52nd Annual West Contra Costa Unified School District and Richmond Art Center Art in the Community Student Shows This Spring
Popular shows featuring the artwork of hundreds of local students return to the Art Center’s Community Gallery this season.
RICHMOND, CA — March 9, 2017 — This Spring, the Richmond Art Center will present two exhibitions showcasing the work of West Contra Costa Unified School District’s elementary, middle and high school students. The 52nd Annual West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) Student Art Show opens in the Community Gallery on Tuesday, March 20, followed by the Richmond Art Center’s Art in the Community Show on April 29, 2017.
Joelle Park, 10th grade, El Cerrito High School
The Richmond Art Center has a five decade-long partnership with the WCCUSD, and many of the district’s art students receive instruction from teachers who have received art-specific training through the Art Center. This exhibition features over 250 works of art, created in a variety of media—from ceramics to acrylic— representing the creative artistic talents of students from middle and high schools throughout the school district. Says Executive Director Ric Ambrose, “The Richmond Art Center and WCCUSD share an ongoing vision: that art education is a crucial component of a thriving and productive community. We are proud to support the efforts of so many teachers and students in our district as they discover and learn through explorations in art.”
There will be a special reception honoring the WCCUSD students and art teachers on Thursday, April 13 from 5-7 pm, which will be free and open to the public. The John F. Kennedy Band will perform and several art awards will be given out for the students’ artistic talent and originality. The West Contra Costa Unified School District has generously sponsored the annual student exhibition.
Opening on April 29, the Richmond Art Center’s Art in the Community Show will feature the work of the area’s youngest artists: children from elementary and middle schools who participated in the Art Center’s popular Art in the Community program throughout the year. The reception for the Art in the Community will take place on May 21, 2017 at noon.
These student shows coincide with the Art Center’s featured exhibitions: Marking Space, a survey of modern sculpture and installation art,and Mapping the Uncharted, an updated appreciation of mapmaking. All events and exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information about Spring exhibitions, programming, and events, please visit the Richmond Art Center’s website: https://richmondartcenter.org
About the Richmond Art Center:
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Richard Misrach, Wanxin Zhang, Mildred Howard, Bella Feldman, Hung Liu, William Wiley, June Schwartz, and David Park have been showcased here.
The Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
The Boundaries of Sculpture and the Alternate Meanings of Maps at the Richmond Art Center Two new exhibitions, Marking Space and Mapping the Uncharted, bring new meaning to the traditional arts of sculpture and mapping this Spring.
RICHMOND, CA — February 22, 2017 — In the new Spring sculpture exhibition Marking Space, opening on March 21, seven artists examine the nature of material and expose structure in a myriad of forms. Bay Area artists Mari Andrews, Robert Brady, Genevieve Hastings, Jann Nunn, Gay Outlaw, Lucy Puls, and Tracey Snelling use diverse materials to mirror habitat and architecture, to reflect on social structures, and to represent various human concerns.
In Marking Space, the very boundaries of what sculpture has become are redefined. Turning our attention to identity, the environment, systems of power, and inequality, these artists have followed different paths with a common passion of expression. These works investigate language, the body, and the nature of image, recognition, space and orientation. Throughout these artworks, a narrative emerges: self, home, loss, boundaries.
The companion exhibition, Mapping the Uncharted, uses physical maps as a point of departure for reconfiguring impressions of geography, politics, and visual language. Historically, maps have been drawn to mark where we are, what lies around us, what lies before us, and to note the paths taken so that others may follow or we may return.
The five artists in Mapping the Uncharted give new meaning to the art of map making. Mark Garrett cuts and paints and transforms maps into visualizations of patterns that emphasize the fragility and debasement of the ecology. Lordy Rodriguez expands and conflates maps to make visible our cultural and political conceits. Diane Rosenblum appropriates artworks and superimposes auction prices creating a map of the art world. Guillermo Galindo creates scores of music composed with instruments made of found objects, these collected along the US – Mexico border in collaboration with photographer, Richard Misrach. Indira MartinaMorre creates delicate surfaces marking the most ethereal — cyberspace – passwords and passages are noted with symbols and layers noting information.
