Tom Marioni at Gallery Paule Anglim

Tom Marioni

Crown Point Press artist Tom Marioni's show, Out-of-Body Free-Hand Circles opened on October 4th at Gallery Paule Anglim in San Francisco.

The colored pencil drawings and one hand colored etching are collections of circular motions made by the artist's extended arm. Some of these produce unruly circles like an armful of hay (#48 Revolution, 2007) and some of them follow neatly together like a tiny wake in a stirred cup of tea. One of the drawings is called #64 Cup of Tea, 2007. Marioni has been concerned with performative drawing for thirty years. His unique thinking about moving and marking produced the effervescent project, Flying With Friends, printed at Crown Point in 1999.


#28 Fire in the Hole, 2007
colored pencil on paper
2 1/4" x 22 1/2"

In her essay in the show’s catalog, Marcia Tanner explains the idea that inspired the work: "Marioni’s project was inspired by Giorgio Vasari’s story of how Pope Benedict XI sent an envoy to Giotto requesting samples of his work. Giotto dipped his brush in red pigment and, using his arm pressed against his side as a compass, with one continuous stroke painted a perfect circle. On seeing it, the pope instantly recognized his genius and hired him."

The opening was full of circle gazers, including gallery assistants Monica la Staiti and Jenna North, who proclaimed 2007 "The Year of the Circle."

Monica la Staiti and Jenna North

In the back gallery, Marioni's good friend Masashi Matsumoto is showing a group of eleven electric blue door paintings, with luminous keyholes which seem very Alice-in-Wonderland-like to this blogger. The doors are basking in the blue light of a neon sign that reads "Gallery B."

Go see it if you haven't already! The show is open until October 27 at:

Gallery Paule Anglim
14 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA
415.433.2710