Robert Armstrong- A Conjunction of Punctuative Emunctories

Robert Armstrong at Sanchez Art Center

May 30–June 29, 2014

On Friday, May 30, from 7 to 9 pm, Sanchez Art Center will
hold an opening reception for three new exhibitions. In the Main Gallery,
Robert Armstrong amazes and delights with his mixed media sculptures,
paintings, and installations in a show titled A Conjunction of Punctuative
Emunctories, curated by Philip E. Linhares. The East Gallery presents artwork
from the San Francisco Veterans Art Guild. And in West Gallery, the Art Guild
of Pacifica gives free rein to the imagination in Artistic License. Music will
be provided by the Jazz Cats.

Robert Armstrong uses found objects modified into new forms to
surprise, delight, challenge, and charm. The exhibit title may sound daunting,
but his work is innovative and open-ended in scope and intent, with a sense of
fun and exploration that is infectious. Armstrong found the term emunctory in an
old dictionary, where it was defined as any body part that gives off waste
products. The physicality inherent in the term seems part and parcel of
Armstrong’s process as he reworks found materials such as dried kelp, wool,
straw, paper pulp, vinyl records, and bits of metal and plastic into works of art.
Examples include his modified vinyl records enhanced with pattern, color, and added
materials, or a collection of kelp-wrapped pieces he calls “hardware and tools.”
These works also give a definite nod to the burden of “stuff” humankind continues
to place on planet Earth. One might say that Armstrong’s work aims to stir up
as much as possible with a big spoon.

The show’s title also suggests language, and indeed Armstrong
is deeply involved with pattern and the shifting geometries of meaning, as
shown in his large paintings that seem like hieroglyphics from some combined
past/future. As curator Phil Linhares comments, these works “hint at the
unbridled creativity that he is capable of. One simply has to experience his
work in person to really get it and enjoy it.” Armstrong has exhibited at the
San Francisco Art Institute, the Garage Gallery in Berkeley, the Wiegand
Gallery in Belmont, and the Barbara Anderson Gallery in Berkeley. The artist
will talk about his work in a free lecture on Sunday, June 29, at 4 pm.

The Veterans Art Guild (VAG) at the San Francisco Veterans
Administration Medical Center is a group that meets weekly to work on
self-determined art projects. Creating art and sharing in this group setting
helps veterans improve physical stamina and dexterity as well as improve social
and problem-solving skills. These artists work in a variety of media, including
oils, acrylics, watercolor, marker, pen and ink, photography, mixed media,
clay, and wood. Recent exhibitions for the Veterans Art Guild have been hosted
by the Granada Hotel and the Veterans Community Media Center in San Francisco,
as well as at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

In West Gallery, the Art Guild of Pacifica’s group show
titled Artistic License opens the
door to any and all artworks, especially those that push the boundaries of
expectation and convention, or that challenge
assumptions. Expect fun!

Opening night is May 30, 7–9 pm; thereafter the galleries
are open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 1 to 5 pm. All three exhibits run
through Sunday, June 29. Sanchez Art Center is located at 1220 Linda Mar Blvd.,
Pacifica, California, about 1.5 miles east of Highway 1 and the Pacific Ocean.
For more information, call 650-355-1894 or visit www.sanchezartcenter.org.