Marianela de la Hoz and Marc Urselli: Palpitations at SDMA and photos at MOPA@SDMA

 by Patricia Frischer

Marianela de la Hoz, Resetting

SD Art Prize recipient in 2014 Marianela de la Hoz with soundscapes by Grammy Award-winning producer Marc Urselli are collaborating on Marianela de la Hoz and Marc Urselli: Palpitations The Cadence of Heartbeatsat the San Diego Museum of Art on view until Feb 22, 2026. This is unusual work  de la Hoz as she worked in acrylics and mixed media techniques in order to paint speaker cones instead of her egg tempera on board. What is lost in the translucent media of the ancient media is made up for with the sound affects generated by Urselli.  

The sound most associated with palpitation is the beat of the human heart. These works are all about beginnings and endings and the beats that occur during a life time. Tree of Life and Death, from Cradle to Tomb is even the title the three-part free standing painted sculpture.  In between, we have an image depicting Resetting with a young and middle age women transfusing energy. The small Cenzontle Angel, processor of four hundred voice watches over and connects the visual and audio components of the exhibition. Cenzontle is the Aztec word for mockingbird and there is a little bird is in the middle of Seikillos Epitaph a term for preserving the oldest surviving complete musical composition in Ancient Greek. 

Marianela de la Hoz, Seikillos Epitaph

Marianela de la Hoz, Cenzontle Angel, processor of four hundred voice

Marianela de la Hoz,  Tree of Life and Death, from Cradle to Tomb (middle component)

Marianela de la Hoz, Tree of Life and Death, from Cradle to Tomb 

Marianela de la Hoz and Marc Urselli: Palpitations The Cadence of Heartbeats
On view until  February 22, 2026
San Diego Museum Of Art
1450 El Prado Balboa Park, San Diego, CA
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat 10AM - 5PM
Sunday Noon to 5, Wednesday Closed

Shifting Visions: Photographs from the Collection of Ken and Jacki Widder On view to January 26, 2026 at the Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art.

This is a wide ranging group of small photo that range from city scape and architecture to illustration used in the media to photographic portraits of an interesting variety of folks in their environment.

As an example, Mary Ellen Marks (1940 to 2015) lived in New York but traveled the world. Her photos, much like those of Diane Arbus, give great dignity to the sitters young and old. They are not sentimental or condescending.  These photos are only a small selection of Marks work and a small sample of the large number of works in Ken and Jacki Widder’s collection. 

Mary Ellen Marks 

Mary Ellen Marks

Mary Ellen Marks

Shifting Visions: Photographs from the Collection of Ken and Jacki Widder
On view to January 26, 2026
Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art
1649 El Prado Balboa Park, San Diego, CA
Thursday-Sunday 11AM - 5PM Monday-Wednesday Closed

If you turn to the left when you enter MOPA, and walk into the exhibition, after viewing, you will be able to stroll right into this exhibition  which we have already covered.  Mirae kh RHEE: Constellations at MOPA@SDMA by Patricia Frischer on view until Jan 4, 2026.