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"The series is an interesting new body of work with big cosmic themes. What could be more essential, more nourishing and connecting than light, this agent that makes life possible? At a moment of so much darkness in civilization, the show feels perfectly timed and particularly moving." — Tony Bravo in the San Francisco Chronicle⁠
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"Posing timeless questions — about vision, about matter, about the role of the artist in society and by extension man’s place in the universe — Everett has placed himself within the lineage of experimental artist-visionaries and thinkers. As for the resulting food for thought, the work, ranging from eye-candy to more bitter fruit, offers a visual experience that stands on its own merits." — Barbara Morris in Square Cylinder⁠
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We are grateful for the recent features of Liam Everett's solo exhibition, 'the passenger' in the San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) and Square Cylinder (@squarecylinder_artreviews, @democracychain).⁠
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#liameverett #sfchronicle #berggruengallery

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Review of Shaghayegh Cyrous' show, "Breathe the Sun," is live on Square Cylinder. "In Shaghayegh Cyrous’ multimedia installation “Breathe the Sun” a vivid cast of characters perform ritualized movements in a wall-length video projection. Discrete chapters of the film are intercut with quotes from the Bundahishn, the Zoroastrian creation story, such as “Fire, whose radiance is from endless hope,” transitioning between scenes. A selection of objects hangs throughout the room, many framed in orange painted boxes, along with a secondary screen and a whirling, potted cypress tree. With this precise arrangement, the Iranian American artist creates an immersive, ritualistic space that acknowledges and bridges the physical and cultural distance between North America and Iran.” https://www.squarecylinder.com/2026/09/shaghayegh-cyrous/ Thank you, Square Cylinder, for the chance to cover this show.

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Diving into the details of Yari Ostovany's "The Thermodynamics of Angels," 72 x 60 inch Oil on Canvas. There's an awesome new review of this solo exhibition by DeWitt Cheng on Square Cylinder that will hopefully convince all of you to come down to see this gorgeous artwork in person:

https://www.squarecylinder.com/2026/09/yari-ostovany/

DM for availability and pricing.

#bayareaartist #sfartexhibition #abstractart #contemporaryart #sfartgallery

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Ruth Pastine Colorscape at Scott Richards Contemporary Art @democracychain @squarecylinder_artreviews

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We are pleased to share that our current exhibition, Emergence, has been reviewed by John Seed for Square Cylinder.

The piece offers an in-depth analysis of the thematic, linguistic, and gestural tensions within the works of Cathy Lu and Yulia Pinkusevich, examining their use of ritual as a methodology for navigating environmental and cultural flux.

“The combined effect of Pinkusevich’s and Lu’s art is to experience a temple of feminist consciousness and creation.” — John Seed, Square Cylinder.

The full review is now available via the link in our bio.

Emergence remains on view through May 2, 2026.

#QualiaContemporaryArt #CathyLu #YuliaPinkusevich #SquareCylinder #BayAreaArt

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Big thanks to @dewittcheng for his review of my solo show "Folds" for @visualartsource / @democracychain, on view at @renabranstengallery through September 7.

Pictured: Sam Perry, “Scrunchie,” 2024, wood, 14 x 18 x 12 inches

#samperry
#sculpture
#scrunchie
#folds
#fabric
#drapery
#claesoldenburg
#aldoushuxley
#doorsofperception
#popart
#contemporaryart

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“Disneyland with Eyes Open” | Essay by Richard Speer (see bio for link to full text) | Visual Art Source/The Democracy Chain: “As a kid in south-central Florida in the 1970s and early 80s, I visited Disney World five or six times, but I’d never been to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, until last month. We think of Disney parks as destinations for wholesome family fun and togetherness, but I went alone, a 53-year-old childless widowed white male art critic on an anthropological expedition into one of the iconic centers of American pop culture. Mind you, I wanted to have fun and reconnect with my child self, but I had my eyes open. For the previous few weeks and before that the entire month of April, I’d been in Southern California as a guest curator for LACMA, leading tours of the exhibition ‘Sam Francis and Japan’ and, in my off hours, making the rounds of museums, galleries, nonprofits, universities, and artist studios. As my trip’s end drew nigh, I decided it would be novel to spend my final day in greater Los Angeles far from the collectors, cognoscenti, and Gagosian denizens I’d been consorting with and plunge neck-deep into the mouse-eared hoi polloi: ‘And now, for something completely different...’ I don’t know why it surprised me, but my day at Disneyland was a kaleidoscopic mind-fuck. I found myself within a simulacrum of a simulacrum, a microcosm of our wider sociopolitical moment, in which nostalgia for an imagined halcyon past rules the hearts of voters and the strategy sessions of those who aspire to political office...” #disneyland #thedemocracychain #politicalcommentary #contemporaryart

