Chris Ritson in SF Weekly

Check out this nice write up for our 1st Residency Program from SF Weekly. It will be in print this Wednesday - go pick up a copy.

Show opens this Thursday from 6-9pm

Bear Flag Wine will be serving drinks

Walk into the Cult of Personality

By Heidi De Vries

In a gallery that has displayed Mark McCloud's LSD blotter art and the post-apocalyptic interactive sculpture of Josh Short, it's no surprise the curators would make the bold move of turning the space over to Chris Ritson. Ritson makes art that is almost alchemical in nature, incorporating crystals he has grown as well as other wonders of the natural world. He fuses an interest in science with investigations into personal identity. With his exhibition “In the Kingdom of Charisma,” Ritson is the first to make use of the gallery's semiannual residency program, in which artists take three weeks to convert the “white box” space into an immersive installation. Ritson uses video and mixed media to explore how we become drawn to certain personalities, those powerful figures who seem to possess an otherworldly attractiveness whether they are celebrities or politicians. It's brave for a commercial gallery to give an artist this amount of latitude in its space, but the results are nothing if not hypnotic.

The opening party for “In the Kingdom of Charisma” starts at 6 p.m.

Chris Ritson Solo Show

Ever Gold Gallery Is please to announce their first biyearly residency program. With our growing desire to work with artists who create full scale mixed media installations we have decided to help aid this process by allowing two, three week installation periods in January and August. This will allow our artists to transform the viewer's perception of the gallery space and create a site-specific work, thus pushing the traditional ideas of a commercial gallery show by allowing emerging artists to work in a museum like environment.

Chris Ritson

In the Kingdom of Charisma

…depicting the innate power of circumstance…

Opening reception: Thursday, February 3^rd.

Show runs until Saturday, February 26^th.

A celebration of our anxieties pertaining to the body, identity, and nature: "In the Kingdom of Charisma" is a multi-media exhibit created during a three weeklong residency at Ever Gold Gallery. Through installation, video and images created by growing crystals, organisms and media collages, Chris Ritson represents the nuances of how we construct an individual identity distinct from the vast cosmology that animates our lives.

In the presence of an expansive and seemingly divine gift, our opinions become entranced. The power of charisma can be traced like a current through the annals of history, possessing kings and criminals alike. Charisma is an esoteric science; existing, by definition, as a gift from beyond the human realm, and accessible to a select few. It emanates from those who are set apart by a persuasive, interpersonal power; those who we reference through shared narrative, the archetypes and gods, dictators and celebrities.

Chris Ritson has a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and is one of the 2011 Headlands Center for the Arts Residency finalists. Ritson has shown in two group shows at Ever Gold in 2009 and 2010, this will be his first solo show with the gallery.

chrisritson.com

Ever Gold Gallery has been open since January 2009 and is dedicated to showing emerging and mid career artists in all mediums. Ever Gold is proudly supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

evergoldgallery.com

krfoundation.org

All press inquires please contact evergoldgallery@gmail.com

Art Forum Review

Congrats to John Held Jr. and the write up for his October show in the new Art Forum.

"Debris from the Underground"

Chris Ritson Solo Show

For the first show of our third year, Ever Gold Gallery is pleased to announce the start of our biyearly residence program. We will be closed from January 8th- February 2nd for a site specific solo installation by SFAI alumni and 2011 Headlands Center for the Arts Residency winner, Chris Ritson.

In the Kingdom of Charisma

Opening reception, Thursday February 3rd

---------

A celebration of our anxieties pertaining to the body, identity, and nature: "In the Kingdom of Charisma" is a multimedia exhibit created during a three week long residency at Ever Gold Gallery.

By growing crystals and organisms alongside intricate media collages, the resulting installation, video, images and sculptures of Chris Ritson embody the nuances of how we construct an individual identity, distinct from the vast cosmology that animates our lives.

More info to come...