The Angel of History

Gregg Chadwick
"The Angel of History"
28.5" x 73" sumi and oil on screen 2006

"This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is blowing in from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings with such a violence that the angel can no longer close them. The storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward."
- Walter Benjamin, "Theses on the Philosophy of History," IX

San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art: New Building, New Exhibit

Darren Waterston
Interior (Green), 2001

The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (SJICA) has moved into its own building just down the block on South First Street from its former site. Recently, SJICA's director Cathy Kimball , gave me a tour of the former warehouse. SJICA is in the model of a European Kunsthaus, a space dedicated to museum worthy exhibitions but without a permanent collection of its own.

Gregg Chadwick
Buddha of the Future (In Memory of Uri Grossman), 2006

The current exhibition, art destined for SJICA's 26th Annual Fall Auction, provides an overview of contemporary art practice in the Bay Area and beyond. Including works by Darren Waterston, Binh Danh, Judy Dater, Naomie Kremer, Gustavo Ramos Rivera, Robin McCloskey, Gregg Chadwick, Bruce Conner, Kim Frohsin, Manuel Neri, Hung Liu, Michael Kenna, Jamie Brunson, Kyoko Fischer, Enrique Chagoya and others - the exhibit is visually and intellectually astute. The group show opened on October 6th and runs until the auction at SJICA on Saturday, October 28th.

Robin McCloskey
Baylands, 2005

SJICA's new building is located at 560 South First Street in San Jose’s growing SoFA arts district. The large (7,500 sq ft) space will soon be completely renovated. Director Cathy Kimball, SJICA'S staff, and the Institute's board have a large and compelling vision for the place of the arts in San Jose.

Binh Danh
Persimmon Eclipse, 2003

San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art's 26th Annual Fall Auction:

Exhibition (Free Admission):
October 6 - October 28, 2006

Auction (Tickets required):
Saturday, October 28
Doors open at 6:00pm;
auction begins promptly at 7:00pm

Tickets are $35 for ICA Members/$45 for non-members
(20% discount on tickets purchased before October 28.)
Call 408-283-8155 for tickets.