Swank, surreal socials revive city’s passion

SAN FRANCISCO — Valentine events are best celebrated with anticipation for intimacy and the anxiety of passion, especially when hosting enticing socials in exciting spaces around the city. Among the noteworthy pre-Valentine gatherings I attended were a wine-tasting party at Fluid Ultra Lounge in the South of Market and a surrealism art show at The Shooting Gallery in the Tenderloin. After all, I required a little variety in my social escapades.

‘Pre-Valentine’s Day Wine-tasting’ at Fluid

First, let’s visit the wine event. The “Pre-Valentine’s Day Wine-tasting Party” was a sumptuous indulgence of social mirth and hearty treats presented by Winemingles.com. And conversation did flow like wine from a sparkling bottle as did eyes flutter and flirt their way around the space from one attractive guest to another.

Stephanie Rush, Rushburn Toffee Co., showed up to the Valentine’s event with her partners in chocolate to add a bit of sass and sweetener to the social mix. “We’re just three single girls with nothing to do for Valentine’s Day, and one us just happens to own a chocolate company,” she said as she primped her assortment of chocolates on display. Rush pointed out that the title of her company combines her last name with the last name of her grandmother, Burn, whose recipe has been the delectable starting point for the business.

Winemingles organizer Patrick Dalal said the pre-Valentine’s affair supported a vibrant mingling buzz the whole evening. “We’re fortunate to have a very enthusiastic crowd who is celebrating this romantic holiday with a lively spirit,” Dalal said, noting that his wine socials are held once a month, and normally at art galleries. “But this is a special pre-Valentine’s event that seemed perfectly suited for the neon and retro style of Fluid Ultra Lounge,” he said. “When guests are finished with their wine-tasting, they can stick around and enjoy dancing at the nightclub.”

Wine connoisseur Michel Ginoulhac, M.D., brought his unconventional medicine to the wine-tasting party from his Organic Wine Company. His San Francisco company presented a wild and exotic sampling of red and whites from France and across the globe. “The (Sauvignon Blanc 2002) Kawarau from the New Zealand vineyard offers a taste of tropical fruit … a very passionate blend that is suitable for just such a Valentine’s occasion,” he said. He also offered me a sample of the Cartagene NV Andre Bourguet of Languedoc, France, a “liquor wine” that invites aromas of prune and chocolate. I was genuinely pierced by Cupid’s sweet arrow with this glass of grape spirit that is delicious with chocolate deserts!

Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis, a wine and lifestyle advisor, and author of “Erotic Foods”, shared signed copies of her book with the guests at the mixer. Fallis said that wine and food is a perfect match in social circles. “Talking about food is a natural progression in the wine business,” she said. “We are using the palate and the sense of smell, all the same tools; so the conversation becomes easily extended from one topic to the other.” Fallis has studied the relationship of wine and foods for 20 years and gives wine seminars across the nation. She stressed the importance of using tantalizing terms such as “erotic” or “aphrodisiac” to stimulate interest in her topics. “When you have single people, champagne and chocolate all in the same room, you will know what to do with all of these if you have a copy of my guidebook.”

Martin Reyes, a wine advisor with K&L Wine Merchants, said his love for Fallis’s work was his main inspiration for attending the social. “People don’t realize how much of a big name she is in the wine field,” said Reyes. “She’s an important author and expert on the subject, and I pretty much came here just to get a copy of her book.”

Anthony Ferguson, a purveyor of fine chocolate, represented his company Cacao Anasa and its handcrafted confections at Fluid, much to partygoers’ elation. Of the many delicious selections of European truffles, Ferguson recommended the Flowers & Herbs artisan collection, which is comprised of 16 European truffles with an essence of the garden. Pointing to the display’s logo, he said, “The name reveals it all: If love had a taste, it would be your rose truffles.”

‘Cine Delirio’ at The Shooting Gallery

Next, I roughed passage through the Tenderloin to visit The Shooting Gallery for my dose of reality-bending artistic expression, otherwise known as the “Cine Delirio” surrealist show. Running through March 5, this experience in surrealism, according to the show’s participants, makes “room in our minds for a new crop of artists to titillate our psyche and expand our dreamscapes with their own deliriums and visions.” Enticingly enough, this would turn out to represent the other end of the Valentine’s spectrum for me. After all, love is nothing if not surreal. And there is no greater love for me than … art.

Justin Giarla, owner of The Shooting Gallery, said the surrealist exhibition, featuring the paramount work of Shawn Barber, Eric Joyner, Lee Harvey Roswell and Nathan Spoor, came together with a powerful unity in spirit and craftsmanship. “All four artists did an incredible job with their paintings for the show,” he said. “I’m really pleased with the outcome.”

Giarla said his gallery presents an eclectic variation of styles and mediums every month, including such works as photography, paintings, Pop art, lowbrow, erotica and more. “I change it every month to show you something that you can’t see downtown,” he said. “I simply show the artwork that I like, and that’s why I opened the gallery.”

Shawn Barber, sdbarber.com, said the surrealism show is the first he’s participated in where all the work has taken on a strong technical aspect toward painting. “This is one of the most unique shows I’ve seen here,” the artist said. “Most of my works are self portraits and reflections of myself. They somewhat resemble how I am not always in control. I tend to show how the world is much more darker than what it was when I was a teenager.”

Lee Harvey Roswell, leeharveyroswell.com, has been working with the gallery owner for three years, nurturing an intense Dali-esque presence at the space with such past exhibits as the “2nd Annual Erotic Show 2004″, “Lee Harvey Roswell vs. Marco Almera” (New York Surrealist versus California Pop Artist), and “The Gun Show” (Weapon or Work of Art). Roswell’s “The Rape of Psyche”, oil on panel, is representative of a Dali-like discipline, but is distinguished by his own post-modern identity and direction. “I work mostly through spontaneous association, keeping myself open to random thoughts that might juxtapose such images as Dostoevsky’s head with the Christ child and Madonna,” he said. “The idea and image is blurry at first, but I become moved to solving this vision, making it clear. Ultimately the end result is something very personal.”

Fellow surrealist Nathan Spoor, nathanspoor.com, takes a different approach to his imagery. In his acrylic on canvas creation “On Obligation’s, Whispers & the Like”, he creates a paradox that is directed more toward the viewer than the artist. With tentacle-like limbs extending from a bewildering entity on his canvas, Spoor explains that the imagery coincides with the anxiety of his audience. “The painting represents a moment of anxiety where a decision must be made that will affect the rest of the viewer’s life,” he said while observing his work. “You’re gonna make a decision that affects the rest of your life which is based on whether you enter or exit this character’s world … and her world is a little strange.”

Yes, love is strange, whether it be for one’s sweetheart or for the labor and dialogue invested into one’s work of art. But the surrealism show became a most suitable study of growth and technical approach for us denizens of the city who attempt passionate expressions in intimate spaces.

The Shooting Gallery is located at 839 Larkin Street in the Tenderloin. Fluid, San Francisco’s Ultra Lounge, is at 662 Mission Street.