My Prospective Retrospective at the Guggenheim (Abridged)

— a smattering of forty years of selected work (1984-2024) by LR Altman

Dedicated to my father, Robert Leon Altman, who rather unkindly, I thought, would ask: “What are you doing with your life?” And then scoffed when I explained: “Working on my prospective retrospective at the Guggenheim."

Still working on it.

I am deeply grateful for the support of 2727 California Street organization and artists and especially for Matthew Felix Sun for envisioning and pulling together this virtual show.

Numerous artists have guided my journey. Their impact is woven through my life and shapes my work.

Thank you:

• Joan Brown for introducing me to painting as a narrative art form and teaching that everything an artist paints is a self-portrait (1984)

• John Leighton and Michael Schmidt for teaching me how to handle hot glass at SFSU (1978-1986)

• The Creative Glass Center of America and David Lepla for opening up the world of kiln cast glass to me (1986)

• Kelsey Murphy, my art director at Pilgrim Glass, for teaching me how to live (art first) (1987-1989)

• Eva Englund and John Ford, for teaching me glass engraving and how to see light, Nybro Sweden (1990-1991)

• Sharon Siskin, for exposing me to community based art (1992)

• Chandra Cerritto, for accompanying me on my 30-year art journey through abstract, public, representational, figurative, social practice, and “I am never making art again” phases (1992-present)

• Clifford Rainey, CCAC Glass Department head, for sharing his invaluable kiln casting skills and forcing me to defend and strengthen my commitment to “personal” art (1993)

• Lewis DeSoto, for understanding and supporting my spiritual experience of art making (1994)

• Claudia Tennyson, Harrell Fletcher, Paula L Levine, Sue Marks, Susan Sumida, and Ted Purves for helping develop a form of relationship sculpture that has evolved into what we now commonly call “social practice” (1992-1996)

• Peter Allen, for being my greatest art fan, technical supporter, best competitor, and for sharing a life with me (1994-present)

• Public Glass, San Francisco, for providing me a job and a place to art (1998-2000)

• The City of Berkeley for opening the gates of Public Art to me (2000) and supporting EmoChART project (2021)

• Scott Donahue for being my public art mentor and challenging me to try representational figure sculpting and teaching and exposing me to multi-part mold making (2000-present)

• David Ruth, for helping me to develop sintered glass kiln techniques and to think big (2000-2013)

• Other artists I shared space with at David Ruth’s Oakland studio including Warren (Daniel) Warren, John Mulkins, and David Condon (who mentored me through my concrete casting journey) (2000-2013)

• Donna K. Ozawa for inviting me to participate in The Art Health Fair, Oakland Museum of California (2003)

• Musical composer Richard Jennings, for being a fantastic collaborative partner, Fairy Music Farm (2008) and EmoChART (2021)

• Elin Christopherson for generously inviting me into the world of glass enameling (2018)

• The amazing artists I met at The Crucible, including Barbara Barnette, my co-department head and creative companion through the landscape of glass kiln forming (2013-2023)

• Chris Miles for inspiring me to return to representational and narrative art painting (2022)

• William Cricket Ulrich, Anne A Wong, Kaytea Petro, CJ, Denise, and the many others who explore glass painting with me in my Berkeley Studio (2023-present)

And to the all of the art, artists, plants, friends, collectors, institutions, arts professionals, animals, and the financial, structural, material, chemical, and physical resources and energies that sustain my practice, THANK YOU! I would be a blubbering inconsolable lump of organic matter without you.

— LR Altman

If you are interested in purchasing the art showcased in this online exhibition, please send an email to gallery@2727.today with the subject "Interest in Purchase". Please include the title of the piece and the artist's name in your email. We are also happy to provide more information about the artist and put you in contact with them for further inquiries.

The prices and the artwork's availability might change after the show. Please contact gallery@2727.today for updated information.

— 2727 Artist Co-op

"Human Conditions: Portraits of a Fraying Age"
— Matthew Felix Sun

I depict life frankly and critically, as visual surfaces and interior qualities. Instead of verisimilitude, I strive to discover and capture what is hidden, emphasizing the implicit and the unspoken.

Though I sometimes use more vibrant colors to express enhanced emotions, or allow more exuberant colors to generate a dimension of visual excitement, acknowledging that joy remains, I tend to narrow my palette, deliberately stripping away the noise.

For Human Conditions: Portraits of a Fraying Age, I have assembled a group of twenty-one oils painted over the last twenty-some years, mostly portraits and figurative pieces. The majority of these are black and white, while some are mainly monochromatic with muted coloration, and a few are inverted images like photographic negatives. All the sitters, singly or in groups, are melancholic, sad, yearning, or resigned. These images comment on the often sad, isolated nature of modern life, and on a social fabric torn apart by class divides and political schisms, depriving people of identity, hope, and self-determining agency. 

