The tables have turned: instead of telling you what we think about art shows, we're heading out to gallery openings to get In Your Face and find out what the beautiful people think. Armed with one camera and a microphone, Emmanuel and I headed to Michael Rosenthal Gallery, which is nearing its one-year anniversary in The Mission. We were excited to see LA Artist Megan Whitmarsh's embroidered masterpieces (a crowd favorite), and we were also determined to find out what was up with the group show's perplexing title, Annual Biennial.

Michael Rosenthal, Gallery Owner "The Annual Bienial is a celebration of all the great artists that I get to work with. We have Megan Whitmarsh's work, Jane Fine from New York, and a whole host of people who I really love working with. I love anything that's ironic so I thought of that name [Annual Biennial] and I thought, 'Why not make people confused if I can?' And I don't do anything straightforward so it's an example of my humor."

Megan Whitmarsh, Annual Biennial Artist "I want to make things because I can't help it, but at the same time I feel sort of freaked out by how much stuff there is in the world, so when I do make stuff I want to be really conscious about it and I want to contribute to the beauty and optimism of the world. I was a big fan of The Muppet Show as a kid and, when I moved to New York, I saw the pilot at the Museum of Television and Radio and it was the first time I saw it as art rather than just a TV show. I realized that just by really believing in your own eccentric, weird vision you can express what you're feeling to other people and it radiates."

Adrianna Carillo next to a painting by her husband, Carl Auge "I miss this being above my fireplace. I like it because Carl doesn't use these colors very often. This is an image he's used a number of times, but in this bright color it looks really different. When people see it, sometimes they don't know what it is. People will either say it's a building or a dock because the colors make them think of water, but it's actually a pyramid from Northern Africa."

Jake Vreeburg and Bailey the Wonderdog "I like [Emily Sevier's paintings] because I liked being naked myself. The one on the right reminds me of the John Lennon Rolling Stone cover and other than that I just like naked people."

Caitlin Denny [right] with Maureen Mulhern, Rosenthal Gallery staff "My favorite is Megan Whitmarsh's Color Dance Bomb [pictured below]; the layers are so spectacular, it just jumps out at you, it's a fun piece."

Matt Furie, local artist showing at Giant Robot Gallery later this month "I came here to see my friend Megan's artwork. I actually just showed with her down in LA at the New Image Art gallery. I'm really excited about her work, I like the painstaking embroidery and the different characters."

Links
Annual Biennial KQED