New Spring Exhibitions

By Patricia Frischer with an assist from the SD Museum Council Lots of things conspired to keep me inside in March and April including nursing duties for my dear husband, lots of cold weather, an actual cold which is still plaguing me. So as a one time additional promotion from SDVAN, here is a preview of the May events. I am celebrating a big birthday in May and I hope to see some of these exhibitions if health  and pollen from May flowers permits. Happy Mother's Day to all of us who are mothers to the arts in San Diego.  Don't forget to check out our calendar of events for a large selections of workshop and our RAW column to read what's what in the arts including all the latest opportunities.   JP Wackenstedt, the 2023  Business of Art Scholarship recipient.  She will be exhibiting at the Mission Fed ArtWalk from April 29th & 30th, 2023 in Little Italy sponsored by SDVAN. More info: Sandi Cottrell The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library  in La Jolla is presenting  Marcos Ramírez ERRE Artist Talk on Tuesday, May 2. The artist will discuss his career, process, and recent projects, as well as his newest mural for Murals of La Jolla. ERRE was one of the first SD Art Prize recipients.  The reception begins at 5 PM, with the talk to follow at 6 PM. $20 nonmember, $15 member, $5 student.  More info: 858) 454-5872 Walk in Art, also known as First Thursdays in Hillcrest's Mural Alley on May 4, is held directly behind The Studio Door art gallery and studios. The gallery remains open until 9 PM while the festivities outside continue until 10 PM. Makers Arcade Spring Fair Mother’s Day Weekend at San Diego Made Factory on May 13-14 from 11 to 6 pm with 100 makers food, drink and music. The first 100 people to arrive each day will get a swag bag filled with handmade items! $6 online, $7 at the door. More info: Brittany Wiczek  619.817.5517 San Diego Public Library Art Gallery (330 Park Blvd. downtown) presents Good Natured opening on May 13th from 3 -5 pm and running until July 29th. This exhibition explores the laws of nature. Can we be both the problem and the solution? In North County, The San Dieguito Art Guild hosts their 26th annual Mother’s Day Weekend Art, Garden & Studio Tour. This is a self-guided, driving tour on Sat. May 13 / Sun. May14, from 10am to 4pm each day. Tickets are good for both days and homes may be re-visited. Tickets are $35 at the Off Track Gallery (937 South Coast Highway 101, Suite C-103, Encinitas), at OffTrackGallery.com, or at each home both days of the tour. For more info: SanDieguitoArtGuild.com, pr@sandieguitoartguild.com, 760-805-0434. The San Diego Watercolor Society proudly presents Climate of Change, juried by  Carolyn Dubuque. The water-based media exhibition runs April 30-May 27, 2023 at the Gallery in The ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station. The Opening Reception is Friday, May 5, 5-8pm with over 95 ready-to-hang original paintings plus refreshments and the fellowship of other art enthusiasts.  The paintings can also be viewed and purchased online.  SHELTER paintings by French artist Geoffroy Tobé at R.B. Stevenson Gallery in La Jolla opens on April 29. URPFLANZE painting by Donald Martiny at Madison Gallery in Solana Beach opens May 6. Wayfinding in Suspended Times paintings by Kathleen Kane-Murrell at Sparks Gallery downtown SD opening on May 7. Showing also their annual minis 2023 with over 60 works 12”×12” and under selling for $500 and under. The Glass Guild Art Glass show in Southern California is all about your local Art. You will see beautiful art representing many techniques, including blown, fused, torch, stained, cast, etched and mosaic art glass, all available and created by San Diego Glass Artists. May 13/14 from 10 am to 5 pm.  We love cross pollination in the arts. PHES Gallery  (in Carlsbad) invites you to the opening reception of Story Quilts May 21, 2 – 5 where you will have a chance to contribute ekphrastic poetry (poetry written in response to art). Submission accepted until June 11 and then prizes for poems awarded on June 25, 5-7. If you can’t get there, you can go online and then send poems to info@PHESgallery.com The Studio Door presents Works of Excellence a new exhibition of exceptional artists from across the county. Juried by local museum directors, Maria Mingalone - Executive Director of Oceanside Museum of Art and Megan Pogue - Executive Director of Timken Museum of Art as well as Sparks Gallery owner and curator Sonya Sparks. Reception May 20th.

