guerilla cafe

DECOLONIZE: new paintings by Mahader Tesfai

Eritrean born artist Mahader Tesfai resides in Berkeley California.  Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area to parents who fought in the struggle for Eritrean independence, Tesfai grew up with a constant recognition of his African antecedent.  Working with acrylic and oil paints on found objects Mahader Tesfai has created a new series of prolific paintings inspired by his recent travels through Germany, Eritrea, Egypt, and India.

Although Tesfai's work is varied and copious, working with a variety of materials, symbols and styles, he is perhaps best known for his series of faces that serve as stalwart mnemonics of African humanity.  In each of his pieces the surreal meets fidelity in a collision of colors and often abstract symbolism in an attempt to assert to the viewer the complex reality of being an African in diaspora.  His paintings and illustrations depict an almost otherworldly view of Africans, their faces often in deep contemplation and couched in visual symbolism.

Perhaps Negritude theorist and poet  Aime Cesaire said it best when he wrote, "Colonization = Thingification," Tesfai's work stands as a clear opposition to colonization in its ability to transform the subjugated and often "thingified" image of Africans to a richly nuanced  humanism. His is an art of inspiration, an art of communal cohesions, an art that reminds us of our ancestral struggle and contemporary efficacy.  These new pieces at Guerilla Café serve as a wonderful affirmation of African identities and communities, whether in diaspora or in their homelands.

"Love Devotion Surrender" by Emerson Matabele

Having traveled through China, Burma, Tibet, Thailand, and India, Emerson Matabele leads us to North Berkeley in his first solo exhibition.  Love Devotion Surrender will run from February 5th through March 16th at the Guerilla Cafe, 1620 Shattuck Avenue. In bringing his work to the public Matabele shows us how it is the subject of each photo, not the photos themselves, which hold meaning. This inspiring display of transcendental beauty will have its reception on the 14th of February from 6 to 8pm. As visitors look at mother and daughter laughing, Buddhist monks studying, or a woman  contemplating the boundaries of her identity there is something that  everybody can identify with. The images of this exhibit are focused  in Asia, but in capturing the basic beauty of ordinary human moments Matabele stands as one man among many hoping to bring people together “to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.”

For sixteen years Emerson Matabele wandered the world learning about 
different cultures, different perspectives, different histories, and himself.  After patiently exploring the specific circumstances and the universal experiences of each new site he began to understand his role as a visitor within each place and his connection as a human to each community he came across. At times leaving his camera hidden in its case Matabele learned to recognize the beauty of each moment and 
only capture those beautiful instances where his camera lens would not intrude. Carefully tiptoeing the line between honor and offense, between intruding and learning, Matabele returned to the U.S. with a wealth of knowledge.

His work is filled with emotion and an immense sense of humanity. While aesthetically beautiful and wonderfully composed it is more than a visual experience.  While taking time to start a family Matabele found time to read texts which inspired him further.  From poets to art critics, novelists to spiritualists, he found other voices conveying the same message.

ach visual image in The Illusion of Our Separateness is inspired by the heart rather than the mind, and the text offers another tool to understand the feeling behind each piece.  Together Matabele’s work represents another portal to the divine, another way to understand the self within a greater world.  This is Emerson Matabele’s offering.  It is his personal retelling of a story untold.  In representing eternal human experiences he hopes his viewers can see the beauty of humanity and their place within it.  Using his camera and his presence he has travelled the world “rendering truthful the eye guided by the heart.”

"Head Count" December 9th-February 3rd

*Head Count will be featured at the Guerilla Café, 1620 Shattuck Ave, North  Berkeley Please join us Sunday December 9th from 5pm to 8pm for the opening reception. 

How would you mold your visions of the world?

Can the figure of humanity pour forth from your fingertips?...

For centuries artists have twisted, smoothed, and sculpted images of the human form. Some capture the movement of lithe bodies, while others play with emotion in a figure’s stance. All draw on a history of ceramic creation, but some take their inspiration outside the realm of clay and wheel. Molded by hands that play video games, shaped in the images of Hip Hop culture, Head Count represents the first installment of a newly formed group of ceramic artists.

Andrea Ali, Ben Belknap, Ross Kennedy,  Jordan Mello, Crystal Morey, Peter St. Lawrence, Derek Weisberg, and Shu Hue Yang have studied and worked together in the Bay Area, and after recognizing similarities within their works they recently decided to come together as a collective

Every artist has their own style in representing the human body and their own story to tell 
within the work, but as a collective they have chosen to focus on the most expressive 
organ, the head, as a means of narration.

