Phantom Galleries is proud to present:

Visual Umami Savory Landscape Photography
Jerry Berkstresser Solo Exhibition

Six different feasts for the eyes to savor, each featuring a nearly six-foot wide panorama for the main course and side dishes of standard sized photographs to complete the menu. Color, black and white, and infrared photographs are on display, each with a unique interpretation of the subject.

About the Artist:
Jerry Berkstresser is a contemporary San Jose-based photographer with a life-long passion for photography. He is best known for his creative use of infrared photography that renders water as black, vegetation incandescent white, skies inky black with brilliant white clouds. His panoramas are far wider than standard and capture the viewers attention from afar, inviting a closer examination to reveal the intricate details.

Solo Exhibition Dates: August 1– October 11, 2025

Gallery Open Daily: 9am-5pm

Artist in attendance First Fridays ArtWalk SJ 5pm–9pm.
Free and all ages.

Phantom Galleries at The Pierce Apts. Lobby Gallery
2 Pierce Ave. (at Market St.)

For more information please email: info@phantomgalleries.com

Phantom Galleries is proud to present:

Urban Abstractions: Street Planters Mural Project

The oversized planters on San Carlos Street (at S. 1st) received a massive creative treatment by seven talented artists working in their own signature abstract styles inspired by our urban environment.

The collective project entitled: “Urban Abstractions” is located at the south gateway to the SoFA District. These works are a signal to the passersby that we are an arts and culture district with galleries, music venues, residents and businesses that foster creativity and care about inspiring community well being.

Come by anytime and check out these unique works of art on the sidewalks of San Carlos Street between Market & S. 2nd streets.

Featuring Artists: Apexer, Gwen Reyes, Joey Reyes, Emoventuer, Force129, NOA–, and Poesia

Curated and faciliitated by Phantom Galleries, in partnership with The San Jose Downtown Association.

#urbanabstractions #streetart #murals #publicart #sofadistrict #dtsj

Phantom Galleries is proud to present:

Breathe Easy
Mario Dimas solo exhibition

"Breathe Easy" is about my creative connection with nature and plants. A series of works inspired by my time spent around plants, gardening, and hiking in nature. Plants are essential in our everyday lives, and we are very much dependent on them, from the air we breathe to the food and medicine they provide. We have them everywhere—in our homes, businesses, and hospitals—bringing us positive energy with their presence. They possess healing properties and create a stimulating visual effect in our surroundings.

In "Breathe Easy," my pieces are abundantly green with welcoming vibes; the use of dark backgrounds conveys my mood and emotion during the painting process, further bringing my subjects forward with vibrant light. In this exhibition, I invite the viewer to explore their own imagination and visualize the air and auras emanating from plants.

Artist's Reception: Friday, May 7th 5pm–9pm
during First Fridays ArtWalk SJ

Solo Exhibition: May 7–July 17, 2025

Artist in attendance First Fridays ArtWalk SJ 5pm–9pm.
Free and all ages.

Gallery Open Daily: 9am-5pm

Phantom Galleries at The Pierce Apts. Lobby Gallery
2 Pierce Ave. (at Market St.)

For more information please email: info@phantomgalleries.com

Phantom Galleries is proud to present:

Beyond Borders
Natasha Kramskaya Solo Exhibition

Artist’s reception: First Friday, February 7th 5pm–9pm
Free admission, part of the First Fridays ArtWalk SJ in SoFA District.

Ukrainian-born Californian artist Natasha Kramskaya’s first solo exhibition Beyond Borders, showcases a broad collection of vibrant paintings ranging from portraits to abstracts.

Cultural identity, kindness, and the fragility of life are central to Natasha’s work, reflecting the human experience in its most profound forms. In her recent works, Natasha explores the fusion of ancient symbols and traditions with contemporary elements and unconventional colors, creating a unique visual narrative.

Recurring motifs of sunflowers, both realistic and stylized, symbolize Ukrainian resistance and appear throughout her work, embodying strength and resilience. Natasha creates a unique blend of Ukrainian heritage and contemporary American art. Her ability to balance realism and abstraction offers viewers a captivating visual experience that transcends cultural boundaries.

Natasha creates a unique blend of Ukrainian heritage and contemporary American art. Her ability to balance realism and abstraction offers viewers a captivating visual experience that transcends cultural boundaries.

www.kramskaya.com

Exhibition dates: February 7–April 12, 2025

Gallery hours: Monday–Sunday 9am–6pm

Phantom Galleries at The Pierce Apts. Lobby Gallery
2 Pierce Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110
408-271-5151
info@PhantomGalleries.com

Phantom Galleries is proud to present:

The Women Judy Rookstool solo exhibition

Artist’s reception: First Friday, November 1st 5pm–9pm

“Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see.” -- Paul Klee

For San Jose-based artist Judy Rookstool, art-making is a means of exploring what she observes and communicating her observations to others in conversation with paint. Her art encourages the viewer to see beyond their personal realm to engender empathy for and understanding of the human journey – especially womankind.

