Opening tonight in Oakland is two exhibitions, one at SLATE Contemporary and another at Vessel Gallery.  If you haven’t made your way out to the East Bay to visit the Oakland art scene, we recommend that you do.  The amount of art spaces opening close to downtown is incredible and has flourished exponentially over the past couple years.  It great to see the momentum that artistic endeavors have currently in Oakland, and the quality of exhibitions are just as good as any other city in the country.  We have our eye on Oakland, and look forward to seeing it’s growth and the direction the art community is heading.

At Vessel Gallery is a group show titled, “Concerns for the Environment” featuring works by William Harsh, Carol Dalton, Jon Gariepy, Gala Bent, Walter James Mansfield, Iris Polos, Cyrus Tilton, and Allyce Wood.  The opening reception is tonight, July 18th 6:30-8pm.  The exhibition will be on view until August 24, 2013. If you miss the reception tonight then you hve a second chance on August 2nd, 6-9pm for the Oakland Art Murmur with a music performance by Echo Twin.  Vessel has been a landmark space for Oakland for what seems like an eternity.  Their space is beautiful and the aesthetic of work they exhibit is on point.  Check it out, you will have a great experience visiting the space as well as meeting Lonnie Lee, the owner and director of Vessel Gallery.

Vessel Gallery explains we are experiencing a shift in the environment; our weather patterns are changing, global temperatures are climbing, our oceans are acidifying, and our sea levels are rising. At this critical moment, these artists have taken a moment to not only comment on a wide spectrum of personal concerns for the environment, but also provoke deeper thought regarding the effect we are having, and allow us this opportunity to take pause, consider our actions – actions that profoundly shape our future – and this shared global place we call home.

For more information on Vessel’s exhibition visit here.

On view at SLATE Contemporary is “SLATE Summer Collection,” a group exhibition including featuring fresh work by some of the gallery’s favorite artists, including: Carol Inez Charney, Michele de la Menardiere, Joanne Fox, Carol Lefkowitz, Diane Rosenblum, Michelle Sakai, Victor Cohen Stuart, Talita Suassuna, and Patricia Thomas.

This exhibition is a great way for viewers to get acquainted with SLATE Contemporary’s programming and the various artists that show there.  SLATE is a great space and has been a staple gallery to the Oakland art scene for over 5 years now.  Recently participating at artMRKT, San Francisco, gallerist Danielle Fox brought a great display of works by various artists on her roster.  Now she is doing a similar theme, exhibiting samplings from 9 artists in one exhibition.  The space that she is currently in is a commercial space, that has been converted into a hub for various white cube galleries.  The network of spaces operate amazingly together.  You have to experience this “hub” first hand and see what they have to offer.

For more information on SLATE Contemporary’s exhibition visit here.