The exhibitions Marking Space and Mapping the Uncharted open in the Main, West and South Galleries on March 21 and run through May, 20, 2017, at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA. The opening reception for both shows will take place on Saturday, March 18 from 5 – 7 pm.
Two Artists’ Panels will be presented in conjunction with these exhibitions: April 1 and April 8, both starting at 2 pm. All events and exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information about Spring exhibitions, programming, and events, please visit the Richmond Art Center’s website: https://richmondartcenter.org
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Richard Misrach, Wanxin Zhang, Mildred Howard, Bella Feldman, Hung Liu, William Wiley, June Schwartz, and David Park have been showcased here.
The Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
Art of Living Black Exhibition Returns for the 21st Year at the Richmond Art Center
The only annual exhibition in the Bay Area that exclusively features regional artists of African descent opens on January 10, 2017.
RICHMOND, CA — December 23, 2016 — The Richmond Art Center is proud to host the only annual exhibition in the Bay Area to exclusively feature regional artists of African descent. This year’s exhibition will feature over 40 local artists, including work by this year’s featured artists: Gene Dominique, Justice Renaissance, and Nyé Lyn Tho.
The Art of Living Black was founded by the sculptor Jan Hart-Schuyers and painter Rae Louise Hayward after their realization that black artists were not being represented by galleries in any significant way. This year’s exhibition will showcase a broad range of works by artists throughout the Bay Area, combining the exploration of art in a variety of mediums, while many pieces offer spiritual or political messages.
“The Art of Living Black continues to provide a key opportunity for local artists to show their work,” says Orlonda Uffre, Exhibition Coordinator. “The exhibition is always a vibrant mixture of works, yet representing the myriad facets of life for artists of the African Diaspora.”
“This exhibition is always relevant and always changing,” says Ric Ambrose, Executive Director of the Richmond Art Center. “The Art of Living Black creates a supportive forum for the artists to display their creative talents and to share their stories with their colleagues, art enthusiasts and the community at large.”
The Art of Living Black opens in the Main and West Galleries on January 10, 2017, at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA. Continuing the dedication to community engagement, the Richmond Art Center is hosting an artists talk for the Art of Living Black on Saturday, February 4, from noon to 2 pm, with the opening reception for all three Winter Exhibitions to follow, from 2 – 5pm. For more information about the Art of Living Black and the concurrent Winter exhibitions programming and events, please visit the Richmond Art Center’s website: https://richmondartcenter.org
About the Richmond Art Center:
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, Wanxin Zhang, Mildred Howard, Bella Feldman, Hung Liu, William Wiley and Peter Voulkos have been showcased here.
Now celebrating its 80th anniversary, the Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
Visit the Richmond Art Center’s website for more information: https://richmondartcenter.org/
Influential Glass Artist Marvin Lipofsky Exhibition Opens at the Richmond Art Center in January 2017 Exploring the legacy of the artist and cornerstone of the Studio Glass Movement in an intimate selection of works from his private estate.
RICHMOND, CA — December 20, 2016 — A leading figure in the world of glass, the late Marvin Lipofsky was instrumental in establishing and promoting the Studio Glass Movement on the West Coast. The Richmond Art Center will exhibit a collection of his works in Marvin Lipofsky: Molten Matter/Fantastic Form, which opens in the South Gallery on January 10, 2017. The works selected from his estate represent a curated glimpse into his decades of artistry.
“This exhibition moves from some of his earliest work through phases of formal exploration and aesthetic mastery,” says Jan Wurm, Director of Exhibitions. “With the beginning foundation of a sculptor’s approach to form, Lipofsky pursued the molten mass of hot glass to blow, cut, etch, sandblast, and flock as he found shape, opened interiors, rearranged parts, and dazzled with color. We are thrilled to be able to share these fascinating works with our visitors.”
Lipofsky was a revered figure in the American Studio Glass Movement, as the founder of the glass program at the the University of California, Berkeley and the California College of Arts and Crafts, and as one of the first American glass artists to travel to Czechoslovakia. Well known for his traveling and teaching in and beyond California: to Europe, Russia, Japan, and China – Lipofsky shared his passion and experience while gathering new inflections and influences in an ever-refining practice.
