About
False Gods
A new show by surrealist painter, muralist Bill Weber, aka El Galllo at The Grand Gallery, in Oakland.
Artist Reception
September 5
Noon - 5pm
Artist Talk
September 12
1pm - 2pm
Bill Weber’s work takes a hard look at the corruption of government and a decaying civilization. With a dystopian thread, his meticulous technique involving layering color upon color reveals what life can look like given our current trajectory. The details are rich, often depicting corporate, industrial giants as ungainly four legged creatures roaming a desolate earth, or a nightmarish transport machine with hellish backgrounds. Images of oligarchs greedily exploiting the environment and its inhabitants are a current theme in this series.
Imagine Heironymous Bach meeting Dali. There you will find El Gallo.
In 1974 Bill painted his first mural at a new club, Valentino’s in San Mateo.
This was just the beginning of Bill's colorful 50 year career as a muralist.
If you’ve ever wandered around North Beach, you may have stumbled upon his most iconic work:
Vandewater’s 1976 (corner of Vandewater’s alley in San Francisco)
Columbus Cafe (1987) North Beach
Jazz Mural, New Sun Hong Kong Restaurant (1987-88) 606 Broadway/Columbus,
North Beach/Chinatown
Martinelli’s Restaurant (1991)
Liguria Bakery (2010)
There’s also his mural on the Fork Cafe (2011) in the Castro and
The Summer of Love mural at Burger Urge (2013) in the Haight.
The events of the times began to influence Bill moving towards surrealism. Attending weekly concerts at the Fillmore and meeting Jimi Hendrix feed Bill’s experiential palate towards this counter cultural art form.
“Surrealism is part of a cultural revolution that includes fine art, theater, and literature with roots that reach back to the 1920’s. My art juxtaposes normal objects, realistic figures, and ordinary facial expressions in a fantastic ways with the goal of liberating imagination by freeing the viewer from superficial rationality and confronting restrictive cultural norms.” ~Bill Weber aka El Gallo
The Grand Gallery 560 2nd St. Oakland
Wed. - Thurs. Noon - 5pm
Fri. - Sat. 11am - 7pm
Sun. 11am - 5pm
