Thursday night, and two kinds of art crowds were milling about in two galleries:
At the Serge Sorokko Gallery on Geary, perfectly turned-out society art lovers were awestruck by “The Porcelain Splendor of Vladimir Kanevsky.” The artist makes detailed and realistic-looking flowers out of porcelain, with painted copper leaves and stems. Kanevsky was born in Russia and trained as an architect, and didn’t start making these floral works until he came to America. He’s so successful that he created works for the Meissen porcelain factory in Germany, and will have a solo show at the Hermitage next year.
“I was never much interested in flowers,” said the artist. “I was a figurative sculptor at first. But then I wanted to supplement my income.” Creating the floral works uses the same “basic skills as a visual artist,” he said, and “someday I will do figurative work again.” Meanwhile, his works are in the collections of Martha Stewart, Valentino, Daphne Guinness, Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis and a host of other taste-makers familiar to readers of shiny-paged publications.