Marvin Lipofsky: Molten Matter/Fantastic Form opens to the public on Tuesday, January 10 and runs through March 4, 2017. For more information about the Richmond Art Center’s Exhibitions program, please visit their website: https://richmondartcenter.org/
Images:
Top Left California Loop Series #4, 1970
Photo: M. Lee Fatherree
Collection of the Artist
Center Left Series Crystalex–Hantich Novy Bor #1, 1982
Photo: M. Lee Fatherree
Bottom Left Pilchuck Summer Series, 1988-1989 #9, 1989
Photo: M. Lee Fatherree Collection of the Artist
About the Richmond Art Center:
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, Wanxin Zhang, Mildred Howard, Bella Feldman, Hung Liu, William Wiley and Peter Voulkos have been showcased here.
Now celebrating its 80th anniversary, the Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
There’s more than just art to buy at this year’s Art Center’s annual holiday festival with food trucks and Richmond’s own craft brewery and cidery participating.
RICHMOND, CA — November 29, 2016—On Sunday, December 4, 2016, the largest community event and fundraiser for the Richmond Art Center returns for its 54th year, with over 50 local artists and artisan collectives participating. In addition, this year’s festival is also hosting three local food trucks, as well as two other Richmond-based vendors: a craft brewery and a cidery.
“So much of bringing people together for this event is centered around artists, which makes perfect sense,” says Nisha Chauhan-McGrath, Volunteer Services Coordinator and Holiday Arts Festival coordinator. “We wanted to make sure that our visitors have an all-around great shopping experience, and that has to include good food and drink, and a place to mingle and connect.”
The food truck idea is a new one for the decades old arts festival but a welcome one at the Richmond Art Center. Participating vendors include Curbside Kitchen, a gourmet mobile food truck based out of San Pablo, CA, that offers Filipino-American cuisine, with hints of Latin and Southeast Asian flair. Favorite dishes include their Curb-bahn mi, described as traditional Filipino adobo meets bahn mi, and small plates that include Filipino street tacos and Mom’s lumpia.
Opie’s Gourmet Stacked Burgers will be on hand, serving up their sizzling full menu of signature “absolute best Gourmet STACKED Burgers” (not to mention herb/garlic fries and the “Herbavoire” for vegetarians).
DUM Indian Soul Food will treat customers to a modern interpretation of classic Indian flavors, “ the best of flavors and textures from north, east and south India to the streets of Bombay!” with specialties including Paneer Skewers seasoned with North Indian spices and served with tangy coconut chutney.
Local Richmond-based craft brewery Benoit-Casper Brewing Company (“Good Beer for Good People”), established in 2014 by two craft beer obsessed friends, Marc Benoit and Chad Casper, run a production-only brewery located in the heart of Richmond, and will be sharing several new drafts.
And Far West Cider Company will be sharing their hand-crafted ciders as Richmond’s only farm-to-glass cidery. Far West Cider Company specializes in uniquely Californian hard ciders made exclusively from apples grown on Chinchiolo Family Farms; a fourth generation family farm located in rural San Joaquin County, CA.
The festival opens its doors to the public at 11am and ends at 5pm at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue in Richmond, CA. Attendees will be able to decorate their own canvas tote bag, perfect for shopping or carrying art supplies, create their own handmade terrariums, bid on silent auction items, mingle with many local artists and Richmond Art Center art instructors, and learn more about what’s happening in the Richmond nonprofit community.
This year’s Holiday Arts Festival features many new artist vendors, and gourmet food trucks and food vendors on site. Art collectors mark the day as an opportunity to bid on collectible, prized works by notable Bay Area artists. To see the list of vendors and community partners participating in this event, please visit the Holiday Art Festival’s web page as it will be continuously updated with current information: https://richmondartcenter.org/holiday-arts-festival/
About the Richmond Art Center:
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, Wanxin Zhang, Hung Liu, William Wiley and Peter Voulkos have been showcased here.
Now celebrating its 80th anniversary, the Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
Richmond Art Center’s 54th Annual Holiday Arts Festival Partners with Local Nonprofits
Five Richmond nonprofits share their missions, sell their work in the Community Gallery at the Art Center’s annual holiday festival.