SD Museum Council’s The Big Exchange gives members of participating organizations reciprocal FREE admission at more than 50 museums, historic sites, gardens, and more throughout San Diego County. It is coming May 1 – 18. Just use your museum membership card to visit more than 40 participating museums.  Here are some of the Museum Council's recommendations:

 

Opens May 13 San Diego Museum of Art Balboa Park Experience more than 100 works by two of the world’s most iconic modernists—American painter Georgia O’Keeffe and British sculptor Henry Moore. Opening May 13 at the San Diego Museum of Art, the groundbreaking exhibition O’Keeffe and Moore unites these artists for the first time and re-creates their studios with original contents of found objects, tools, and furnishings.  Learn more at a special symposium featuring an array of scholars on Friday, May 12 at 4 p.m. with in-person and virtual tickets available here. Get your in-person exhibition tickets here.   Fun Tip: Add some music to your experience with an Art of Elan concert inspired by O'Keeffe and Moore on Tuesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. Get tickets here. Pictured: Georgia O’Keeffe, Ram’s Head, Blue Morning Glory, 1938.

 

 

Post-Columbian Futurism ICA San Diego/Central Balboa Park See how the De La Torre Brothers' exhibition 𝙋𝙤𝙨𝙩-𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙁𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢 has transformed ICA San Diego/Central into the site of an epic battle for the future of humankind. The exhibition is free and open every Thursday through Sunday at noon to 5 p.m. Learn more here.

 

 

25 Million Stitches Mingei International Museum Balboa Park In this exhibition 25 Million Stitches, guest curator and fiber artist Jennifer Kim Sohn looks for a way to make the unfathomable figure of refugees around our world more tangible by marking a displaced person with panels of hand-sewn stitches.   Each panel is unique, some documenting personal narratives, others showing solidarity with the refugees. Kim Sohn and her passionate team of volunteers crowd-sourced 2,300 stitchers from all 50 states and 37 countries worldwide. Get ticket information here. Fun Tip: Every fourth Thursday, join the Mingei sewing circle. On April 25 at 5 p.m., be inspired by 25 Million Stitches to create your own embroidered work. Register here.

 

 

ICA San Diego/North Narsiso Martinez & Edra Soto  Encinitas Here's your chance to explore the work of two inspiring artists at ICA San Diego/North in Encinitas. Oaxaca-born Narsiso Martinez (shown above) presents Rethinking Essential, tapping into his experiences as a farmworker. The exhibition includes powerful multimedia installations and runs through June 4. Artist in Residence Edra Soto presents Graft, featuring site-specific installations. You can speak with the artist and even contribute to her current project (inspired by the all-black Puerto Rican flag) at various dates through May. Get more information and tickets here.

 

 

Una Storia Segreta New Americans Museum Arts District Liberty Station During World War II, Italian Americans were designated as "enemy aliens" and subjected to discriminatory treatment, including forced relocation, internment, and surveillance. At its new exhibition Una Storia Segreta, the New Americans Museum explores this period of fear and uncertainty through powerful photographs, documents, and personal stories. Tip: Be among the first to see this new exhibition at the opening wine reception on April 27 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Register for this FREE event here.

 

 

La Jolla Historical Society In Praise of the Torrey Pine Open through May 28 Rare Trees & Sacred Canyons: Torrey Pines - San Diego's Symbol of Preservation is now on view at the La Jolla Historical Society. The exhibition chronicles important events in the history of what is known today as Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. San Diego's coast is one of only two places in the world where the endangered pine grows in its natural habitat. Learn more here. Fun Tip: Take the Secret Garden Tour for a peek behind the garden gates of La Jolla's loveliest secluded gardens on May 20. Get tickets here.

 

 

Comic-Con Museum Cover Story & The Animation Academy Balboa Park The magical world of animation is now open at Comic-Con Museum with The Animation Academy: From Pencils to Pixels. The interactive exhibition allows visitors to create, experiment, and explore animation and storytelling from traditional hand-drawn cels to exciting breakthroughs in stop-motion and CGI.   You can also check out Cover Story featuring the 50-year history of Comic-Con International with illustrations by some of the most famous comic book artists. Get your tickets here.