Little & Large Launch

San Diego Visual Arts Network presents Little & Large
Over 90 Artists creating a Sculpture and related Jewelry for display at 41 Venues County Wide
All venue details available on www.SDVAN.net alphabetically by venue location and by artist.
Watch for Little & Large near you through Dec, 2009
More info: info@sdvisualarts.net 760.943.0148
A CATALOG with images of the works is now available to download for free on SDVAN.
http://www.sdvisualarts.net/sdvan_new/pdf/littlecatalog.pdf
Little & Large Launch Slide Show of images from the Launch party at the Se Hotel by various photographers (John Liu, Bruce Meyer, Diane Graber) plus photos by Tom Wilson http://www.tswilson.com/fashionshow/

The energy was incredible as the art world came together July 8, 2009 to celebrate over 90 artists working with 41 venues county wide to showcase over 200 art works. The Se Hotel was the perfect venue for this gathering of 450 art aficionados. Surface and texture play a huge part in the glamour of the décor for the hotel as well as the jewelry sported by all the guests. Adornments were documented on site in NowFlipThis books. The professional and amateur runway shows on the transparent runway over the swimming pool added to the excitement (MCed by Philly Joe Swendoza from ArtRocks! ) as did the 20 foot high slide show of images from the extensive catalog. Eco-friendly cocktails courtesy of VeeV were served during the VIP part of this evening.

Some artists commented that this promotion heralded some of the most creative energy seen in SD. Jewelers were challenged to make a larger work of sculpture and some of our most macho sculptors came up with jewelry petite enough for the most discerning. Fancy a pair of concrete earrings, a bracelet that lights up, a kinetic necklace fanned out to reveal its colors like a peacock? All are available along with some of the most classic, intricate precious jewels you can imagine.

The concept of the show is so unusual that it is getting national press in Ornament Magazine and American Style. A collaboration on this scale is a boost to the confidence of the art world in SD and a shout out to the rest of the community that we are indeed, a cultural destination.

I have not been able to see all the shows yet, but the creative level of the work is extremely high. It is fascinating to see the relationship of the jewelry to the sculpture. In Solana Beach, Johanna Hansen at Trios Gallery made a sculpture which is a collage of all the jewelry she created and detachable for wearing. d. goth’s hearts have taken on brutal nail closures and the matching necklaces and practically punk. This is great interest already in the Susan Hirsch glass hanging. Lynne Merchant’s full size “Humaniquin” changes accessories almost daily. Dick Ditore’s incredible breast plate of glass is a show stopper at the Ordover Gallery.

Downtown, the show of Anne Wolf’s at Noel-Baza Fine Arts fills an entire room with intricate and elegant works including a tea pot poised for lift off. Jett Gallery surprised us by adding Zachary Allen (special concrete earrings), Josh Herman, Britt Neubacher, John Neumann and James Watts at the last minute. Colosseum Fine Art never looked better with jewelry displays making this space explode with a chance to see close up the woven works of Lisa Van Herik and Tara Magboo’s headpiece and a wealth of other treasures. The display at Mixture included necklaces that lights up by William Leslie and a wonderful broach by Matt Divine which is a true miniature of the matching sculpture. It is great fun to see the cascading mobile by blox.

The galleries in La Jolla gave us a stunning collar of glass by Tom Marosz at Hallmark which embodies the feeling of his matching glass sculptures. You can see Becky Guttin’s necklaces and bracelets both at Galleria Jan and at the SDMA Gift Store where the Calder show opens on July 25. Contemporary Fine Art showcases Les Perhac’s kinetic necklace which fans out its peacock colors on demand. Lisa Slovis Mandel is showing her line which already included both 2 and 3-D works but Alexandra Hart’s new crown shaped sculpture is a joy. Corrine Perez-Garcia made her first foray into larger scale cast bronze work and was able to translate to perfection her sweeps and undulations. Carolyn Guerra at the Madison Gallery utilized the outside space to it’s best advantage with her tall double sided columns whose faces are repeated on her ceramic necklaces. Viviana Lombrozo holds on to her memories but allows them to transform into a take away necklace in her combined piece at Art Expressions Gallery.

Whatever you do, don’t miss Denise Bonaimo’s game piece dresses and accessories at the Bonita Museum and SD Art Department. I have not been able to see the five venues in El Cajon yet and Debbie Solan is showing at Fusionglass as well at the Timmons Galleries in Rancho Santa Fe with room divider sized panels.

I can’t wait to see Planet Rooth and Matthew Cirello in his own space in North Park and I am intrigued by what looks like rubber works by Mary Donald at Pigment all in North Park. Richard Keely at Velo Cult has made a necklace from plastic cups but transformed them into a miracle material. My schedule includes visits to Adorn Gallery and Bread on Market (Thomine Wilson) downtown and the GIA in Carlsbad with stops at the Solana Beach City Hall Gallery, Andrews Gallery, Front Porch Gallery, 101 Art and Soul and the OMA on the coast and four fabulous venues inland north, Escondido Art Partnership, Distinction, Par Jewelry and the Fallbook Art Center (don’t miss this one if you have not been there…the space is amazing)

I wish I could have seen them all by now, but I will do my best and welcome anyone to join me as I tour around the county. I am sorry not to mention each and every one of the artists with my impressions. Hopefully, some of you will write in and we can spread the word with first hand experiences of these exception works created at a most unusual time of collaboration and expansion for the visual arts in San Diego.

I have enormous appreciation of the hard work by all these artists to create works for this promotion, for the galleries to showcase them, for the volunteers that helped make it all possible. Now it is up to the public to make the effort to see and support our home grown talent while it is in season and at its peak.

Patricia Frischer
Coordinator, http://www.sdvan.net/

Some spaces are showing only a few artists but we want to draw your attention to the following spaces where you will see Little & Large exhibitions with 5 or more artists: Adorn Gallery, Colosseum Fine Arts, Mixture, Jett Gallery, San Diego Art Department, Sophie’s Art Gallery, Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery and Gemological Institute Of America. There are also grouping of venues in North Little Italy (NoLI), La Jolla, El Cajon, North and South Park, Solana Beach, and Escondido.

This promotion is inspired by the Calder Jewelry exhibition at San Diego Museum of Art beginning July 25, 2009 until Jan 3, 2010