RICHMOND, CA — November 18, 2016—On Sunday, December 4, 2016, the largest community event and fundraiser for the Richmond Art Center returns for its 54th year, with over 50 local artists and artisan collectives participating. This year, the festival has expanded to present and give visibility to nonprofit partners with the Richmond Art Center, which include Rosie the Riveter Trust, Girls Inc. of West Contra Costa, NIAD Art Center, and RYSE Youth Center.
“We love our neighbor the Richmond Art Center and their annual Holiday Festival, said NIAD’s Gallery Director, Tim Buckwalter. “What a fantastic tradition. At NIAD Art Center, we delighted and honored to be a part of it. This year we’re pleased to showcase work from four of our emerging artists – Vanessa Bravo, Donzell Lewis, Shana Harper and Sara Malpass – who will be amazing works in clay, fiber, and clay.”
RYSE Youth Center will also be creating art to sell this year. Says Visual Arts Coordinator Vanessa “Agana” Espinoza: “The Visual arts team at Ryse Youth Center has been creating some new original handmade jewelry, art and crafts to share at the Richmond Art Center’s Holiday Art Festival. We are honored to present some amazing unique pieces for sale made by the talented young artists at Ryse. We are very excited about this partnership especially after collaborating on a youth-led mural in the front entrance of the Richmond Art center.”
“Girls Inc is so excited to be working with some very special young entrepreneurs, helping them to fulfill their desires for a successful career doing what they love to do,” says Cristal Banagan, Associate Director of Girls Incorporated of West Contra Costa County. “With the help of personal mentors, our young ladies are creating their businesses, and finding opportunity to “make their mark” with the help of the Richmond Art Center! Stay tuned in to these incredible young marvels and their beautifully creative creations, brought to you as only Richmond can!”
“Rosie the Riveter Trust will be selling a variety of unusual ‘Rosie’ items to benefit its work on behalf of the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park,” says Marsha Mather-Thrift, Executive Director of Rosie the Riveter Trust. “Items will include a variety of unusual designs from the Rosie the Riveter National Park Gift Store. We are very excited to be participating in this years Arts Festival and supporting the greater Richmond community.”
Also present will be staff from The Latina Center, whose mission is to improve the quality of life and health of the Latino community by providing leadership and personal development opportunities for all Latinos.
The festival opens its doors to the public at 11am and ends at 5pm at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue in Richmond, CA. Attendees will be able to decorate their own canvas tote bag, perfect for shopping or carrying art supplies, create their own handmade terrariums, bid on silent auction items, mingle with many local artists and Richmond Art Center art instructors, and learn more about what’s happening in the Richmond nonprofit community. All within a few steps of great meals served up by Curbside Kitchen and Opie’s Gourmet Stacked Burgers.
This year’s Holiday Arts Festival features many new artist vendors, and gourmet food trucks and food vendors on site. Art collectors mark the day as an opportunity to bid on collectible, prized works by notable Bay Area artists. To see the list of vendors and community partners participating in this event, please visit the Holiday Art Festival’s web page as it will be continuously updated with current information: https://richmondartcenter.org/holiday-arts-festival/
About the Richmond Art Center:
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, Wanxin Zhang, Hung Liu, William Wiley and Peter Voulkos have been showcased here.
Now celebrating its 80th anniversary, the Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
Visit the Richmond Art Center’s website for more information: https://richmondartcenter.org/
54th Annual Holiday Arts Festival Is Richmond Art Center’s Largest Community Event of the Year Richmond favorite festival hosts 50+ artisan vendors, local nonprofit community partners, gourmet food trucks and a silent auction.
RICHMOND, CA — November 4, 2016—On Sunday, December 4, 2016, the largest community event and fundraiser for the Richmond Art Center returns for its 54th year, with over 50 local artists and artisan collectives participating. This year’s Holiday Arts Festival is on track to be a exciting experience, with many new artist vendors added to the roster, and gourmet food trucks and food vendors on site. Art collectors mark the day as an opportunity to bid on collectible, prized works by notable Bay Area artists. This year, the festival has expanded to present and give visibility to nonprofit partners with the Richmond Art Center, which include Rosie the Riveter Trust, Girls Inc. of West Contra Costa, NIAD Art Center, and RYSE Youth Center.
