes which are as well. In an interview with Fecal Face last July, Matos’ spoke of his primary subject being the decaying conditions of society and the consequence of contemporary society on humanity. In this short film by João Retorta, Matos’ studio and painting progress is revealed, showcasing the thoughtful respect Matos’ places in his work.

This film is part of  Retora’s Lisbon Youth series focused on the young people involved in Lisbon’s developing cultural scene. Retora, a young Lisbon film maker is himself a part of this scene, as well as Lisbon music producer Die Von Brau whose track “Bamboo” is used throughout the film.

Akira Beard just sent us some awesome preview shots of some upcoming paintings for American Iconomics: New Works by Akira Beard and James Charles, opening Saturday, May 14th, at Shooting Gallery. He was also gracious enough to take a moment and answer a few fun questions for us!

Shooting Gallery Asks: Akira Beard

If you had to use exactly six words to describe your work, what would they be?

“Meaningful unapologetic expressions of us today”

Which popular icon from your artwork do you think would be able to play you in a movie and why?

“Anyone, even the worst actor could play me in a movie because my character would have few to no words, and would spend most of the film looking away from the camera.”

Free Association began as a psychoanalytical tool to gain insight into a person’s subconscious. It’s always fun and interesting to see what first comes to mind when a person reads a specific word and I wrote a few down, loosely pertaining to American Iconomics, and asked Akira to jot down whatever came to mind without censor:

Truth- being present

Power- a fun Ice- T album

Value- the dollar store

Art- meaningless

Freud- neuroses

America- neurotics

Television- everywhere

Money- paper

Winning- Rocky Balboa

More Photos, including some saran wrap madness, after the Jump! Read more »