A group show of New York artists curated by Evan Venegas, including NY-raised, SF-based Gianluca Franzese alongside Venegas, gilf!, John Breiner, Lori Nelson, Millie Benson, and Peter Daverington.

Distortion examines the concept that all imagery is distorted because it is filtered through a person's psyche. Interpretations of these images are manufactured by not only what's presently in front of you, but also past experiences and future desires.

All of the artists in Distortion reveal this process in their work. Ideas, socialization, nature, and technology are the subjects they address. However they each recognize, embrace, and render the individuality of their experience.

Against The Grain is a collection of paintings on wood, wherein Young explores new techniques, patterns, and a more natural palette with an array of different mediums, including graphite, ink, latex, wood stain, acrylic, spray paint, etc.

Fresh off the heels of a 4 ft. x 18 ft. commission for the Grand Hyatt SF in Union Square and a large mural in Miami FL painted during Art Basel, Young’s latest body of work ties together some familiar themes – alluring women, the urban landscape of San Francisco, and her continued study of nature -- against an added layer of minimal forms, patterns, and lines in neutral hues on wood.

For the first time ever, Luna Rienne Gallery will simultaneously launch a parklet and solo show, featuring artist Brian Barneclo, on Saturday, May 3.

Titled "Misinformation", the exhibition and parklet reflect on the overwhelming amount of information that we are constantly fed -- social media, blogs, emails, texts, human interaction, sound, and even the food we eat. Misinformation occurs in the lapse between being "connected" and not necessarily being in touch with what’s really going on.

With the parklet, which is the third installation at Luna Rienne Gallery’s revolving public art venue, Barneclo focuses on the giving and receiving of information. It will feature a combination of layered wood, acrylic cut-outs, and murals.

A solo gallery exhibition by long-time San Francisco resident and Renaissance man Romanowski. REC features a new collection of assemblage work by the Swiss-born artist, who uses recycled and reclaimed materials to create stylistic wood-finish dioramas that reference music, politics, and culture. Romanowski’s assemblages have evolved to a keen craft over the years, and are featured in Bay Area restaurants such as Nectar and the Tribune Tavern.

REC focuses on his wood assemblages, but Romanowski’s numerous talents as a stencil artist, music producer, DJ, and stylish man-about-town will be showcased as well, with auxiliary work also on display at the gallery.

A group show exploring geometries, patterns, and their effects on the human eye.

Polyptych Tales, featuring new works by Ursula X Young, Joshua Lawyer, and MJ Lindo, reinterprets the classical idea of the frieze into a chronological puzzle of paintings. While each piece stands alone as an individual work, together the polyptych tells one story with parts flowing among them and recurring themes that bind.

Ambition, a collection of paintings created by Monty Guy over the last year, addresses aspiration and potential. Conveyed through gray-scale portraiture, the narrative is told in each character’s facial expression and skin art.

The pieces are based on existing photos, re-interpreted by the artist. From the steely focus look of Lady Liberty to the young boys channeling East Bay hip hop, Ernest Hemingway, and Michelangelo, Monty’s paintings give new meaning to the definition of ambition.

The Making Of, created between his recent mural at the Bernal Heights Public Library and a forthcoming large-scale commission for the Grand Hyatt in Union Square SF, is a solo exhibition of new work by Reuben Rude.

With The Making Of, Rude focuses on the artistic process -- the creation of the work itself -- as well as the journey of the artist. Using his arsenal of media including painting, collage, and illustration, he produces pieces that reference the past and foreshadow the future, revealing a portrait of a lifetime maker of things.

In addition to the pieces made for the show, Rude’s sketchbooks from the last eight years will be on display. Multi-layered, diverse, and highly rendered, they are a view into his kitchen sink approach to art that borders on obsessive. Simultaneously they provide a missing, and sometimes disjointed, link between the artist's initial concepts and eventual manifestation.

Searching For Higher Ground, a solo exhibition of new work by Erik Otto, addresses the concept of higher ground. Not a physical place or a final destination, it is the positive perspective that setbacks and challenges are as necessary as victories and breakthroughs. Setting one’s heart on the end goal spontaneously opens the mind to how it can be done. Once this lifestyle choice is made, the real work begins. Life challenges begin, deep fears surface, and with no proper road map, discipline and perspective become paramount.

Otto’s latest work is about visually expressing this ability and freedom. Pulling from his own life and the struggles of his loved ones, his aim is to reflect the innate desire to find resolution in a deliberate way. He is attempting to illustrate the intangible so as to better rationalize it for personal growth. He hopes that creating work from feelings that are difficult to express will spark a deeper connection to the viewer, who may share his aspirations.

Each of the artists in Otherworldly has a unique perspective on society that manifests itself in a distinctive visual language that, while representational, is hardly realistic. Exhibiting collectively, these four painters will certainly take the viewer to another mindset.