“The Holiday Arts Festival is a long-standing annual tradition that really brings the East Bay arts community together,” says Ric Ambrose, Executive Director. “This festival not only celebrates and showcases the talents of many local artists, but it allows a larger community to appreciate, own, and gift handmade art. We enjoy this annual opportunity to bring many new people to the Art Center so they can learn what we’re all about, and to gather with our longtime students and supporters.”
The festival opens its doors to the public at 11am and ends at 5pm at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue in Richmond, CA. Attendees will be able to decorate their own canvas tote bag, perfect for shopping or carrying art supplies, create their own handmade terrariums, bid on silent auction items, mingle with many local artists and Richmond Art Center art instructors, and learn more about what’s happening in the Richmond nonprofit community. All within a few steps of great meals served up by Curbside Kitchen and Opie’s Gourmet Stacked Burgers.
To see the list of vendors and community partners participating in this event, please visit the Holiday Art Festival’s web page as it will be continuously updated with current information: https://richmondartcenter.org/holiday-arts-festival/
About the Richmond Art Center:
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, Wanxin Zhang, Hung Liu, William Wiley and Peter Voulkos have been showcased here.
Now celebrating its 80th anniversary, the Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
DUAL ART-MUSIC PARTNERSHIP: RICHMOND ART CENTER AND DEL SOL STRING QUARTET WEAVE ART AND MUSIC IN CELEBRATION OF 80TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR
A grant awarded by Chamber Music America provides for the SF-based Del Sol String Quartet Residency at the Richmond Art Center, bringing chamber music and accompanying art classes to local K-12 schoolchildren.
RICHMOND, CA — SEPTEMBER 2, 2016 — As part of its much anticipated 80th Anniversary year, the Richmond Art Center is partnering with the Del Sol String Quartet (Del Sol) in a residency funded by a grant from Chamber Music America. The residency by the Del Sol String Quartet, organized in partnership with the Richmond Art Center, has been made possible with support from Chamber Music America through its Residency Endowment Fund. Hailed by Gramophone as “masters of all musical things they survey” and two-time top winner of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the Del Sol String Quartet is a leading force in 21st century chamber music.
As part of its basic mission over the past 80 years, the Richmond Art Center has always worked to expand the cultural experience of local students to include music and the confluence of music and the process of making visual art. This grant by Chamber Music America creates the opportunity to present students (grades K-12) with the direct live experience of chamber music. This particular residency highlights the stimulating impact of music on art-making as well as the concentration art-making lends to the listening of music. With a deep commitment to education, Del Sol has reached thousands of K-12 students through inventive school performances, workshops, coaching and residencies.
photo credit: RJ Muna
The Del Sol String Quartet will perform three concerts, thematically focusing on three approaches to expression. Finding parallels in the art in the exhibition and the music performed, the students will have the opportunity to make art engaging some of the same elements in projects geared to the musical manifestations of these elements.
There are three planned performances as part of the Fall residency. Further details about each program can be found on the Richmond Art Center’s website: https://richmondartcenter.org/events. Suggested donation of $10 for adults attending the concert. RSVPs for workshops are requested. Please email us at admin@richmondartcenter.org or call our front desk at 510.620.6772.
Saturday, September 24th 2 p.m. (for elementary school children and their parents) Why Patterns? Del Sol String Quartet Performs Music by Terry Riley
The first performance explores pattern and repetition. In response, the audience will view the work of artist Squeak Carnwath as she uses shape and strong color together with repetition to define and order space.
Saturday, October 8th 2 p.m. (for middle school students) What’s Your Story? Del Sol String Quartet Performs Music by Gabriela Lena Frank, Lembit Beecher, Huang Ruo
This second performance reveals narrative elements in music. In parallel, the work of artist Hung Liu examines the unfolding of history, ideas of portrait and identity, and the power of art and music to create the beauty, hold memory, and draw on that energy to inspire.
