Fabiola Jean-Louis at the Lux Art Institute

by Patricia Frischer

Pretty paper dresses in lovely colors, fancy shoes with glitter and bows are all very seductive eye candy. But go to this exhibition to see much, much more.  Fabiola Jean-Louis is working with concepts on levels that are so much deeper. She is not only placing black women in history in all sorts of scenarios, some real, some where they are empowered with a fantasy of what could or should have been. With her black and white photos, you feel pride even through the degradation of a situation. You are reminded of the dignity of a tribal race.  In her own words, Jean-Louis says she, "vandalizes history" to create her images and sculptures. 

And then their are the corsets that open up to depict more theatrical stories. Just like her doll-like house that allows you to peer into a space like Alice in Wonderland after drinking the bottle to make her large, you can peer beneath the surface of these breast plates. I first saw a white rodent silhouette hanging from a branch like a slave caught after trying to escape. Then the real slave is there wrapped in chains so there is no mistake.  

In studio and on exhibit until Sat. Nov 2, 2019 at Lux Art Institute

Chromatic: Grounding with Color with April Rose and Katie Ruiz at SD Mesa College Art Gallery

Katie Ruiz, Home

By Patricia Frischer

AUG 19 - SEPT 11, 2019

San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery

April Rose and Katie Ruiz obviously share a love for color and the title of the show reflects this, but they have quite different stories that they are communicating. 

Rose's rainbows and eyeballs are fun and upbeat and have a sort of hippy happy female vibe. You can imagine her in a yoga position sending out positive energy to the universe. 

Ruiz, on the other hand, it all about weaving color into her compositions much like threads in a native rug or blanket. She uses the symbols from native Americans to communicate the paths we take in life. Along the way she makes fetish objects that live as sculptures outside the work. But in her most successful compositions the two meet together as she actually makes tapestries that are fetish objects. Home illustrated above is original, vibrant and very covetable. 

This was my very first time in the brand new gallery space at SD Mesa College. It is a long rectangular space which has possibilities, which the very talented director Alessandra Moctezuma and her gallery students will I am sure discover as the space is used for more and more exhibitions. In this instance the eye was immediately drawn to the ceiling by a large strung yarn piece by April Rose. The ceiling is full of industrial  pipes, conducts and cables and quite distracting for this show which is itself so colorful that it bombards the senses. 

PARK IN LOT 1 IN FRONT OF THE STUDENT SERVICE BUILDING
AND THE NEW FINE ARTS BUILDING.

Gallery hours: M, T, W 11am - 4pm, Th 11am - 7pm.
By appointment on Fridays. Closed weekends and Holidays.

http://www.sdmesa.edu/maps/

Katie Ruiz

Katie Ruiz

Katie Ruiz

Katie Ruiz

April Rose

April Rose

April Rose

April Rose

Cheryl Sorg: To Reach the Clouds at Hillstreet County Club Gallery

by Patricia Frischer

"If you are in pitch blackness, all you can do is wait until your eyes get used to the dark"

Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

I have been an admirer of Cheryl Sorg's art for many years and I have been following her progress with great interest.I nominated her as an emerging artist for the SD Art Prize.  I have been waiting for this show To Reach the Clouds since she helped us promote SDVAN with a Giving Tuesday image two years ago. 

I have been seeing Portals to Hope appearing in all sorts of location through my Instagram account and I have visited her website but this is the first time I was able to read about her reasons for making art. Your first impression of Sorg's objects might be well constructed, good composition, great colors and for some that is more than enough. Although this is not conceptual art, these works are born out a deep need to see a positive force in a world that can be dark and scary. Sorg answered a series of questions that are posted at the show and I recommend that you read them and the quotes that she has chosen to share from inspirational sources. Parts of these quotes make up titles to many of her works.

The video below gives you a better idea of the sparky joy of the dichroic film that changes color as you move or in this case when I blew on the little upside down rain drops. After all what better way to reach the clouds than to be an ascending raindrop. 

"thus in a sense we are doomed even if we stay away from the black hole."Stephen W. Hawking 

"I try to remind myself that I am connected to others".Haruki Murakami, The Wind-up Bird Chronicles 

A selection of Portal to Hope

A chance to communicate and interact

Oceanside Museum of Art - Four in one: Roland Reiss, Dress Rehearsal plus

Alexandra Dillion from the OMA exhibition Dressed Rehearsal

By Patricia Frischer

I am a self admitted art junkie. I need a fix on a regular basis and this time it was the Oceanside Museum of Art.  When you see 4 shows at once, you are likely to admire one more than the other....Roland Reiss retrospective got my vote this time, but the Dress Rehearsal show was a wow as well because of the quality of the work more than the subject matter. It is less confusing to see exhibitions that arrange the work of one person, or a tight theme.  I usually prefer either to a juried group exhibition which is only as good as the best work submitted.
  