Whether combining joyful colors or moody chromas, her paintings transcribe emotions and render a history of unexpected elements in a manner that elicits thoughtful introspection and compassion.

For The Women, Judy probes multiple aspects of what it is to be female: celebrating their public strength in the In Her Element series, illuminating their private struggles in her Faces series, and depicting their resolve to transcend earthly restrictions in BirdWoman.

These are women who will be heard.

Purchase inquiries may be directed to www.judyrookstoolart.com

Fifteen percent of all sales will go to Next Door Solutions, a SCC women’s shelter.

About the Artist:
Judy is active in the local arts community. Her work is held by private collectors and over time exhibited at: The Triton Museum, Mineta San Jose International Airport Showcase, Kaleid Gallery, WORKS Gallery, Mexican Heritage Plaza School of Arts & Culture Gallery, Phantom Galleries, Campbell Museums, San Jose Jazz Public Art Gallery, Cathy Down Gallery, University Arts, Evergreen Valley College Library Gallery, San Jose City College Gallery SVOS, Silicon Valley Virtual Open Studios, Marin Society of Artists Online Gallery, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts Online Gallery, Las Lagunas Online Gallery, and ArtFluent Online Gallery.

Exhibition dates: November 1, 2024–January 11, 2025

Gallery hours: Daily 9am–5pm, and First Fridays 5pm–9pm.

Phantom Galleries at The Pierce Apts. Lobby Gallery
2 Pierce Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110
408-271-5151
info@PhantomGalleries.com

Phantom Galleries is proud to present:

TIME
Trieu Hai Dao Solo Exhibition

Artist’s Reception: Friday August 2nd, 5pm–9pm
Part of First Fridays ArtWalk SJ

The Pierce Apartments Lobby Gallery
2 Pierce Ave. (corner of Market St. in SoFA District)
Free admission and all ages.

Trieu Dao is a Vietnamese artist based in San Jose, with a career spanning over 45 years. Born in Vietnam, Dao fled the country in the early 1980s with his wife and two children, embarking on a perilous journey across the South China Sea before eventually settling in the United States.

A self-taught artist, Dao creates artwork built on the traditions from his native homeland and informed by his experiences as an immigrant refugee. He works primarily in oil paintings, sculptures, and multimedia pieces. His vibrant compositions contain figurative or abstract elements which reflect his vivid memories and deep emotions that become visceral to the viewer in their presence. As an evolving artist, he continues to seek new and innovative ways of expressing and evoking the emotions which drive his artwork.

Trieu's work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and cultural centers throughout California, including the VAALA Center, the Morgan Hill Culture Community Center, the Saigon Civil Center, La Gallaria, the Viet Bao Gallery, the Works Gallery, the San jose Civic Center, Paradise Art Gallery, the Rose Garden Gallery, Martin Luther King Jr. Library Gallery and Citadel Art Gallery.

Solo Exhibition Dates: August 2 – October 12, 2024

The Pierce Apts Lobby Gallery
2 Pierce Ave.
downtown San Jose

Gallery Hours: Daily 9am–6pm and First Fridays 5pm–9pm @ArtWalkSJ

For more information, please contact info@PhantomGalleries.com

CINEQUEST & Phantom Galleries are proud to present this year's CQ Live Painting Contest featuring artists Bre Contreras, Jemal Diamond and Francisco Ramirez.

These talented artists will be painting live at KALEID Gallery during gallery hours March 7th–9th, as well as the 14th– 16th, with closing ceremonies on Sunday, March 17th.

Breanna Contreras

Bre Contreras is a captivating artist with roots in San Jose, California. She also blossoms across the sea, in Norway, as she plants seeds and breathes life into her artwork wherever she goes.

Her art is powered by limitless expression as she explores a variety of different artistic mediums, spanning from the expected to the overlooked. Using art as a creative release, she brightens everything she touches as she reaches for colors that could warm any perspective.

www.thestuffbremakes.com

Jemal Diamond

Jemal Diamond is a Bay Area-based artist, and native Californian. He exhibits at KALEID Gallery, is a member artist of Works/San José, and creates from his studio at Visual Philosophy, all in San Jose, California. Jemal holds an MFA in studio art from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and asks viewers like YOU to title all of his artwork.

www.thejemalshow.com

Francisco Ramirez

Originally from Mexico City, Francisco migrated to San Jose in 1987. His early life trained him to be resourceful and is a self-taught artist. His inspiration comes from everywhere and everyone, from Bob Ross, and Boris Vallejo to his Peers at Local Color to DDEF studios where he currently works from.