ARTISTS ENRIQUE CHAGOYA AND YVETTE DEAS PRESENT WORK ADDRESSING CULTURAL APPROPRIATION AND SOCIETAL (MIS)REPRESENTATION AT RICHMOND ART CENTER’S FALL 2016 EXHIBITION
Former teacher/student, now artistic colleagues, Chagoya and Deas exhibit recent works in Making Our Mark, the 80th Anniversary Exhibition on view at the Richmond Art Center.
RICHMOND, CA — AUGUST 30, 2016 — Identity and culture are thematic arcs to be considered in many of the works presented in the Richmond Art Center’s 80th Anniversary major exhibition, Making Our Mark, which opens on September 13 and runs through November 12, 2016. Now as colleagues at Stanford University, two of Making Our Mark’s featured artists, Enrique Chagoya and Yvette Deas, began their association as teacher/student, bringing forth another vital theme in this unique exhibition: showcasing a generation of established and internationally recognized artists and the younger generation of artists they have supported and guided in their growing careers.
The lens focused on cultural appropriation, societal representation and misrepresentation, and the underlying political implications connects the work of Chagoya and Deas. The artists share a commitment to the considered, the illuminated, and examined. In Chagoya’s Untitled (After Yves St. Laurent) and in Deas’ American Pie, the viewer is arrested by work which magnifies actions and sharply directs attention to the very meaning of fashion, entertainment, and art as freely appropriating culture and subverting historical truth.
Drawing from his experiences living on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border in the late 70s and in Europe in the late 90s, Chagoya juxtaposes secular, popular, and religious symbols in order to address the ongoing cultural clash between the United States, Latin America and the world. Recently his work has been addressing issues on immigration and the economic recession. Deas is drawn to the intersections between the multiple selves people construct for public and private consumption and examining the traces left behind. Her art explores narratives manifested through coded understanding and juxtapositions that explore gender, race and sexuality.
Enrique Chagoya Untitled (after Yves Saint Laurent) Color etching, 2016 Edition: 12 Publisher: Magnolia Editions 22 ¼ x 38 ¼ in. Courtesy of Magnolia Editions and the Artist
Yvette Deas American Pie Mixed media on panel, 2008 48 x 60 in. Courtesy of the Artist
“Chagoya and Deas share a finely tuned sense of verbal and visual language, social constructs, and culture,” says Jan Wurm, Director of Exhibitions. “These underlying values and assessments link their work in a shared attitude of reflection. That this is seeped in popular culture provides accessibility also for the viewer.”
Chagoya and Deas will participate in one of the Making Our Mark Artists’ Talks related to the exhibition, where they will discuss their individual practices and how they have experienced the teacher/student relationship and the importance of the guidance and support. This event will take place in the Richmond Art Center’s Main Gallery on Saturday, November 5 at 3 p.m. and is free to the public. For more information on the event, please visit: https://richmondartcenter.org/event/making-mark-artists-talk/
From September 13 through November 12 in three galleries, Marking Our Mark will highlight 14 established and nationally known artists who have supported, and enriched the programs and exhibitions at the Art Center over many years. These artists include Christopher Brown, Squeak Carnwath, Enrique Chagoya, Lia Cook, Allan deSouza, Mildred Howard, James Melchert, Hung Liu, Richard Misrach, Richard Shaw, William T. Wiley, and Wanxin Zhang, artists who reflect various philosophies and media (painting, ceramics, fiber, sculpture, and photography). The opening reception for this exhibition will take place on Saturday, September 10, from 5-7 pm. For more information about this exhibition, please visit: https://richmondartcenter.org/exhibitions/making-our-mark/
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog of artwork and interpretation by the Director of Exhibitions, Jan Wurm. The complete list of artists included in Making Our Mark are Dru Anderson, Megan Atherton, Christopher Brown, Ethan Caflisch, Squeak Carnwath, Enrique Chagoya, Lia Cook, Sofia Córdova, Yvette Deas, Allan deSouza, Nathan Dollarhite, Michael Hall, Scott Hewitt, Mildred Howard, Hung Liu, Nicholas Makanna, Bruce McGaw, James Melchert, Richard Misrach, Kate Nartker, Deborah Oropallo, Shari Paladino, Johanna Poethig, Richard Shaw, Ehren Tool, Mary Hull Webster, William T. Wiley, and Wanxin Zhang.
