By Patricia Frischer
A whole slew of
art is now newly on view at the Bread and Salt building which hosts the Bread
and Salt Galleries, The Athenaeum's Catherine and Robert Palmer Gallery, The Sculpture Garden and Quint’s
One as well as Best Practice and ICE Gallery, plus many individual artists studios.
Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio's exhibition at
Bread and Salt explores how time can feel different for
people with disabilities or illnesses. Sometimes, for example, they need more time, rest, or flexibility.
This idea is often called “crip time.” Using paintings, drawings,
installations, and a large mural, the artist shows how normal schedules and
rules in society don’t always work for everyone. The artwork asks people to
think about how we decide what makes a life valuable and how people spend their
time. The exhibition
is called Noncompliant. The word usually signifying when someone
doesn’t follow rules. Ortiz-Rubio uses it in a new way—as a positive idea about
standing up for yourself and not always following unfair expectations. The goal
of the show is to help viewers think about how society treats people,
especially when it comes to work, care, and human worth.
Ortiz-Rubio received her MFA from the New York Academy of
Art and currently teaches drawing at the University of San Diego. Ortiz-Rubio
was a 2018 IMPACT Artist-in-Residence at Bread and Salt, and this exhibition is
the first time the gallery presents her work in a solo exhibition. She is the
recipient of the 2026 San Diego
Art Prize and will be showing with other recipient Danielle Dean and Ingrid
Hernandez at the Oceanside Museum of Art in September, 2026 Erratic
Fields is an
art exhibition that looks at the nature and history of the region shared by
Baja California and Southern California. It is part of a long project by INSITE
called The Sedimentary Effect. Erratic Fields took about five years of research, trips,
and conversations with artists, scientists, and nature experts. It is rather like a chapter within this large body of mostly conceptual projects and installations. The Erratic
Fields exhibition curated by Andrea
Torreblanca showcases these long-term projects with artists living in the
area. New commissions are by artists Alex Bazán, Johnnie Chatman, Lael Corbin,
Leslie García, and Archivo Familiar del Río Colorado, as well as new iterations
of past projects by Mark Dion, Anya Gallaccio, Allan McCollum, Allan Sekula,
Gary Simmons, and Yukinori Yanagi. We recommend watching this INSITE video of the artists speaking about their commissions. For example, Lael Corbin explained that he was able to tread lightly with the wind and experience a give and take that made him feel closer than ever to the environment.
• Mark Dion’s house installation – Dion rebuilt a small research-style house based on one he made near the Tijuana Estuary. Visitors can go inside and learn about birds and wildlife that live in the border wetlands.
• A machine that builds a mountain – One artwork uses a machine that slowly piles up material to form a small “mountain.” It shows how landscapes can change over time and how humans also reshape the land.
• San Andreas Fault monitoring artwork – A piece uses sonar or radar technology to track earthquakes in real time along the San Andreas Fault. It reminds visitors that the land in California is always moving beneath our feet.
• Photography about trade and factories – Work inspired by photographer Allan Sekula explores how shipping, factories in Baja California, and global trade affect people, the ocean, and the environment.
• Sculptures, drawings, and films by several artists show things like dust storms, wind, migration routes, and desert landscapes, helping people think about how nature and human activity mix together in the Californias.
The artists
explored places like deserts, volcanoes, dunes, and coastlines to understand
how natural forces—such as earthquakes, winds, droughts, and animal
migration—shape the land and the people who live there. The exhibition shows
that the U.S.–Mexico border region is really one connected environment, even
though it is divided by politics. The show helps visitors think about how
nature, history, and politics are all connected, and how even small events in
nature can have big effects on the world around us. The next book in the series
will be published shortly.
Small delicate engraved porcelain vessels
created by Annie Alarcon are hanging
separately, no chance of touching, each one inspired by ancient Greek
perfume bottles. Annie Alarcón makes
us wonder what they are holding. We all
know how a scent can bring back a memory in a very strong, even emotional way.
And one holds a bottle, gently, and applies the potion to your pulse points. It
is a very intimate act, almost a ritual of preparation.
But there are other containers in the show,
ones on the wall that are spilling out light, large heavy pots with natural botanicals
placed on top, and tiny discs that look like flattened doll dishes.
One amphora
stands out as somewhere in-between with the written words, “What once was held.”
Amphoras have pointed bottoms and were usually used for storing oil or wine. They last
for years and years and were used for shipping as they could be stacked between
other cargo. Sediment settled at the bottom and it was easy to tip this shape for
pouring. These art works might not be meant for use, but they symbolize a
lasting place to carry and keep safe whatever is important to us.
Annie Alarcon: Forms of Devotion
Athenaeum Catherine and Robert Palmer Gallery
March 14–May 7, 2026
“Utopia is
imprisoned, come help us free it!” -ERRE
Marcos Ramírez ERRE’s sculpture, The
Prisoner, stands eight feet tall, composed of a central concrete tower
with mirrored letters spelling “UTOPIA,” enclosed in a rusted iron cage. It is
viewable from Julian Ave in the Gallery Sculpture Garden in front of Best
Practice. ERRE is a previous SD Art Prize recipient and has a long history of
work with words with a focus on the US-Mexico
border region.
Marcos Ramírez ERRE: The Prisoner
Bread and Salk Sculpture Garden
From March 14, 2026
Bread and Salk Sculpture Garden
From March 14, 2026
Anya Gallaccio’s When Black is Burned
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| Anya Gallaccio’s When Black is Burned |
Quint Gallery is showing Anya
Gallaccio’s When Black is Burned at the ONE space at Bread and Salt.
The artwork is a large wall sculpture made from obsidian, a shiny black
glass that forms when hot lava cools very quickly during a volcanic eruption.
The artist cut and polished this stone so it is reflective like a mirror. (see video above) This
sculpture is different from some of her other artworks that slowly change or
disappear over time. Instead, obsidian forms over a very long time in nature,
so the piece connects to the slow processes of the Earth.
Another project by Gallaccio called Beautiful Minds is being shown
in the Insite project, Erractic Fields. In that project she uses a 3-D
clay printer to create versions of Devils Tower. And there is more work
by Anya
Gallaccio at Quint Gallery in La Jolla until May 23 Bread & Salt
1955 Julian Avenue, San Diego, 92113
Hours:Tuesday –
Saturday 11 am – 4 pm
Please check with individual galleries for opening days and hours.
Best Practice was unfortunately not open during the afternoon of my visit. Their exhibition A Unifying Force: The Art of Revision San Diego is on view until April 18. ICE Gallery (Michael James Armstrong withThomas DeMello) was also not open.
