Lost City and Bridge Bardo paintings from the thin grey line

B0ARDSIDE presents ​Lost City and Bridge Bardo​ by San Francisco artist Brent Willson. Willson’s paintings engage with our constant submersion in symbol and metaphor, and the interpretation of our environment into thought and language. His recent work investigates rudimentary shapes and forms and their synergistic evolution into thought, communication, and symbolism.

The recurring bridge motif joins fundamental architectural elements—post, lintel, arch; vertical support, horizontal span, circular distribution of weight on a three-point curve, supportive substructure, two points of contact, connecting and distributing energy—to reach a destination, overcome obstacles and facilitate transition. Unity. Transference. Passage. Connection. Strength. “In order to know you better, I will draw a bridge.”

Lost City and Bridge Bardo will run Saturday, October 17th and Sunday, 18th at B0ARDSIDE, a new outdoor art and performance space at the corner of Moraga and 43rd Ave (entry through the Moraga gate). The exhibition will be open to the public from 12-4 PM both days.

B0ARDSIDE is compliant with COVID-19 regulations, with space for adequate social distancing. 12 viewers will be allowed into the space through the Moraga entrance at any one time, with masks required for entrance.

About the artist

Born in 1969 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Brent Willson grew up playing in punk bands and designing fliers and album cover art. Willson’s artistic inspirations draw from his early ties to the Mission District music and art scene of the 90’s-00’s and as a touring musician, house painter and building designer; he often refers to his subject matters as non-linear abstraction. He has participated in numerous group shows throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Brent Willson currently lives and practices art in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset District. As co-owner and gallery director at Streamline, he established himself as a central figure in San Francisco’s west side art community.

About B0ARDSIDE

Born in the rising Bohemia of post-COVID San Francisco, the B0ARDSIDE collective is a hub for the creative community quietly flourishing in the fog and quiet of the city’s west side.

B0ARDSIDE revolves around a compliant outdoor art and performance space at 43rd Avenue and Moraga. The B0ardside features exhibitions of painters, sculptors and multimedia artists; live music by some of the city’s most innovative electronic and acoustic performers; readings by poets and writers, and more.

The collective also publishes a quarterly zine, B​ 0ARDSIDE​: A​rts and Culture at the Edge of the World​. The zine’s first edition will be available at the Lost City and Bridge Bardo exhibit, as well at selected cafes and bookstores in the Sunset, Parkside and RIchmond Districts.

To learn more about B0ardside, follow them on Instagram and Facebook at @b0ardside, or on the web at B0ardside.com. 

[Note — ​B0ARDSIDE​ is spelled with the number 0 instead of the letter O.]