ATMOSPHERIC – Rachel Major & Scott Idleman

770 West Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94612
Contact: [email protected]
https://gearboxgallery.com/
(510) 271-0822
Gallery Hours: Thursdays-Saturdays, 12-5 pm and by appointment

March 5 to April 11, 2026
Artists’ Reception: Saturday, March 14, 1-4 pm
Artists’ Talk: Saturday, April 11, 2 pm

Gearbox Gallery is pleased to present Atmospheric, a two-person exhibition featuring new
work by San Francisco–based artists Rachel Major and Scott Idleman. Though visually distinct,
their practices converge around shared concerns of process, perception, and the dynamic
relationship between structure and spontaneity.
Rachel’s paintings are created through a process of dripping paint onto canvas, resulting in
richly layered surfaces that explore texture, color, and the balance between control and
chance. The series is inspired by her daily encounters with the landscape surrounding her
home in San Francisco’s Richmond District—a quiet, often fog-laden neighborhood bordered
by Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, and Ocean Beach. Her work reflects the shifting moods of
this coastal environment, particularly the San Francisco Bay, the Marin Headlands, and the
Golden Gate Bridge as they emerge and recede through fog. The recurring acts of covering
and revealing in these paintings echo the rhythms of the landscape itself.
Scott Idleman’s work similarly inhabits a space between intention and intuition. His grid-based
dot series celebrates intersections: science and art, nostalgia and futurity, the organic and the
artificial, isolation and community. Drawing from his family’s heritage of textile-making, Idleman
merges meticulous patterning with imagined skyscapes and aerial perspectives—an enduring
fascination shaped by the view from above. Based in San Francisco’s Mission District, his
practice is informed by the neighborhood’s vibrant energy and colorful mural culture, translating
urban vitality into structured yet atmospheric compositions.
Together, the works in Atmospheric offer a meditation on place, process, and
perception—inviting viewers to consider how environment, memory, and material intersect to
shape visual experience.
All are welcome to join us for Atmospheric events! Please join us for the Artists’ Reception,
Saturday March 14th. Stop in any time between 1 and 4 pm to greet the artists, enjoy the light
refreshments and check out the artwork 1-4 pm. If you’re curious to learn more about the
artists and their work come out for the Artists’ Talk, starting at 2 pm Saturday April 11th as
Rachel and Scott discuss their themes, ideas and processes. Bring your questions!

More About Rachel Major
Originally from Toronto, Canada, Rachel is a graduate of The Ontario College of Art and Design
(OCAD) as well as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) and received an MFA
from Mills College in Oakland. Rachel has been living and working in San Francisco since 1994.
In her work Rachel explores our complex and often fraught relationship with food using a
variety of media including sculpture, painting, and photography. Her work has been exhibited in
Canada, France and the U.S. In September 2016 she was selected as an Emerging Artist at
MarinMOCA in Novato, California. Rachel works with San Francisco Art Education Project,
LEAP as well as SFUSD teaching art to children in San Francisco public schools.
More About Scott Idleman
Idleman received a B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute in graphic design with minors in
fibers, painting and photography. He implements a visual language of simple mark-making to
convey impressions of moods and dreams as a form of meditation to connect with others and
self.