Should you drag your eyes off the wonderful, bonehead sausage party over on FuelTV and explore other regions of your brain, get thyself to "Cold, Hard and Wet," Conrad Ruiz’ first solo art show. You get some of what you’re used to: brawny, good-time doodz brohaming around, wet hair, and extreme sporting. You also get some true brain food, the kale smoothie of art: Ruiz crams a lot of toothy smiles into his watercolor portraits exploring race, class, and politics through elements of male power and physicality. As befits an artist commenting on fraternity, there’s a bounty of pole and rod shapes, sometimes in the form of a machine gun, other times as a killer whale lunging straight into the air. The mood is consistently playful, and the palette is bright. The acts of insignificant heroism and unjustified enthusiasm are beautiful to behold, and make the transition from your cable cave to a Nob Hill art gallery more than worth it.
Dec. 11-Jan. 30, 2009