His style of work include realism, hyperrealism, abstract, and surrealism. He has worked with oils, watercolor, sculpting, photography but spends most of his time painting with acrylics. Since becoming a full-time artist in 2017, he has painted over 20 collaborative and solo murals in San Jose. His canvas paintings number well over 400 strong, the sizes ranging from 4’x6’ to 5”x7” His commissioners include various construction companies, local businesses, residential, nonprofits and independent curators that align with his mission to empower, beautify and protect this community.

www.fcoart.net

All are welcome to visit KALEID Gallery to watch the progress of the artists paint their vision of this year's festival theme "UPLIFT" and vote for your favorite while there! The artists will be present at the Cinequest Closing Ceremonies and the winner announced on stage.

Check out this year's films at CINEQUEST Film Festival.

Gallery hours: Thursdays–Fridays 12pm–7pm & Saturdays 12pm–5pm.

Location: KALEID Gallery
320 S. 1st St.
(across the street from the Cinequest Film Festival at the California Theatre.)
Downtown San Jose
info@kaleidgallery.com

Phantom Galleries is proud to present:

“Inspired! Natural Forms, Layers and Flowers”
Mason Roberts solo exhibition

Inspired! Natural Forms, Layers and Flowers are part of a series of paintings and drawings that are inspired by natural forms of rock, soil, energy, flowers, sky and movement. They tell the story of times past and time present and the consistent motion that is generally imperceptible to most of us. Perhaps a reminder that much has come before us and that much is still to come. Color and line are meant to engage the viewer and expose the energy, movement and sanguine balance between abstraction and recognizable form.

About the Artist:
Roberts seeks out and finds inspiration through travel and encounters with new people. He endeavors to create innovative and inspiring works of art based on his love of drawing and creating something tangible, which, in turn, allows him to share his most innermost thoughts and feelings with the surrounding world. The artist strives to find balance between recognizable shape and abstract form and to tell a story through their interaction and juxtaposition.

These forms and connections often take the shape of the natural world and its inhabitants and perhaps highlight the increasingly complicated relationship we have with each other, along with the numerous connections we all share. Intersection of line and shape creating form and figure. Introduce color—intense color, tones that scream or sigh when viewed. Vibrant color! For Roberts, line + color becomes a language that can create innumerable engaging and interesting narratives that can be experienced throughout this exhibition.

Artist’s reception: First Friday FEB. 2nd 5-9pm during South FIRST FRIDAYS ArtWalk SJ.

Exhibition Dates: February 2 – April 13, 2024

Gallery hours: Daily 9am–6pm

Phantom Galleries at The Pierce Apts. Gallery Lobby
2 Pierce Ave. (at Market St.)
SoFA District downtown San Jose
info@phantomgalleries.com

Phantom Galleries is proud to present:

Past Present Future Journals Gianfranco Paolozzi Solo Exhibition

“Marking on surfaces moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, month by month, year by year…Creating a journal.”

Artist's reception: First Friday November 3rd 5pm–9pm
Artist will be in attendance 5–9pm during ArtWalk SJ.

Exhibition Dates: November 3, 2023–January 18, 2024
Gallery hours: Daily 9am–6pm

Phantom Galleries at The Pierce Apts. Gallery Lobby
2 Pierce Ave. (at Market St.)
SoFA District downtown San Jose
info@phantomgalleries.com

Phantom Galleries is proud to present:

Stream of Consciousness
Robert Delare Chavez III solo exhibition

Opening reception: First Friday February 3rd 5pm–9pm

The creation of streams of ideas flowing in my brain when I focus on this work. I specifically chose to work using an inexpensive Holga camera on this project because of its versatility and the dream-like captures I can create with it. I use mixed media to intensify or emphasize my experimental exploration of this photographic project, hence a stream of ideas. Shadows, light, and structure continually clashing with life, color, and environment. My own chaos mixed with what is around me. Enjoy the experience.

About the Artist:
Chavez has been taking photographs all of his life, and recently earned his BA in fine art photography. He enjoys landscape photography, street art, and showing the beauty in the grittier side of life. He’s been working on this project for many years, using a $35 Holga camera to show life from his perspective.

His work has been featured in many different venues around the Bay Area, including San Francisco, the East Bay, and San Jose. Most recently, his work has been shown at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Afterlife show and at the 1Culture Camera Shy exhibition. In May 2022 Chavez received the SJCC ASG President Award for photography.He is currently a teaching assistant under Terri Garland at San Jose City College.

Exhibition dates: February 3–April 15, 2023

Gallery hours: 9am–6pm Daily.

Phantom Galleries
The Pierce Lobby Gallery
2 Pierce Ave. (corner of S. Market St.)
SoFA District downtown San Jose
info@PhantomGalleries.com