by Patricia Frischer
 |
| Gallery View |
 |
| Gallery View |
at San Diego History Center, Balboa Park
Gabriel Boils, Francisco Eme, Marisol Rendón
Thurs. Oct 24, 2024 to Sun. March 30, 2025
Curated by Dr. Lara Bullock, Senior Civic Art Manager, City of San Diego
We hope you will be as lucky as we were to see this amazing exhibition with very few people in the space, as that is when it shines. At the opening it was crowded with a very large attendance of VIPs and art supporters to congratulate the artists and organizers in the 17th year of the SD Art Prize 2024. This was the first time the prize exhibition was held in Balboa Park. It will be up for five months giving, not only our local art lovers, but more national and international visitors a chance to see what excellence in the arts looks like in San Diego.
 |
| Francisco Eme, Marisol Rendón, Gabriel Boils 2024 SD Art Prize recipients |
You first might be drawn to the slight breeze, soft wind
chimes, and a small pond. A video of birds diving creates not only a background,
but can also be seen reflected as they seem to skim over the mirror like surface
of the water. Francisco Eme is
one of the three recipients and they all made installations of new work this
year, another first. The show overall
creates a series of puzzles and Eme gives clues in the wall text, which is
very important to read this year. Rain of Birds poses the
questions: Is this a “mass exodus of bird silhouettes diving, or worse, falling
from the sky”. Do you believe birds are a sign of hope or an omen of doom? Is
the sound of a bell, an angel getting its wings or a death toll? But most
important is the meditative quality of this work that gifts you with the time
and space to think of these questions.
 |
| Francisco Eme |
All of the works in this show have a connection to the climate
crisis and the challenges that brings to our environment. The puzzle master himself is Gabriel Boils. Two of
his works on view have actual puzzle pieces. The Sun Flowers deconstructs
a 1000-piece version of Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers from 1888, rearranging
the works according to colors with yellows reaching upward and blues falling
downward. The flow of this work is like a sound wave and if you stand in the
middle of the piece and take a selfie, it could be butterfly winds. Did you
know that Van Gogh's work has been repeatedly threatened by an eco-awareness group
as an attention getter?
In Coral Reef Ghosts #3, Boils turns his attention to the oceans affected by temperature change. The chilly blue of this work reminds you of undersea life, but the work actually turned blue as that is what happens when a full color print is exposed to too much sunlight. Ornament and Storm, which resides overhead, is almost a stained-glass window of puzzled together pieces that represent hurricanes, thunderstorms and tsunamis. The artist has hand outlined each perfectly placed color section. Hands are a central theme of this work, reaching across the space reminding us like Michelangelo’s famous ceiling illustrating God creating Adam, that man must respect nature.
 |
| Gabriel Boils, Ornament and Storm |
 |
| Gabriel Boils, Coral Reef Ghost #3 |
 |
| Gabriel Boils, The Sunflowers |
 |
| Gabriel Boils, The Sunflowers, detail |
 |
| Marisol Rendón, Searching for What is Not Lost: Five Acts of Reconciliation |
 |
| Marisol Rendón |
 |
| Marisol Rendón |
 |
| Marisol Rendón |
Stochastic Elegies: Transcendence, Nature and Eternity is the title given to this show by curator Dr. Lara Bullock. Her careful placement of all the works, creates a harmony and gives space and life to the displayed art. She sees universal themes that unite the work including the impact we have on nature and on each other. Stochastic basically means random and in this context refers to the hits and misses that we make as we stagger towards the future. The San Diego History Center has a mission to present the past, present and future of our lived existence and this year’s San Diego Art Prize displays all three with authenticity and visual stimuli.
 |
| Dr. Lara Bullock |
 |
| The SD Art Prize recipients bonding! |
We acknowledge and thank all those who made the prize possible this year: To the SD History Center Leilani Alontaga Caithness, Tina Zarpour and Jeremy Prince with thanks to the center for sharing the cost of the ArtForum ad (another first) and the lovely opening buffet. To the SD Art Prize Committee and donors: Alessandra Moctezuma, Eloisa Haudenschild and INSITE, Felica Shaw and Art Matters, Jonathon Glus and City of SD Commission for Arts and Culture, Debra Poteet, Erika Torri and special thanks to The Seth Sprague Foundation for funding our national selectors and all the other donors including Dion Frischer, Alan Ziter, Lisa Croner, Naimeh Woodward, Philip Beaumont and David Ruecker.
Selectors:
Lucía Sanromán, Director, Laboratorio de Arte Alameda,
Mexico City and Curator at Large Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
Silvia Karman Cubina , Executive Director, The Bass Museum of Art,
Miami Beach
Carmen Hermo, Associate Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for
Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art
A free catalog will be available at the SD History Center and online in late November.
Writer for this year's SD Art Prize 2024 catalog:
Chelsea Behle Fralick, Art Historian, Writer, Lecturer, University of San Diego, for Francisco Eme
Derrick R. Cartwright, Director of University Galleries at the University of San Diego, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Timkin Museum, for Marisol Rendón
Carlos E. Palacios, Independent curator, Lecturer, for Gabriel Boils
Read full SDVAN press release
 |
Yes, that’s me, Patricia Frischer... so proud to be
the presenter for the last 17th years of the SD Art Prize. I am
inviting you all to the San Diego Visual Arts Network Annual 2024 Holiday Potluck Lunch on Tuesday, Dec 10, 11 am to 2 pm. Please
bring: One dish or drinks for 8 to share. Help us celebrate Doug Diamond Day
(it his birthday!) Jewelry and Accessories for our swap exchange. For
details go to www.sdvan.net and sign up for our
monthly newsletter |
San Diego History Center, Balboa Park
Thurs. Oct 24, 2024 to Sun March 30, 2025
Curated by Dr. Lara Bullock, Senior Civic Art Manager, City of San Diego
San Diego History Center
1649 El Prado, Suite #3
San Diego, CA 92101
info@sandiegohistory.org
619-232-6203
Wednesday through Sunday, 10am – 5pm
No comments:
Post a Comment