#cybelelyle

I'll admit I'm skeptical of any art made by a woman that references the moon. Please ladies, let's figure out more original symbolism if we need to talk about how special having a period makes life. Based on the initial Et al. Gallery web blurb for Cybele's show, I was expecting a gallery full of balsa wood box sculptures that looked like abstract vaginas. Fortunately, they've updated the site since the opening. Cybele's art is much more enjoyable than a bunch of womb talk.

Et al. Gallery is in a narrow space below a dry cleaner on the edge of Chinatown. We missed the inconspicuous doorway on Kearny at our first pass. Fortunately when we doubled back, a group of fashionable young people drew attention to the doorway by going in to it: they probably weren't there for the dry cleaning. The long narrow hallway cluttered with storage items and an unembellished stairway down to the space build a sense of finding something secret.

The stairway lets your first view of the gallery be from slightly above. Cybele had altered the long narrow space by criss-crossing it with an installation of 2x4's meeting at right angles. As you step into the gallery you have to watch your feet and head, stepping over and ducking as necessary. The description for the show talks about "A visceral and intimate process of examining architecture and queer space." This led me to expect a queer theme in the art, but after thinking about the strange atmosphere of the space created by the instillation, I see how we were successfully taken out of the straightness and rigidity our everyday lives. One of the great things about the word "queer" is how many different meanings it can have.

Cybele's previous work has mostly been in instillation, sound, video and photography.  Et al. Gallery making it possible for her to include an aspect of this work in the showing of her prints enhances the experience of her art. The angles of the 2x4s echo the angles in her screen prints and tie everything together with a unique coziness that will disappear once the prints are sold and leave the gallery. Her titular reference to the moon seemed to have more to do with bringing her viewers to a place beyond their earthly lives than any of the usual feminine associations.

The Lanky One and I grabbed cans of domestic beer from the tub below the information table and got on with looking at the art. The Lanky One is a part time art maker and full time art appreciator. We are both good at drinking beer, though maybe not as professional about it as we were in our earlier twenties. 

Cybele's screen prints layer warmly colored textures over each other in sharp angles. The overlaps build on the texture of the individual layers and create the form of the piece. A handful of the prints include landscape photographs as one of the base layers. I was drawn to these prints since the landscape gave my eye something to hold on to, and a context for how to relate to the work. The Lanky One preferred the abstract prints. She said the forms themselves were interesting enough and placing them over the landscapes made it seem like the landscapes were working too hard to be interesting. You don't need to Instagram filter everything.

We circled the tiny gallery in less than half a beer can. Once you're done looking at the art, you get to look at the people. We debated about whether the best outfit award belonged to one of the gallery managers running around in bright green shoes and an acid washed jacket, or a pale fellow in a striped beanie and oversized puffy jacket. 

Et al. Gallery has been in operation for about a year and three months. One of the gallery managers had been looking for a studio for himself, but realized the space below the dry cleaners would be ideal for showing other people's art. The team originally expected to be based in Oakland where they are all members of the Real Time & Space artist's collective. Cybele is a part of this same collective, which is how they became familiar with her earlier work. This is one of the first showings of her prints.