Drawing on a rich Bay Area history of ceramics, this new generation of artists plays with the idea of what it means to represent. The Bay Area has been home to a host of ceramic guilds, and it has been very influential to the figurative movements in the field. This new school of ceramic creators has chosen to focus on the head, producing portraits, profiles, and funky styles as each artist brings their own flavor to the table. Sharing aesthetics, ideas, interests and influences these creative minds give their hands license to give form to their various visions of this vessel of ideas.

Wabi Sabi Soul by Angela Medlin

Now Showing 
@ Guerilla Cafe
1620 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley CA, 94709
Get Directions

10/28/07 - 12/4/07

Wabi Sabi is an understanding of three simple realities:
Nothing lasts. Nothing is finished. Nothing is perfect.
It is about the anomalies, visible scars, and the process of aging that add uniqueness and elegance to an object and to its' life. These characteristics are usually depicted in very neutral, zen-like, sparse arrangements. In this series, a collage of objects and images span a period of three decades, celebrating the wear of life through vibrant color and soulful content. It is this interpretation that boldly manifests WABI SABI SOUL.

"Remastered" by Emory Douglas

 Artist and curator of
"Sieze the Time,"
Keba Konte will collaborate with Emory Douglas to create a limited collection of new serigraphs and stencil paintings based on Mr. Douglas' earlier works between 1969-1970. Many of the works are featured in the new book, Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas.                        

click to buy a limited series Emory Douglas serigraph

 

Hours of Operation
Tuesday-Friday 7am-8pm
Saturday & Sunday 8am-8pm

 

A Study of Markings in Time

                             (click photo to enter gallery)

by Pablo Cristi

Urban decay is commonly viewed as a fearful nuisance, something to be changed. Common society considers urban decay to be abandoned places, graffiti markings, and industrial leftovers. It is this decay that has inspired my artwork for a long time now. My involvement in graffiti art has labeled me as a contributing factor in this supposed urban blight. As we propel ourselves into the future without a backward glance, we leave industrial wastelands, crumbling residences, and abandoned properties that have always been a playground for people like myself. My artwork questions this unwanted element as a thing of beauty. It has become a record of our goals and mistakes, a record of forgotten people, a chaotic byproduct with which many of us identify. My work deals with these issues of identity, beauty, and social/political parodies...

 

88 pieces of me by keba konte

                                             (click below for preview)

"88 pieces of me" a photo memoir by Keba Konte is now on exhibit at the Guerilla. Artwork and catalog only available at Guerilla cafe--get yours!

Also the Guerilla has new hours of operation:

Tuesday-Friday 7am-8pm

Saturday & Sunday 8am-8pm

(get directions here)

"I Know a Sporrow Should Sing" by Amanda Williams

"I Know A Sparrow Should Sing," a collection by renouned Bay Area artist Amanda Williams is now on dispaly at the Guerilla Cafe.  The exhibition of colorful-abstract and words on canvas is at eye level for all to see.  Come enjoy, observe and absorb. Amanda’s show will be extended through the month of January. 

Also, Guerilla Cafe, we will be closed for winter break from December 18 - January 2, see you next year.

Sam Fishman's "Legal Medium"

Sam Fishman has been practicing the craft of graffiti for many years, but this exhibition marks his entrance into the world of Gallery Art. We are proud to have the opportunity to host this expression of youth culture, and we are equally happy to provide a space to transform an illegal art form into a "Legal Medium."

We are also excited to announce that Guerilla Cafe is now the official sponsor of Sam Fishman's skateboarding endeavors. As a whole we are impressed and supportive of Sam, his art, and his skateboarding.  Can you feel us?..

Every Life Is A Prophecy by Githinji Wa Mbire

From August 28 through October 8, Every Life Is A Prophecy  will be featured at the Guerilla Café, 1620 Shattuck Avenue in North Berkeley. Please join us for the opening reception Saturday September 2, 2-5pm.

Giving thanks to the ancestors Oakland artist Githinji Wa Mbire reminds us of the importance of common every day experiences.  Githinji’s work tells us to be proud to say “this is who I am and this is what I represent.“ Everyday people throw away ordinary things
without recognizing the beauty in them and the energy these things exude.  Using perhaps a bit of paint and placed in just the right way Githinji transforms these ordinary things into art.

Every Life Is A Prophecy is about experiencing every moment.  Githinji has taken the objects that we as people use every day and sculpted them into the story of our lives.  The materials Githinji uses are ordinary objects from his world. Riding through the city on his bicycle or exploring abandoned sites, this artist collects all the things that are obvious but not so obvious.  What one might see as a piece of junk wood Githinji sees as a church pew cleansed by fire still holding the spirit of Sunday mornings, still collecting the voices singing from a choir...