Into the Ring, Sumo-style

SOMARTS CULTURAL CENTER’S BAY GALLERY PRESENTS

Into the Ring, Sumo-style

Exhibition details:

January 12, 2010 – January 22, 2010

Opening Reception: Friday, January 15, 6 PM to 9 PM

SOMArts Cultural Center, Bay Gallery
934 Brannan St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday, 2 PM to 7 PM, Saturday 12 noon to 5 PM
www.somarts. org

San Francisco, CA, December 10, 2009—SOMArts Cultural Center’s Bay Gallery invites visitors to take a trip into the world of sumo wrestling as seen through the eyes of twenty artists from the Bay Area and beyond with Into the Ring, Sumo-style.
This eclectic exhibition of paintings, photography, drawing and more, curated by sumo-loving artist MariNaomi, contains pieces that represent varied views of the sumo wrestler, ranging from serious to sensuous to quirky and fun. Los Angeles cartoonist and artist Kiyoshi Nakazawa’s dramatic painting, “Legend of Kintaro,” captures the nitty gritty essence of sumo wrestlers battling it out, as does Maryland artist Bill Dunlap’s fantastical piece, “The Ogres of Oyeyama,” while Gabrielle Gamboa’s “Sumo Elvii” (sumos dressed as Elvis, also mid-fight) and Fredrick Noland’s “SuMall” (wrestlers of various ethnicities eating peacefully in a food court) explore more humorous, pop culture interpretations of this rich Japanese tradition. Other participating artists include such notables as: Andy Ristaino, Doctor Popular, Jan Wurm, Jay Dee Alley, Jesse Harold, Ray Craig, Ryan Germick, Scott Werner, Sabrina Hager, Shelley Trask, Steven Russell Black, Taiko Fujimura, Thien Pham and Xiang Gao.