July 11 from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Made in Hawaii, born in Massachusetts, Mark Cunningham has been in love with Hawaii’s ocean and surf for 59 years and is recognized as one of the best bodysurfers in modern history. While living and lifeguarding on the North Shore, this Ocean Ambassador was helping and assisting locals, visitors and international surfers both in and out of the water for nearly 20 years at the world famous Banzai Pipeline.
“When the conditions allow, I don mask, fins and snorkel and make the most out of exploring and scavenging reefs and impact zones for exercise and treasure. Archaeological beachcombing between Makapuu and Kahuku on Oahu’s Windward shoreline, provides pieces of life, stories and adventures. Remains of a wipeout, a forgotten wallet brought into the inviting waters, the shiny and new becoming corroded and encrusted in their underwater resting place are resurfaced and brought back to land to question what happened.”
About Jonathan Steinberg
Jonathan Steinberg was born in 1959 in Glen Cove New York. He lives, works and surfs on the Westside of Santa Cruz.
“I am interested in the character and personality that common consumer items acquire with use and age. This exhibition has portraits and an installation with bodysurfing swim fins as their subjects. The fins are beautiful and functional when new and then as they are used, abused, loved and lost gain a quiet dignity and world-weary melancholy. The portraits are of individual fins that have gained narrative with age. The installation here is made out of fins I have collected over the years. Most of my fins are orphans, found on the beach, at the dump, or at yard sales. I make pairs and give them away. If someone loses a fin they can come to me and find a match. Surfing comes before collecting and art.”
About the Gallery
The Great Highway is a fine-art gallery and working studio located in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset district. The gallery was founded by John Lindsey, a resident of the city with a deep appreciation for images and ideas that explore the intersection of land and water in contemporary work. The Great Highway Gallery’s mission is to seek, analyze, support, and promote the work of a diverse group of artists who seek sincere beauty, challenge conventional thinking, amuse us, and push the boundaries of today’s creative media. The studio collaborates with these artists in developing, printing, and presenting their work in a way that encourages the ongoing conversations in San Francisco’s many microcommunities. To learn more about the gallery, visit
www.thegreathighway.com.