About the Richmond Art Center:
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, Wanxin Zhang, Hung Liu, William Wiley and Peter Voulkos have been showcased here.
The Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
XUXA SANTAMARIA (ARTISTS SOFIA CÓRDOVA AND MATT KIRKLAND) PRESENT A LIVE AND VIDEO PERFORMANCE SUITE FROM ECHOES OF A TUMBLING THRONE (ODAS AL FIN DE LOS TIEMPOS) AS PART OF THE RICHMOND ART CENTER’S FALL 2016 EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
A digital spell teleports viewers through three video vignettes accompanied by a beautiful semi-improvised score to life 1,000 years from now, presented in conjunction withMaking Our Mark, the 80th Anniversary Exhibition at the Richmond Art Center.
RICHMOND, CA — AUGUST 29, 2016 — Echoes of A Tumbling Throne (Odas Al Fin De Los Tiempos) isa live sound and video performance suite that imagines our world 1,000 years in the future. Presented on September 16 at the Richmond Art Center by artists Sofia Córdova and Matt Kirkland, this performance creates a world that examines current social structures: racial and gender hierarchies, humanity’s relationship to nature, the environment vis-à-vis technological, industrial, and capitalist society.
As part of the Richmond Art Center’s Fall 2016 exhibition, Making Our Mark, Córdova’s performance-based work will coexist with the installation ¡Auxilio! ¡Socorro!, on exhibition with work by renowned photographer Richard Misrach. These songs are scored by XUXA SANTAMARIA, the musical team of Córdova and Kirkland.
Image courtesy of Sofia Córdova
“This work speaks of the possibilities inherent in redefining ourselves in a world that—due to the conditions we’ve concocted in the anthropocene—has become aggressively hostile to our existence,” says Córdova. “Echoes… is a site to consider post-feminist, colored, and queer realities. The landscape of this future world—its denizens, artifacts, and culture— also serve as a distorted lens aimed at our present in keeping with the tradition of dystopian science fiction. ”
The piece is scored by original music made by consulting the tarot (with a nod to Philip K. Dick’s methodology in writing The Man in the High Castle) and covers of pop songs originally in English which are translated into Spanish and radically changed to reveal the timeline of this work of speculative fiction.
Image courtesy of Sofia Córdova
Sofia Córdova ¡Auxillo! ¡Socorro! Installation, 2016 Comprised of selections from: The Kingdom is Me Gouache and acrylic on magazine, newspaper, and photographs, 2012-2016 And They Held Dances on The Graves of Those Who Died In The Terror 8mm film, video, original sound composition
From September 13 through November 12 in three galleries, Marking Our Mark will highlight 14 established and nationally known artists who have supported, and enriched the programs and exhibitions at the Art Center over many years. These artists include Christopher Brown, Squeak Carnwath, Enrique Chagoya, Lia Cook, Allan deSouza, Mildred Howard, James Melchert, Hung Liu, Richard Misrach, Richard Shaw, William T. Wiley, and Wanxin Zhang, artists who reflect various philosophies and media (painting, ceramics, fiber, sculpture, and photography). The opening reception for this exhibition will take place on Saturday, September 10, from 5-7 pm. For more information about this exhibition, please visit: https://richmondartcenter.org/exhibitions/making-our-mark/
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog of artwork and interpretation by the Director of Exhibitions, Jan Wurm. The complete list of artists included in Making Our Mark are Dru Anderson, Megan Atherton, Christopher Brown, Ethan Caflisch, Squeak Carnwath, Enrique Chagoya, Lia Cook, Sofia Córdova, Yvette Deas, Allan deSouza, Nathan Dollarhite, Michael Hall, Scott Hewitt, Mildred Howard, Hung Liu, Nicholas Makanna, Bruce McGaw, James Melchert, Richard Misrach, Kate Nartker, Deborah Oropallo, Shari Paladino, Johanna Poethig, Richard Shaw, Ehren Tool, Mary Hull Webster, William T. Wiley, and Wanxin Zhang.
About the Richmond Art Center:
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, Wanxin Zhang, Hung Liu, William Wiley and Peter Voulkos have been showcased here.
The Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.