Floating World | San Francisco
September 27 - November 11
2023
SummerSchool
1217B Fell Street
San Francisco, California 94117
For more information:
Erica Saltiel Levin
415.690.3190
erica.saltiellevin@compass.com
Opening weekend:
Thursday, September 28th, 6-8pm
Exhibition Preview and Conversation & Cocktails
Join Andy Millner and Jill Tidman, executive director of the Redford Center, for an evening of cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and conversation.
Friday, September 29, 6-10 pm
Exhibition opening reception with Andy Millner
Public opening of exhibition with music and light refreshments.
Saturday, September 30, 12-4 pm
Sunday, October 1, 3-4 pm
Artist Talk | Family Event
Closing weekend:
Friday, November 10, 6-8pm
Closing reception with the artist
Saturday, November 11, 12-5 pm
Open gallery hours
Floating World (Loving Couple), 2023, Pigment print, mulberry paper on linen, 68” x 81”
Floating World (Equipoise), 2023, Pigment print, mulberry paper on linen, 68” x 81”
Floating World (Respite), 2023, Pigment print, mulberry paper on linen, 68” x 81”
Artist Statement from Andy Millner:
Since 2004, I have been using a digital tablet and stylus to input plants and trees into the computer by hand drawing their contours as simple outlines. Over the years, I have created hundreds of freehand botanical drawings, a preserve, encompassing an enormous amount of time of looking and drawing. These drawings exist as digital artifacts on my hard drive, akin to a perennial garden lying dormant underground, waiting for the moment to materialize in physical form.
Throughout the years, I have outputted them in various ways, such as photographs, projections, or inkjet prints that mimic graphite or ink. My artistic process is straightforward and iterative, but it evolves much like the natural world, growing in complexity over time.
"Floating World" is created by digitally collaging individual plant drawings from my archive into larger, artificial landscapes. The color palette draws from traditional vegetable dyes and mineral pigments used in woodblock prints, but in my case, they are printed by an inkjet machine (our modern equivalent to woodblock printing) onto mulberry paper and then mounted on linen.
This body of work evokes a "floating world" that may never have existed or may never come into being. The figures are delineated by the absence of the landscape. Rather than focusing on the figure itself, the subject becomes the memory of a landscape, highlighting the impermanence of our presence, our fraught relationship with the natural world, and our struggle to find a place in a conjured, artificial, and ever more human made environment.
A few words from Erica:
I met Andy nearly 25 years ago and was impressed by how present, genuine and approachable he was. The way he spoke of his art with curiosity and a dedication to exploring his ideas was invigorating. Sometimes art can feel rarified or far away, something remote, placed on walls in spaces that feel unapproachable. This has never been the case for me with Andy’s work or personality. Through every evolution and exploration, Andy is excited to share his perspective, talk about his ideas and to share how they come to life in his work.
Andy and I have talked about the idea of a west coast show for a while. It was a dream. Now, despite the cultural emphasis on the virtual world, people are longing for live experiences. The Summer School space, warm and intimate, is the perfect spot for Andy’s first west coast exhibition. I am delighted to be a conduit for this.
I live in San Francisco with my family, and work here as a realtor, designer and weaver of dreams, helping my clients to actualize their hopes and goals. My personal and professional life has been dedicated to listening to peoples’ needs, caring for people, seeking out and cultivating beauty, noticing opportunity and identifying how to make spaces more inviting. I love building community and connecting people. I am invigorated by the richness and spontaneity of in person events more than the curated, virtual worlds we spend so much time in. Let’s get to it… see you soon!
Floating World (Portrait), 2023, Pigment print, mulberry paper on linen, 31.5” x 25”
Floating World (Centaur), 2023, Pigment print, mulberry paper on linen, 68” x 81”
Floating World (The Garden), 2023, Pigment print, mulberry paper on linen, 45” x 35.5”
To learn more about this work or inquire about availability, get in touch.