San Francisco Blog

What's up, SF? How's your Sunday? We're down in the OC kicking it with the OC Weekly crew, a bunch of Hummer H3s, and the gnarliest boob jobs on Earth (link not work-safe). Though it's hot and sunny, we're pining a bit for the cool fjords of NorCal. Luckily, ASD photog Paul Quitoriano attacked the (famed SF artist/illo) Jeremy Fish opening last night and brought back the following shots of dopeness. Words are from itinerant wordwright Oscar Pascual. P, hit it. -d2

Floaters and Sinkers
SF artist confronts sum of life's choices in new White Walls exhibit 'Sink or Swim'
Reportage by OSCAR PASCUAL

Jeremy Fish is triple O.G. gangster. He’s taking it way back like a carpenter's son, what. What? Quite literally. Those who peeped game last night at Fish’s premiere of his “Sink or Swim” gallery at White Walls marveled at some impressively huge woodcuts of cute animals in opposition with skulls and mean pirates smoking cigs. What’s the deal with the wood?

“My grandfather was a carpenter and a woodworker and I would work at his woodshop as a kid,” says Fish. “I tried to emulate that deal on a small scale.”

His recent use of wood is one of the reasons behind “Sink or Swim,” which Fish went on to explain.

“It’s about a couple of things. It’s about changing formulas and using different materials. I moved into a larger studio and now I can work with really big wood cutouts. Technically, it’s the part of “Sink or Swim” that I’m most proud of,” says Fish. “Most urban apartments can’t have a fucking saw in the living room. Before I moved I had sawdust in the bed and the kitchen. Now I have a magical door I can just shut.”

The premiere drew a large audience of fans waiting their turn for autographs on various shirts, artworks, and his “Next Best Thing” book/7-inch collaboration with Aesop Rock. How does Fish deal with his burgeoning star treatment?

“One of the cool things is I forget that people give a shit, because it’s easier to make art in my own world. At some points it’s a little weird so I just get it out of my head and don’t think about it,” says Fish. “I don’t want to be someone who thinks that since people love my stuff I can just do half-ass shit and people will love it anyway.”

The gallery carried some central themes that tied the entire room together, which was all surrounded by ocean waves-- an interesting background to the wood pieces floating above.

“It’s art so it’s gotta have a story, right? Here’s the art school spiel-- The show’s also about evaluating everything you’ve done in life. Are you giving up and just sinking? Are you just floating by and not giving a shit? It’s about self-evaluation,” says Fish.