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I’ve written a long and personal essay (link in bio) for Visual Art Source/The Democracy Chain in response to the epidemic of mass shootings in the United States. (artwork by Laurie Lipton, laurielipton.com) #politicalcommentary #thedemocracychain #laurielipton

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“Politicizing Dining” | Essay by Richard Speer (link to full text in bio, photos: with my mom at The Ivy, Beverly Hills, and The French Laundry, Yountville) | Visual Art Source/The Democracy Chain: “In the fine-dining versus fast-food divide, it’s all too easy to polarize factions into red-state fat cats who couldn’t give a damn about deforesting the Amazon, versus bleeding-heart progressives who’d crash their Prius into a ravine to avoid hitting a squirrel. In the middle of such polarities, many of us buy groceries mindfully and cook with intention but still have the occasional urge to get a little gussied up and head someplace where the host greets you with “Right this way, sir,” rather than “How’s it goin’ tonight?” A place where a team of impassioned collaborators invests time and thoughtfulness in considering the most inventive ways to transubstantiate a humble rutabaga into catalyst for restoring your faith in human creativity. No doubt that would sound pretty highfalutin to someone more attuned to French fries than The French Laundry, but I believe there’s room for all predilections in the roiling roux of the Great American Melting Pot. What we do with our bodies, including what we put into them, is an incredibly personal decision that carries sociopolitical repercussions, whether we’re aware of them or not. Epicurus, the patron philosopher of gastronomes since Hellenistic times, cautioned against gluttony in his Letter to Menoeceus: “Plain fare gives as much pleasure as a costly diet, while bread and water bring highest pleasure when brought to hungry lips.” Where to eat, and what, and how much of it? In the absence of absolutes, the answers lie in the mores and mouths of the beholder.” #finedining #gourmet #cuisine #gourmetcuisine #theivy #frenchlaundry #thefrenchlaundry

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“Politicizing Dining” (continued) | Essay by Richard Speer (link to full text in bio, photos: with Dorothy at The Georgian Room, Seattle) | Visual Art Source/The Democracy Chain: “...Demographics and cultural trends have hastened the decline of fine dining as we’ve traditionally experienced it, as younger generations eschew fusty traditions like hovering servers, tableside preparation, chefs in toques, and sommeliers with tastevins and cellar keys looped around their necks. Our parents and grandparents might’ve enjoyed Old World recipes like Beef Wellington, Lobster Thermidor, and Tournedos Rossini, but current tastes run to fusion cuisine, tapas, and reinterpretations of street food. Likewise, candlelight, linen tablecloths, and embossed leather menus are out; trendy Edison bulbs, communal tables, and QR-code menus are in. Things have gotten a lot less formal, with gaudy grande dames Lutèce and Le Cirque long-shuttered in Manhattan, Mary Elaine’s in Scottsdale, with its tufted purse stools for the ladies, replaced by a steakhouse, and The Georgian Room in Seattle more approachably reimagined as The George. The farm-to-table movement, with its emphasis on sustainability, has made it passé to fly chocolate in from Lucerne and truffles from Périgord; better to source sweets from the bakery next door and forage mushrooms in the woods just over the ridge. Earlier this month, New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells felt compelled to lead off his four-star review of Le Bernardin with an apologia for fine dining’s excesses, referencing the recent film ‘The Menu’ as if in concession to foodie-phobic mobs gathered at the gates, ready to storm...” #finedining #gourmet #cuisine #gourmetcuisine #fairmontolympic

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“Politicizing Dining” | Essay by Richard Speer (link to full text in bio, photo: with Dorothy at Jean-Georges, New York City) | Visual Art Source/The Democracy Chain: “...As with aficionados of haute couture, polo, yachting, the symphony, opera, and ballet, foodies (who in a haughtier era called themselves gourmands) have a reputation for elitism and frivolousness that is sometimes earned, sometimes stereotyped. The clubby exclusivity of a Jean-Georges or Tour d’Argent plays into a narrative of class warfare pitting one-percenters against hoi polloi, a friction that has spilled over into recent headlines. Last month, the Copenhagen restaurant Noma, consistently ranked among the world’s best, announced it will close next year. “It’s unsustainable—it just doesn’t work,” said co-founder René Redzepi. Enter the darkly satirical film The Menu, released last November and starring Ralph Fiennes as a sadistic chef notorious for sexually harrassing employees and condescending his vapid, well-heeled clientele. His character hatches a plot to curate a prix-fixe meal custom-designed to humiliate and brutalize his diners. Even murder is on the menu—think Agatha Christie meets Emeril Lagasse... The film has garnered critical raves and earned $80-million on a $30-million budget, a testament to the public’s appetite for seeing insufferable billionaires served comeuppance alongside their canapés....” #finedining #gourmet #cuisine #gourmetcuisine #jeangeorges

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