Thursday | November 1st
6pm - Late | 21+

San Francisco – 111 Minna Gallery is proud to present OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE ORDER curated by Ricardo Richey (aka Apex) featuring new work by Ezra Eismont, NoMe Edonna, Neon, Chor Boogie, and Apex. The opening reception will be Thursday,November 1st from 6 pm till late with DJ’s Odd Nosdam, Ezra Eismont, and NoMe Edonna spinning tunes throughout the evening. The opening reception is free and open to the public. The exhibit will be on view through December 1st. The Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 12 to 5 pm and evenings for special events.
 
The phrase “obsessive compulsive” has worked its way into the wider English vocabulary and is often used in an offhand manner to describe someone who is meticulous or absorbed in a cause. Anything negative associated with being obsessive or compulsive needs to be erased from the psyche with this group of artists. They each naturally have used the phrase "obsessive compulsive" as a backbone to their work ethic. To be meticulous and absorbed has led to these artists’ unique styles that reach their conclusion in order over disorder.

Ezra Eismont was born in 1974, grew up in Brooklyn, New York and received a B.F.A. in Painting from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1997.
 
Between 1999 and 2001 Ezra worked as a mural painter for Sol Lewitt, helping to paint large-scale murals both in private residences and for Sol Lewitts 2001retrospective at the SF MOMA. Ezra has worked as a musician and producer with the band Cat Five since its inception in 2000, and he continues to produce music under the moniker of Dj Darkat.
 
Ezra currently works with the San Francisco based Gestalt Collective, a group of collaborative muralists. Together they produced a site-specific mural for the Y.B.C.A.’s "Bay area now" show in 2005. He has collaborated with many other artists, including Doze Green, Jon 156, Nome Edonna, Apex, Scatha G.Allison, Dave Choe, Rhode Montijo, and Christopher Reuss. He currently live sand works with his partner Charity Romero in their Oakland Studio. www.ezrali.com

Nome Edonnais a self-taught artist born in California. Much of his art"education" comes from his first-hand experience in underground youth culture and fifteen months of extensive travel and study in Europe. NoMere turned to California to pursue a career in the arts and moved to San Francisco in 1999. Since then, NoMe’s work has shown extensively, and he has undertaken commissions and installations worldwide. NoMe is also an original member of the Gestalt Collective, a San Francisco  -based collaborativemural/installation group started in 2003.
 
NoMe’s works with a range of mediums, from oils to collage, latex and aerosol,often all seamlessly combined within the same piece. His artwork is most often created on found wood, incorporating the re-use of common objects and thedetritus of urban life. This aspect of his work reflects not only a glimpse of our ‘throw-away’ society but also a strong influence from electronic music andDJ culture, and their techniques of ’sampling’ and re-arranging previouslyexisting elements to create something entirely new and unexpected. A furtherlist of influences might include: The Dada and Surrealist movements, ArtNouveau, Hip-hop & skateboard culture of the 1980’s and the underground’rave’ scene of the ’90s, current Political, social, and environmental issues,as well as the spiritual experiences of psychedelic vision.
 
NoMe’s work is a byproduct of urban life in a rapidly changing world in whichthe lines between nature and technology become more blurred each day and questions of adaptation and survival challenge humanity as a whole. http://www.NomeEdonna.com

Though Chor Boogie uses spray cans to create his art, he insists that he is worlds away his days of tagging for street cred—whether or not that stance appeals to the hipsters who view his art. He describes the evolution as a movement away from vandalism to the “fine arts of aerosol,” a world that creates rather than diminishes, proposing a positive approach to the world rather than a negative one. Never a letter form man, Chor Boogie’s charactersrange from soulful, deftly shaded portraits to happy, smiley flowers, with geometric elements adding up to half-hidden faces, and a huge eyeball or two toencourage you to see.
 
Chor Boogie has stated that there is “spiritual love for what I do,” an approach based more in feelings than in thought. There is no color he doesn’t use, he says, as he creates a wide range of forms using an inverted spray can technique, which slows the pressure of the paint and creates denser, richer tones. And though it would seem that not limiting his color palette could result in an almost violent barrage of hues and forms-within-forms, Chor Boogiehas developed a sense of order in his layers of work.
 
One of his first professional gigs was to paint a three-story mural on a ropes course for motivational speaker Tony Robbins. Before his move to San Francisco,Chor Boogie worked on several city projects in the San Diego area as well as a show at the MOCA that was named “Best Show of the Year.”  www.chorboogie.com

Apex grew up in San Francisco,CA at a time when the city was being constantly bombed. This had a major impact on him and led to his start of getting up at an early age. He later saw a documentary on graffiti that contained a lot of piecing footage. That documentary influenced him to do more than just tagging. He is now a master ofmany letter styles and a legend in full effect. His work has shown at Intersection for the Arts, The Luggage Store, Southern Exposure, and Yerba Buena Center For the Arts.
 
Neon is an old school San Francisco native that has been painting for over 20 years and still remains in the game. Not only does Neon still paint he is the CEO and President of the Montana Colors North America paint company which if you don’t know is the main spray paint company for writers. Neon is the perfect example of what a writer can do if they put their mind to it.
 
Established in 1993 in downtown San Francisco 111 Minna Gallery is in the business of Art & Leisure. The gallery showcases a unique blend of local and international artists, world class DJ’s, live performance, and film screenings in an elegantly urban and ever-changing 4,000 square foot space. The gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Friday 12-5 pm and nightly on a rotating schedule for special events.
 
111 Minna Gallery is located at the corner of Minna and 2nd Street in downtown San Francisco. The Gallery offers a full bar and welcomes ages 21, and over.

For more information on upcoming events go to www.111minnagallery.com  | 415.974.1719.

Curator: Gabe Scott gabe@111minnagallery.com
Media Conact: Moretta Moretta@111minnagallery.com | 917.749.5578