The San Diego Art
Institute’s current Regional Awards Exhibition is a large display of ninety
works, selected from 360 entries by judge, Deborah Klochko, Executive Director
of the Museum of Photographic Arts. The exhibition is a
combination of painting, sculpture, drawings, photography, monotype and
assemblage. As it is with many open call competitions, quality and technical
skill of the artists included varies greatly, but several works emerge as
standouts.
Artist Diane Brunner’s
sculptural work “Be Fabulous - Don’t Let One Thing Ruin Your Life”, is a
charming mixed media piece portraying a ton of small paper maiche human
figures, signs and messages, animals, boats, buildings and the ocean- all
crowded into a small space. The work creates the sense of the bustling,lively
activity of the San Diego
harbor during tourist season - all seemingly sliding off of a somewhat vertical
plane. The piece is protected by a clear acrylic frame.
Warren Bakley’s “Relic”, a
quietly compelling clay stoneware wall sculpture, portrays an abstract-like
figure of a man in neutral gray-black tones. The face, which curiously has no
features, almost seems to be melting or burning however the gesture of the
figure appears stoic. The figure’s abstract forms create the feeling of a
traveler dressed from an earlier era in time.
“The Dream I Had Today”, an assemblage by
artist Michael McAlister, is a wall piece - a small black chest housing a white
skull-like object, stone, cork, photograph, and medicine bottle. A serpent-like
head sits atop the chest leaving the viewer to wonder what personal story that
snake might tell if he could talk.
Cheryl Griffith’s “Hope”, a monotype with dry
point which received a merit award, is a personal and charming tribute to the
idea of “hope”. It portrays a young boy’s head looking out sideways with a
bluebird perched on his head. A quote about “hope” by Emily Dickinson is printed prominently
across the figure, seemingly indicating Griffith’s
heartfelt thoughts about “hope”.
The quietly present and
smaller work “Floating
City”, by Brandon Holmes,
is a well crafted detailed realistic graphite drawing portraying Romanesque
buildings, eighteenth century sailing vessels and three figures holding up some
of the buildings. This fantastical drawing appears to be structured around the
front end of a ship suggesting a mythological story that only the artist knows.
Across a vertically painted
gray wall, artist Judith Parenio exhibits “Pollen”, a well designed sculptural
work made of several hexagonal wooden/encaustic elements referring to shapes in a honeycomb. Bats, birds, bees,
and plants are the subject matter suggesting Parenio’s obvious love of nature.
“Modern Woman Story” by Bhavna Mehta, is a
black paper-cut work attached to a framed white background. As a traditional
Indian art form spanning hundreds of years, this piece follows well In this
traditions’ footsteps. Mehta depicts a personal journey of childhood symbols-
kites, daisies, a girl playing basketball and reading a biology book.
In the category of painting, there were three
pieces of note by Eva D’Amico, John Brodie and Lauren Carrerera. D’Amico’s
“Protecting Innocence”, refers to impressionistic painting whose subject of a
young girl sleeping, intermingles with branches of a tree. This acrylic
painting with a beautifully limited color palette expresses the artist’s love
of movement and form. John Brodie’s “Fabulous Beast of Uncertain Returns”, is a
boldly colored acrylic painting on clear polyester that seems to reference
African masks and female symbols. Wildly expressed forms, brushwork and colors
are curiously set against the backdrop of a formal abstract composition. Last,
but not least, “The Audition” by Lauren Carrera, is a large abstract oil painting
which is reminiscent of color field painting. It is a subtle mixture of
turquoises, warm tones and burnt oranges in an overall tiny quilt-like pattern,
like a blanket covering us in the fall season.
This exhibition runs through
May 13th
Cathy Breslaw is a southern
California visual artist, writer and lecturer who has had over 25 solo
exhibitions, and 50 group exhibitions across the country at museums, art
centers, college and university galleries and commercial galleries. Her work
can be found in many private and corporate collections.
Her work and writing can be seen
at:
cathybreslaw@roadrunner.com
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