Menlo woman opens new art gallery

If I have to write about another art gallery in this area closing, I might dump a bucket of paint on my keyboard. And I wouldn't even get anything artistic out of the splashes. I can't paint with anything but words.

It's been a low few years for local galleries, to say the least. So it was really (sigh) nice to read about a local woman creating a new gallery, even in the big city. Last week, our sister paper the Almanac reported that Joan McLoughlin of Menlo Park was just opening up her McLoughlin Gallery on Geary Street in San Francisco. The spot is focusing on "established European contemporary artists and local emerging artists." It hosted its first opening reception last weekend.

So far, McLoughlin -- a longtime art collector who worked for several years in medical start-up companies -- has an eclectic and modern mix of creative types. There's Iran-born Dalia Nosratabadi, who photographs landscapes and other scenes reflected in puddles of water. French pop-art artist Renaud Delorme creates collage-painting hybrids that often incorporate found objects such as toys and computer bits.

My eye was particularly caught by Christine Comyn's portraits. The Belgian artist depicts women with an elegant, historic flair that has recently been inspired by Marie Antoinette. But the medium is modern: Many pieces are digital compositions on Plexiglas.

Pictured: "Adieu le plus aime," a digital composition on plexiglas by Christine Comyn, from the McLoughlin Gallery website.