Gallery One

Despite its location (firmly nestled within the confines of Embarcadero Center 1 & all intertwined with capitalist corporations teeming with robber barrons), Gallery One somehow manages to keep fresh, young, & dangerous.
I went to a ‘Works On Paper’ opening there last week (my roommate works at the museum & she was showing some of her pieces, as was another friend). This is a very large, well-​lit space, so even a large crowd has space to move around (a rarity among the art spaces I’ve seen in SF). Another positive — it’s so far away from The Underbelly AKA The Scene that only the die-​hards are willing to make the trek up. So you don’t have an assortment of bike-​riding pirate-​looking dudes in eyeliner & women’s jeans, & unkempt women itching their unwashed hair & peering with disaffected stares through their crudely cut bangs.
I don’t consider myself anti-​hipster (I’m cool with hipsters — it’s the über-​hipsters I’d like to avoid). However, there’s definitely a self/​group-​masturbatory element to most Mission Art Shows — a certain backwater-​mosquito-​nestness to the whole «scene». I like to think that the best place for art & youth is where it feels the most misplaced. Good art cannot exist without a certain amount of tension for one’s surroundings. And sure, it helps to draw on something personal, but standing amongst a sea of suits certainly can’t hurt, either.
What I’m saying is this: Considering the location, this could easily be one of those New Agey galleries full of works by crunchy aging hippie-​types who listen to World Music for inspiration. But it isn’t. Thank God for that. Those places should stay in Sausalito, where they belong.

When my roommate told me she was helping out with ArtSFest this year, and that her gallery was going to have a First Thursdays, I jumped at the chance to be all cultural and shit. Showed up all punctual after work, cuz i tend to be compulsively early, and paid my $ 10 donation. They had food out for us… awesome Indian food in fact, and I for sure made sure I got my moneys worth. The bar was a no-​host bar, so I didn’t get any free booze, but my Indian Food indulgence was enough. There were many artists displayed all around this great space, they even had a singer at one point as well as dancers. The opening night, in my feeble opinion went off superbly. I mean I don’t know how one is supposed to go… but I had fun, so isn’t that really all that matters? I still haven’t found out if my roomie sold any work, but there is still a month of this specific show, and she is a Gallery One resident artist, so I have hope for her… and I know after visiting this first time, I’ll definitely be back.
The greatest part though was that they made sure EVERYONE was an artist. On this opening night… sorry kids, that was yesterday, so i think that this was a one time deal… they had interactive painting. There was a dude leading us less talented, some paint, brushes, and community canvas which made for a super fun evening. Pink! I want pink. no Blue! Feel inspired! Let the paint move you, and then you move the paint! He also had this really great postcard project that also inspired others to get involved in the art making. I felt very welcome, and this place did everything to make a non-​artist like myself feel like i could be the next artist hanging on that wall… seriously. Look out.

So … i am exhibiting here at the moment.
It is a faboulous space and i feel priviledged to be exhibiting with so many other fabulous artists.
I have found everyone who works there — both the resident artists and the currators to be extremely helpful and a pleasure to work with. I also walked away with two new wonderful pieces of art !!! yey!

Gallery One is a great art space hidden in the totally non-​artsy Embarcadero Center. It’s just downstairs from the Cinema, so it’s worth riding the escalator down to see what the latest show is when you’re in the area.
In addition to a very large exhibition area, Gallery One includes studio space for new artists. They volunteer hours working the gallery curating shows, answering the phone, and manning the door in exchange for free studio space. There are some stunningly talented artists working here, so when you go in to see the exhibition, be sure to ask the artists there about their own work.
First Thursdays Gallery One is host to the Art Beat Salon:

Huge half-​hearted downtown art gallery sells inexpensive items downtown people for the most part would not want to buy…
Watercolors of local mountains…
Hand-​made ceramics…
Stuff that looks somewhere between graffiti and Jean Dubuffet.
Loosely decorated, little attention to detail.
The entire inventory here is worth — and priced — about a month’s rent in a downtown space this vast. I know it’s a failure of a shopping mall under one of the highest rent office towers in town. They sue people here, they don’t buy art. Couldn’t they bring in a Chevy’s or something?
PS: yes, I kick puppies.