Matthew Marchand reviews work by Evan Nesbit & Kate Bonner, two artists in the group show Practicing To Pretend at Alter Space, San Francisco, on view through August 17, 2013. The show also includes work by David Bayus, Rebekah Goldstein, Nikki Painter, and Jonah Susskind.

Marchand writes: "The artists / curators seem to be suggesting that the flat surface of the painting is no longer reserved for the singular presentation of two dimensional space, but instead like the familiar screens and monitors provides a conduit between real and virtual space. This is especially evident in the work of Evan Nesbit and Kate Bonner, as they take on the surface in separate and complimentary ways. Nesbit’s work engages painting as endpoint,object and continuum while Bonner’s work does the same with the viewer. The effect is work that is both discrete and immersive."