Whenever venturing into an establishment
bearing the “All You Can Eat” banner, one
can be sure to find a host of unusual fare: meaty things
drowning in mysterious sauces, deep-fried finger items
you never imagined could be deep-fried or fingered, and
lots of pitchfork-sized utensils and giant ladles caked
with biohazard handles from your less-than-hygienic co-foodies.
And that’s why we go, after all.
Of course, when run through the artistic processing plant,
“all you can eat” can turn organic once again—healthy,
energizing and yes, lovely to look at. The Bunny Gunner
gallery and frame shop is such a magical factory and their
annual showcase of over 100 artists from around the globe—each
allowed up to five submissions—serves up a plethora
of texture, color and style that’s all hearty food
for the soul.
Rolo Castillo and Kyle McCullogh’s cross-sections
of tree trunks adorned with images of Rockwellian folks
at the dentist having a less than idyllic time are a riot—especially
because it’s not you who has a mouthful of black
rubber gloves and pliers; likewise, Anne Seltzer yanks
the past into the present using her pastel paintbrush
to smartly tinker sepia-toned photos of a somber cat lady,
yipping pooch and a cake-headed cake-eater into flashes
from a trip down the rabbit hole.
Jophen Stein gets fanciful with animals in his stoic
series of regal foxes as chess pieces, and the ever-twisty
mind of A.S. Ashley decided to use actual dead creatures
(pre-flattened by boot or tire, but not by Ashley, himself)
cemented onto wire mesh blocks in morbidly lovely reminders
of where all living things end up eventually (as art,
we hope). If not, perhaps we can just be idealistically
immortalized as both four-legged and two legged creatures
by Molly Schulps, whose golden skulls with rabbit ears
scream Donnie Darko—and might make us seriously
consider having our heads bronzed once we’ve don’t
need them anymore.
Cherie Savoie’s bird’s-eye snaps of Jell-O
molds and drinks—some with a critter or two trapped
within—sitting atop fancy flower tablecloths harken
back to picnic-y summer days, and one can only hope to
catch a glimpse of Sally Egan’s horsehead girl (in
red boots and Pizza Hut satin jacket) meandering through
your rose garden or mulling across your porch—she
does exist, as these pics prove. Max Gerber’s shots
of pickled bats and boys in jammies remind us of the extraordinary
in our ordinary, and his angst-ridden Norma is exceptionally
honest and human. Marco Zamora takes a look at the underbelly
that isn’t so under with his stenciled photos of
a homeless man sleeping on a bus bench (beneath a watercolor
rainbow) and a grocery cart filled with the sole contents
of some poor sod’s life.
Crafty artist Amy Caterina presents a delectable array
of crocheted donuts (with jelly filling spilling, of course),
and Amy Maloof once again exhibits her prowess for transforming
found needlepoint from saccharine to sassy with her Bluebirds
of Crappiness and Owl Right—two once peppy little
birdy scenes that will now resonate with the over-tween
crowd. Richard Nunez’s wood sandwich (complete with
meat, lettuce and pickle slices) is better than any play
food you ever had growing up, and Nollan Obena’s
brilliant Chinese take-out containers muralized with felt-tipped
sketches of China Town city streets are a coup of ingenuity
and imagination.
Going into the abstract and fantastic are—no surprise—Kimber
Berry’s dripping, neon-esque panels, and Marcella
Swett’s lovely, cocoony branches once again offer
a gorgeous and intimate reflection of nature. Rebecca
Hamm’s psychedelic forest scenes also highlight
the beauty of the untamed wilds and if only she’d
put some of these out in a paint-by-numbers format we
could all pretend to be that damn talented.
And there’s much more to see—including ceramics
and mosaics (Michael Aschenbrenner and Cathy Garcia),
lovely little nature scenes (Denise Kraemer and Jan Wheatcroft)
and a host of portraits and abstractions. It’s a
feast for the eyes and there’s something for every
artistic taste—so what are you waiting for? Come
and get it.
“All You Can Eat” at Bunny Gunner, 266 W.
Second St., Pomona, (909) 868-2808; www.bunnygunner.com.
Thru March 9. Free.
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