The Oregonian, July 10, 2008 "Thin Ice Collective at galleryHomeland" by D.K. Row Universal Grammar" at galleryHomeland, Portland's latest attempt to create a sustainable contemporary visual arts center, presents this gathering by a group called Thin Ice Collective, which includes former Portlander Zefrey Throwell. I've not been able to wrap my mind around the description of the show, but it sounds intriguing. After all, how could you turn away from an event that somehow mentions Noam Chomsky? If you don't believe me, read the press material distributed by Thin Ice: "Universal Grammar finds its meaning in the fundamental. Inspired by Noam Chomsky's notion that all languages have a common structural basis, we, the Thin Ice Collective, have come together with a selection of hand-picked artists as one mind to test the limits of communication and reveal new discursive possibilities through various media. Each artist has explored the underpinnings of what it means to take part in a dialogue, not only in an intimate context, but on a broader social plateau. Some of the questions that we are asking are: What does it truly mean to be understood by someone else? What magnetism or repulsion occurs in the interstitial moment of dialogue that creates or negates understanding? Have visual cues become a sufficient enough representation of the common ethos to make the building blocks of communication, i.e., words, superfluous in today's image-heavy culture?" If you're curious about testing the limits of communication, revealing discursive possibilities and magnetism and repulsion in interstitial moments, then come on by to galleryHomeland beginning tonight when the exhibit opens from 6-9 p.m. ArtBusiness.com, December 1, 2006 "Ego Park: Beast Epic" by Anuradha Vikram Thin Ice Collective is a group of seven Oakland-based artists exhibiting together in Oakland for the first time with "Beast Epic," a show of their funny fantasies about the animal kingdom. This is their second exhibition as a collective since forming earlier this year. There's a strong sense of unease in much of this work, which is fitting considering humanity's troubled relationship to our environment and our animal neighbors. Caricatures and cartoons are here alongside detailed drawings, photographs and sculpture, tied together by a mock forest that covers the gallery walls. The work is colorful and arresting, with a strong comedic thread. Often grotesque and always beastly, the show reflects a deep appreciation for animal life and a healthy disgust with the manufacturing, rendering and otherwise destructive impulses of humankind.

The East Bay Monthly, September 2006, Vol.36, No.12 "making a connection with a collection of collections at auto3321" by Timothy Buckwalter People amass collections for all sorts of reasons, from the fanatical to the financial. What makes a collection intriguing is the window it opens into the heart or mind of its owner. “Collecting,” at Auto3321, features the personal compilations of seven local artists - Serena Cole, Carla Diliberto, Uri Korn, Hilary Pecis, Catherine Ryan, Zefrey Throwell, and Tracy Timmins, Most are members of the Thin Ice Collective, the latest collaborative art club to pop up in Oakland, and use Auto3321 as their exhibition space. Many of the collections relate directly to the collector’s work, with the artists using the objects as source materials. Painter Tracy Timmins cannot seem to throw away anything that has a scrap of sentiment attached to it. On view is her ragged old t-shirt emblazoned with a rainbow. Nearby, the worn-out threads show up in a terrific and trippy drawing of a young green-eyed hipster sporting the shirt. Catherine Ryan is in the same boat. She creates charcoal drawings from the found snapshots she has pulled together over the years. Sometimes artists collect because they feel they’ve found a kindred spirit. Self-taught painter Zefrey Throwell spent the last year accumulating the amazingly abrasive broadsides of San Francisco eccentric David Bradbury Haning. Haning’s bizarre ability to tie together King Crimson, Jesus Christ, Hitler and pocketknives is obviously an inspiration for Throwell, whose sex’n’violence themed drawings look a lot like Ralph Steadmen on steroid-soaked crack. Other collections offer a sense of escape. It turns out that photographer Uri Korn doesn’t spend all his time behind the camera capturing gritty urban life. He is also a mushroom gatherer. Of course, Korn does bring along his lenses and film on his nature excursions and has captures some lyrical moments with wild fungi. “Collecting” offers a wonderful way to drop into a few artists’ minds and discover their curious obsessions.