“Sun Goin’ Down”: Soulful Art Lights Up Oolong Gallery in Rancho Santa Fe

By Lonnie Burstein Hewitt. Photos by Maurice Hewitt.

 

The Wrestlers, by John Singletary. Oil on canvas, 60” x 40”.

John Singletary is a singular artist, and Sun Goin’ Down is his first solo exhibition since receiving his MFA at UC San Diego in May. It’s a chance to experience nine of his soulfully eloquent paintings in the small but special Oolong Gallery, recently relocated to RSF from Solana Beach. 

Photos can hardly do these pieces justice; there’s no substitute for seeing them face to face. And the longer you look, the more they command your attention. 

Here’s a little intro to the artist and his work, which will be on view through June 25^th.

He was born in Chicago, the youngest of seven children, and he started drawing early on. 

“A couple of my sisters were into art in high school, and I’d draw with them,” he said. “I wasn’t even in school yet, but I really loved drawing; I didn’t get into painting until much later. And my grandfather was a pastor, so the Christian Bible was a big part of my life. It was a principal source of information and storytelling, given to me with love and a sense of community. But as I grew older, I came to realize how many people had it forced on them, how it could be a tool of fear and control.”

The large-scale painting above is his version of the biblical story of Jacob wrestling with God.

“Jacob had tricked his brother Esau into selling his birthright--a blessing from their father, Isaac--and he ends up wrestling with God. He’s nervous and stressed and God puts his hip out of place. It’s all pain and fear: you’re wrestling yourself, and you’re holding each other up and fighting at the same time.”

The artist with Self Portrait in a Tree III,
the most recent of a set of three paintings on wood.

“I call them Self Portraits because of the tradition of self-portraiture in the history of painting, but I’m in all the other pieces here too. They’re all about me and my family and my girlfriend. It’s a way for me to better understand all these things in my life and get away from thinking too much.”

Three Faces of the Artist: 
Self Portraits in a Tree I, II and III

    

“These pieces contain more than brushstrokes. I got the cypress wood from a friend, and there are cracks in the wood that speak too. This is my first time seeing them hung in a gallery!”

Why did Singletary call his exhibition Sun Goin’ Down? It’s a line from a song by the late great Texas bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins. This whole show, he said, is inspired by the blues.

“Blues is an outpouring of emotion from the clash between African spirituality and American Christianity. I love blues music but I’m interested in the pain that creates it. My grandma was a sharecropper in Waco, Texas. I got my BFA at Baylor University there.”

Along the way, he’s had his work shown at MOMA P.S.1 in NYC and the Museum of African American Culture in Houston, and even on the cover of Time Magazine.  Now you can have a taste of it right here in Rancho Santa Fe. And there will be a very special event on the evening of Juneteenth (June 19^th) when he’ll be projecting a silent showing of a 1968 film about Lightnin’ Hopkins on the wall between his paintings and accompanying it with a two-hour soundtrack he put together including Detroit techno, Chicago house, and soul music, plus a few pieces he’s written himself, since he’s also a musician. He calls this “activating my paintings by celebrating the tradition of black dance music.”

I can’t think of a happier way to spend a few hours than this. And if you add the possibility of chatting with the artist in person, you’re sure to feel nothing but joy at “Sun Goin’ Down”.

Sun Goin’ Down at Oolong Gallery
A solo exhibition by John Singletary
On view through June 25^th at 6030 La Flecha, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
info@oolongallery.com   858-229-2788
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Special Juneteenth event: June 19, 7-9 p.m.

 

Lonnie Burstein Hewitt is an award-winning author/lyricist/playwright who has been writing about arts and lifestyles in San Diego County for over a dozen years. You can reach her at hew2@sbcglobal.net

Roy Jenuine; Modern Folk Art Exhibition on Cedros in Solana Beach

by Patricia Frischer 

Camper Stress Test, detail 

Most artists that I know work in isolation. Yes, there are some collaborations, but on the whole they are solitary in their creation. But Roy Jenuine has seemingly tucked himself away in his Leucadia garage workshop for a quite a while. I reported on his work in 2012 when his art was chosen for the Invitation exhibition at the Cannon Gallery by Karen McGuire.  Back then I said, “… (he) has stories to tell and allows our imaginations to fill in the blanks although we are directed by the visuals. Jenuine’s small figures holding on to picnic tables in gale force winds generated by drawn desk fans are charming….  we feel we are let into the world of an acute observer of life.” 

His education at San Diego State University precludes him from being considered a folk artist, but I think this artist’s humility makes him relate to those untrained, but highly skills community of storytellers. His choice of materials is very intentional and even when upcycled it is finely finished.    

These are sculptures even when they perform as a chest of drawers or a table. Jenuine has a point of view based on his personal experiences. One work records a childhood memory of a plane crash in his neighborhood. Another was when he was depressed and posing on a picnic table for a series of photographs reflecting his moods. Many record days with his dog with added drawing notations which give a authenticity to the work. Those often tiny hand drawn sketches are in contrast to the pristine surfaces. 

Wave variations are evident in number of works, both on and off the wall. Observing the ocean, noticing temperature differences, patterns, wildlife interactions...these are all evident in the art. For all the elegant treatments of shapes and forms, it might be noticing that is Roy Jenuine's real superpower. 

Camper Stress Test 

Camper Stress Test, detail 

Camper Stress Test 

Dog Dream, 2010

Dog Dream, 2010

Camping with Dogs Near a Blue Sky, 2010

Merry Go Round, 2010

Half a Dozen Dogs, 2010

 

Wave in a Table, 1994

 

f

Building Seas, 2021

Step Chair, 2022

The most recently completed work in this exhibition, the sandpiper bird trapped
or taking refuge in this contraption over the sea. 

