WALLY'S FIX-IT-SHOP 2003
@ LINC REAL ART, san francisco
In mid January, the capricious and nomadic heart of the artworld will
relocate, briefly, to San Francisco, where it was left behind some time
ago. After finally shaking their apple martini hangovers, true denizens
of
the " A " word will pilgrim westward to " the most European towne in
America ". Here, they will find a Survivor City, where only the fittest
artists have come out on the other side of the now, long-forgotten dot
bomb crash. Like the grass that always sprouts up between sidewalk
cracks, this city is teeming with a cultural vibrancy that cannot be
contained.
Long thought of as an artistic hamlet with an attitude, the Bay Area has
morphed into an International melting pot of intellectual activity and
real art whose bravado can no longer be quietly dismissed. Real
artists,
like Wally Hedrick, prefer the periphery. The vantage point from where
they stand is said to be luminous...affording them a long view of the
supposed " center " while also perching their gaze on the edge of what
might only be viewable to themselves as " the beyond ". For nearly
fifty
years, Hedrick has been a compelling figure in the American art scene.
Well known as a Beat generation artist, he was one of the founders of
The
Six Gallery, where Ginsburg first read " Howl ". In 1959, he and then
wife, Jay deFeo, failed to attend their own opening for 16 AMERICANS at
New York's MOMA, a show which launched Raushcenberg, Nevelson, Johns,
Kelly and others to major careers.
Using the analogy of the Fix It Shop, Wally casts himself as something
of
a psychic repairman; an all-knowing guru whose ultimate job is the
cobbling back together of an alchemically whacked world. He can repair
your broken down toaster or provide consulting on weed eater cord
replacement. More complex jobs, however, like installing computer
networks or unclogging rain gutters are left up to his dream team of
unemployed, idiot savants who long to toil for free for " the grandaddy
of all Bohemians ". Perhaps not insignificantly, Hedrick lives a stones
throw from the infamous Bodega church which was made iconic in
Hitchcocks,
THE BIRDS. Defying infamy, Hedrick has been know to occaisionally enjoy
a
game of lawnmower polo with himself . Why Wally chose Bodega as home :
"...I wanna be right in the middle of the periphery. "
- charles linder, director
_________________
LINC is very pleased to present Wally's new and old paintings at the 5th
annual San Francisco International Art Expo from January 17 - 20.
Hedrick's never before seen 1967 WAR ROOM - in storage for 30 years -
will
be installed in the lobby of the art fair. For more information, phone
the gallery at :
415-503-1981
or e mail :
info@lincart.com
LINC REAL ART
1632 C Market Street
San Francisco 94103
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