Dress Rehearsal

Until January 19, 2020

This is an exhibition of a whole bunch of things that are pretending to be dresses or maybe they are in rehearsal to perform as dresses. Either way, we see dresses made from recycled  discarded materials, from eggs, from bronze, from stones, shells, pine cones, sponges,  cardboard, and celluloid. Also included for our viewing pleasure are photographic images of dresses, paintings of dresses and dresses that are painted upon. 

Mary Tuma, left and Kenton Nelson, right

Kenton Nelson  reproduces one of his still painting in small pixel-like mosaic on a very large scale

Kenton Nelson: detail

Kenton Nelson

Mary Tuma red deconstructed dresses and Dosshaus stage set

Dosshaus is David Connelly and Zoey Taylor create an entire dressing room for some sort of unknown performance. The  black and white structure is made from painted cardboard and includes details like an alarm clock and iron and lots of changes of costumes.

Alexandra Dillion was the star for me, with these faces from history depicted on old fabrics like the Shroud of Turin but more detailed and definitely feminine. 

Gwen Samuels prints images on celluloid which are cuts into small shapes and stitches together like patchworks to make a set of dresses with matching crowns and shoes

Gwen Samuels: detail

Michael Kalish - looks like an ordinary pictures in this photo but notice below that it is a series of layers in real life. 

Michael Kalish: view from the side

Janet Taylor Pickette - You cannot see the bright magenta glitter on the lips in this image but it enhances the image. 

Melissa Meier sponge sculpture dress and shoes with background photos by Carolyn Hampton of her daughter in an Alice in Wonderland all white dress. 

Melissa Meier photo of dress of egg shells

Melissa Meier shell sculpture with background images of Marina DeBris' works

Melissa Meier details of shells

Cheryl Simon Ekstrom with a cast bronze Victorian style dress.

Marina DeBris creates this fluffy frock from salvaged fishing line. 

Roland Reiss: Unrepentant & Unapologetic Flowers Plus Small Stories

Until September 8, 2019

When I was in my late 30's, I was going through a divorce. I found myself at a fancy restaurant waiting in the bar for the rest of my friends to arrive one night in London. As I sipped my martini, I stared at a stunning flower arrangement made by one of the top florist in the city. Its dramatic blooms were spot lit from above creating such a potent tableaux that it seemed to me that this represented everything that was missing in my life...love, romance, excitement. I realized with a certain dread that I would have to make flower paintings. How do you compete with centuries of achievement and overcome the cliche of a still life of flowers?  

I discovered that if the urge and need is great enough, then the art can contain your uniqueness. Roland Reiss does deserve to be unrepentant and unapologetic about these works as they dive much deeper than illustration.  Don't dismiss this as yet another still life or pop art exhibition. There are lots of interesting things going on here. I enjoyed the show enormously and hope you see it and do the same.

And what happened to me....my series of flowers was one of my most successful. One of the largest pictures sold and paid for a 3 month sabbatical to Los Angeles. On the way over on the airplane, I met my current husband. 

The following image were also taken of Roland Reiss's other works in this exhibition. These are tiny miniatures with every detail created to make what he calls a tableaux, but they are almost like doll house stage sets. You have to make up your own mind what theatrical performance is about to occur or just enjoy the tiny details of the books, plants, hamburgers, buckets of water set on ladders, a church on a pole and even his tiny pictures of flowers above mantel pieces. The entire show is an amazing  a feast for the eyes!

The Morality Plays: 

The Morality Plays

detail The Morality Plays

detail, The Morality Plays

Adult Fairy Tales I

Fix Double Exposure

Fix: In Search of Truth

Along The Transect Line

Until August 18, 2019

Keeping track of wild life, both plant and animal, is done scientifically with lie lines that are used as anchors. From year to year, anything found on these lines is recorded. Audrey Carver has taken that information and documented it with her illustrations.

Audrey Carver

Audrey Carver

Audrey Carver

Audrey Carver

Brian Kesinger: Dream It Yourself

Until November 24, 2019

Illustrations and animations for books and film are the basis of this show of the works of Brian Kesinger. If you were raised on these books, I am sure this is a delightful show which will remind you of the joy you had as Kesinger helps you imagine the stories being told. The exhibition also challenges the viewer to use their own imaginations as creative fuel. 

Entrance to the exhibition

Partial recreation of the artist's studio

Inspiration materials in the class room

Creative works by visitors to the show.