Roy Jenuine;  Modern Folk Art Exhibition 
312 S. Cedros, Solana Beach, 92075
Showing until July 6. Thursday through Sunday, 11am to 6pm
More info: info@royjenuinestudio.com 858.337.0522

Material World at Techne Art Center

By Patricia Frischer 

Ye Hongxing detail

Every gallery needs a personal identity. Artists may come and go but the gallery itself has a style and a viewpoint. This is what attracts collectors as well as art consultants. The personality at Techne Art Center is created by Chuck Thomas, the owner/director and it is unusual for San Diego as it is based on Thomas’s connections to the New York Art scene. At Techne Art Center you see not only local talent, but a spread of those from the big apple.

This gallery is a little off the beaten track in north east Oceanside. But the journey, if you are south or north is worth the trouble. The art is always high quality, but each of the artists is showcased like multiple mini one person shows. This takes a large space and Techne has that in spades. 

This is how the current exhibition Material World curated by Thomas and Jason Clay Lewis  can present such a large diversity of mediums in such large quantities. I saw, water, asphalt, acrylic resin, salt, sand, glass, rice paper, cotton fibers, fabric, thread as well as metal, paint, photography, and all sorts of plastic.

By the way, Thai and Sushi on college is a good stop for a meal near by, or go that extra mile for Italian at Ciao. You can feed the body and the soul.

Trevor Amery, Annie Claflin, Ben Godward, Becky Guttin, Ye Hongxing, Adriene Hughes, Monica Loss, Michelle Montjoy, Jason Rohlf, Kline Swonger, and Christana Updegraf and Matthew Bacher.

Downstairs Galleries

Ye Hongxing - Our number one choice for talent to watch in San Diego with incredible details and astonishing scale.

Ye Hongxing

Ye Hongxing

Ye Hongxing

Kline Swonger - Amazing how this very large metal sculpture can look so intimate and intriguing in a smaller space with beautiful lighting

Kline Swonger

Ben Godward - Huge molds were made onsite by this first artist in short residence at Techne. He resides in New York, and his made-on site poured acrylic candy colored flower shapes are a contrast to his angular metal and plastic pieces which were trucked in from LA.

Ben Godward

Jason Rohlf - Work rags are the substrate for colorful patterns in the other New York artist in this show.

Christana Updegraf  - This generations Eva Hesse, these rope pieces seem to be all about flesh

Christana Updegraf 

Trevor Amery -Don’t overlook these subtle slightly strange creations.We recently saw this work at the faculty show at Mesa College. Each one can become your own story.

Trevor Amery

 Matthew Bacher - Hard to be surprised with figurative painting, but this group of swirling distorted bodies kept our attention

Michelle Montjoy - A new direction for this artist, so enjoy the experimentation of these tiny  sculptures. Love the pink floor!

Michelle Montjoy

Michelle Montjoy

Upstairs Galleries

Becky Guttin - Really a mini retrospective with lots of new work in glass and stitched paper.

Becky Guttin

Becky Guttin,

Monica Loss - Another chance to see this artist at Techne, this time with more crocheted hangings

Monica Loss

Adriene Hughes - Luscious colors photographs and felted balls feed  off each other, bringing these images into the third dimension

Adriene Hughes

Annie Claflin - We loved the distorted landscapes in so many different mediums..

Annie Claflin

Annie Claflin

 

Material World  May 3 to July 26, 2025
Trevor Amery, Annie Claflin, Ben Godward, Becky Guttin, Ye Hongxing, Adriene Hughes, Monica Loss, Michelle Montjoy, Jason Rohlf, Kline Swonger, and Christana Updegraf and Matthew Bacher.

Techne Art Center
1609 Ord Way
Oceanside. CA 92056
Chuck Thomas 917.9721.752
Opening Days: Thursday-Saturday 1-6pm

9th Annual Sculpture Exhibition at Fallbrook Art Center

 by Patricia Frischer

One small section of the Post for United States of Women.
This post features Michael Obama and Kamila Harris.
The author was lucky to be the lead artist. 

The Fallbrook Art Center's 9th Annual Sculpture Exhibition displays contemporary pieces that challenge traditional forms to classical sculptures that pay homage to timeless techniques.  With interactive installations and thought-provoking displays, one of the highlights of the show is 14 Post for Peace created under the direction of Kira Corser. Each work was designed together with community input, but a lead artist always insured the work was visually stunning. These works are the perfect combination of the result of social prescribing. They allow for connections to be made about issues of importance. But they are also a moment of absolute wonder that bring joy to the soul.

The following was inspired by Alessandra Colfi, another arts for healing teacher. “You are not a machine. You are a soul who needs art, connections, sunsets, laughter and small pockets of joy. Prioritize them like your life depends on it because it does. Life is not meant to be a cycle of stress and survival. We have been conditioned to think that constant productivity equal worth, but humans were not design for constant output. We need moments of wonder, connection and rest, not as reward for hard work, but as essential ingredients for a meaningful life.”  

Art can give you all of this. Think of social or art prescribing as a way to take in joy, the same way as you might swallow a daily pill to lower your blood pressure and reduce your cholesterol.

Please note: these post are tall and have images and words on all four sides. Walk through the forest of post and be amazed!

9th Annual Sculpture Exhibition
June 10 – July 12, 2025
Fallbrook Art Center, 103 S Main Ave, Fallbrook, CA 92028, USA