Presenting these images in muted tones, or even black and white, transforms the sitters into ghostly silhouettes that evoke fading memory and a distorted world, where the familiar has become alien and corrupt.

The exhibition also strives to capture the paradox of our time: a world more "connected" than ever, yet populated by individuals who feel more lonely, miserable, and profoundly divided than at any point in history.

— Matthew Felix Sun

If you are interested in purchasing the art showcased in this online exhibition, please send an email to gallery@2727.today with the subject "Interest in Purchase". Please include the title of the piece and the artist's name in your email. We are also happy to provide more information about the artist and put you in contact with them for further inquiries.

The prices and the artwork's availability might change after the show. Please contact gallery@2727.today for updated information.

— 2727 Artist Co-op

New Members Show

the 2727 Artist Co-op is pleased to announce the opening of its "New Members Show" on February 6, showcasing the work of nine emerging artists from varied backgrounds and disciplines.

The "New Members Show," curated by co-op members Kelly Dunagan and Swilk, presents a dynamic array of artistic expressions, showcasing the diverse talents of the nine emerging artists. The exhibition traverses a range of mediums, including 3D printing, innovative sculptures that push the boundaries of technology and creativity, collage, intricate compositions that weave together disparate elements, revealing new narratives and meanings, photography, captivating images that explore the human experience, identity, and the natural world, painting, vibrant, expressive works that evoke emotions and spark imagination, and tattoo art, bold, intricate designs that showcase the artistry and skill of the featured tattoo artist.

Curator Kelly Dunagan states “I am thrilled to be presenting an exhibition of the work of Gallery 2727’s new members. The New Member’s show serves several purposes. As well as being a way to welcome the newest additions to our co-op, it also allows longstanding members and the wider neighborhood community to become acquainted with their work. By working together to create the show, we all get to know each other a little better, and it allows new members to learn first-hand how our gallery operates.

Some extremely talented artists have joined our community this year, and the work in this show is new, exciting, and different from what you might have seen before at 2727 California. From bold portraiture and nature photography to 3D-printed sculpture and taxidermied starlings, the pieces in this show push the envelope in a myriad of wonderful ways.”

Through these diverse media, the exhibition offers a unique glimpse into the perspectives, experiences, and creative visions of the artists, inviting viewers to engage with their work on a deeper level. The participating artists include:

• pan ellington’s collage and photomontage on found canvases blends the personal and the political through a mixture of images and text.

• Trisha Mah uses collage to tell stories rooted in their lived experience.

• Photographer Alden Conner presents a series of dream-like portraits of horses.

• The large, brightly colored paintings of Nadir Wright explore the themes of liberation, joy, and beauty.

• Hannah Hirsekorn’s engages with the natural world through detailed graphite drawings, sculpture, and tattoo.

• Bella Bond transforms their photography with cyanotype printing and collage.

• Ell Boysen’s photographic portraits explore issues of performance and identity.

• Xinchen Li’s large-scale PLA sculptures invite viewers to reflect on their own attachments to objects and places.

• Patty Pacheco’s black and white portrait series centers friendships between trans women.

Join us for the Opening Reception on February 6, 6-8 pm, where you can meet the artists, enjoy refreshments, and experience the exhibition's captivating works.

If you are interested in purchasing the art showcased in this exhibition, please visit us during gallery hours, or send an email to gallery@2727.today with the subject "Interest in Purchase". Please include the title of the piece and the artist's name in your email. We are also happy to provide more information about the artist and put you in contact with them for further inquiries.

The prices and the artwork's availability might change after the show. Please contact gallery@2727.today for updated information.

Events during the exhibition:

• Opening Reception, Friday, February 6, 2026, 6-8 pm. Open to all ages; free event.

• From Scraps to Sentiments, hosted by Trisha Mah, Saturday, February 7, 2-4 pm, open to all ages; suggested donation: $25

• Community Seed Exchange, hosted by Hannah Hirsekorn, Sunday, February 8, 1-3 pm.

• Art Dance, Saturday, hosted by Nadir Wright, February 13, 8-10 pm. Open to all ages, free event.

• Origami Hearts for Valentine, hosted by Youngmi Pak, Saturday, February 14, 2-4 pm. Open to all ages.

• Stories on Demand, hosted by pan ellington, Friday, February 20, 7-8 pm. Open to all ages; free event.

• 3D Printing Pen Demo, hosted by , Xinchen Li, Saturday, February 21, 1:30-4pm. Open to all ages; free event.

• Artist Talk, participating artists: Trisha Mah, Xinchen Li, Hannah Hirsekorn, Saturday, February 28, 2-4 pm

• Artist Talk and Closing Reception, Sunday, March 1, 2-4 pm. Open to all ages; free event.