“Two exhibits celebrate Richmond Art Center milestone” via SFGate.com
Our opening reception on Saturday, March 19 kicked off this wonderful retrospective of David Park’s drawings and gouaches. Many of these pieces have never been exhibited before.
We hope you’ll visit the Art Center to see this show, open now until May 22 and free to the public.
We had an wonderful reception for the opening receptions for David Park: Personal Perspectives and The Human Spirit: Contemporary Figuration as an Expression of Humanism on Saturday! Please join us in the galleries Tuesday through Sunday to experience a diverse and human display of Figurative Art, curated by our Director of Exhibitions, Jan Wurm. We have a calendar of associate events, many of which are free to the public, and hope to see you at the Art Center very soon!
Slideshow:
THE RICHMOND ART CENTER ANNOUNCES THE WEST CONTRA COSTA UNIFIED SCHOOL (WCCUSD) STUDENT ART SHOW
The Richmond Art Center has hosted this exhibition for more than 50 years, which features the work of over 300 local schoolchildren.
RICHMOND, CA — MARCH 16, 2016 — In collaboration with the West Contra Costa School District (WCCUSD), the Richmond Art Center will present the annual West Contra Costa Unified School District Art Show in its Community Gallery.
The Richmond Art Center has a prosperous and long-standing 51-year partnership with the WCCUSD, and this year there are over 300 works of various media and subject matter on displayrepresenting the creative artistic talents of students from middle and high schools throughout the school district. The Art Center and WCCUSD share an ongoing vision that art education is a crucial component of a thriving and productive society.
There will be a special reception honoring the students and art teachers on Thursday, April 14 from 5-7 pm, which will be free and open to the public.
In addition, numerous art awards will be given out by the Richmond Art Center, the El Sobrante Art Guild, and other community members for the students’ artistic talent and originality.
The West Contra Costa Unified School District has generously sponsored the annual student exhibition.
The student show coincides with the Art Center’s featured exhibitions: David Park: Personal Perspective and The Human Spirit: Contemporary Figuration as an Expression of Humanism focusing on the historical and aesthetic development of Bay Area’s figurative art over the past 60 years.
About the Richmond Art Center: The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to people of all ages, reflecting the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features contemporary exhibitions in four galleries hundreds of classes and workshops in its well-equipped six studios, and delivers these same experiences throughout the Community in the schools, community centers and the Richmond Public Library.
This year, the Richmond Art Center serves nearly four thousand students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both on site at the Art Center and at numerous sites throughout Richmond.
The Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
Please visit the Richmond Art Center’s website https://richmondartcenter.org for a full detail of activities and events relating to these exhibitions.
Contact:
Jessica Parker, Communications/Marketing Director
jparker@richmondartcenter.org
510-620-6780
To download a PDF of this press release, click here.
Everyone on the staff of the Art Center sends their big big thanks for your help in nominating us!
Tips for Voting
Important Dates
March 1 – March 31 is the first round of voting in each category.
April 2 – April 30 will be the final round of voting for each category.
Keefer working on an embroidery project. Photo: Melati Citrawireja via Berkeleyside.
“Amy Keefer is not your average rainy afternoon knitter, crocheter or embroiderer. Keefer holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine arts with an emphasis on textiles and fibers, and uses these patience-demanding crafts as tools for self-expression, as well as to provoke political discussion.”
We’re proud to have Amy on our staff of Teaching Instructors. Please be sure to read the rest of the Berkeleyside interview with Amy, and be sure to register for one of her classes this Spring!
THE RICHMOND ART CENTER EXHIBITION FEATURES REFLECTIVE WORKS OF VIOLA FREY AND JUAN CARLOS QUINTANA IN THE HUMAN SPIRIT: CONTEMPORARY FIGURATION AS AN EXPRESSION OF HUMANISM
In conjunction with our 80th anniversary, the Richmond Art Center will present two important companion exhibitions that trace the human figure as vehicle in Bay Area art.
RICHMOND, CA — FEBRUARY 29, 2016 — As the Richmond Art Center reflects on its 80th Anniversary, appreciation for our rich history of artists and exhibitions illuminates current art practices and the shape and form of contemporary visual exploration. These influences on visual language and culture are revealed in the exhibition, The Human Spirit: Contemporary Figuration as an Expression of Humanism.
In particular, the autobiographical work of Joan Brown and Viola Frey stand as beacons to the younger artist striking out on a personal path peripheral to the mainstream and in pursuit of identity and place in the world. The challenges of treading new interior territory have been met by new voices including Lava Thomas in her portrayals of her Grandmother or her close friend and mentor, Mildred Howard, in which hair provides a vocabulary for identity. Similarly, Juan Carlos Quintana faces desolation and mortality with repetition and aggregation in a shared intensity of focus.
The Human Spirit: Contemporary Figuration as an Expression of Humanism runs from March 19 – May 22, 2016, and will focus on the historical and aesthetic development of Bay Area figurative art over the past 60 years. In conjunction with the exhibition, the Art Center will offer enlightening public programs including performance, video, music, and a series of talks.
Viola Frey, Untitled (Skull with Hat on Glove) (1978), Ceramic, 11 x 10 1/2 x 12 inches (27.94 x 26.67 x 30.48 cm), Image courtesy of the Artists’ Legacy Foundation © 2016 Artists’ Legacy Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York.
Juan Carlos Quintana, Committee Member For The Defense of Bad Painting (2015), Oil and acrylic on canvas 22″ x 22″, © Juan Carlos Quintana, Photo courtesy Jack Fischer Gallery
The Spring exhibitions are sponsored by Artists’ Legacy Foundation, Blick Art Materials, Susan and Steven Chamberlin, James Curtis III, Richard Diebenkorn Foundation, Nina and Claude Gruen, Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson Charitable Foundation, Jacobs & CO., Oliver and Company, and Zellerbach Family Foundation.
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, traveling 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, Ed Rossbach 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.
Please visit the Richmond Art Center’s website https://richmondartcenter.org for a full detail of activities and events relating to these exhibitions.
Contact:
Jessica Parker, Communications/Marketing Director
jparker@richmondartcenter.org
510-620-6780
A downloadable version of this press release is here.
About the interviews: The Richmond Art Center is fortunate and proud to work with a diverse and growing number of artists and teachers who work with our students at the Art Center as well as in our local communities. We want to share some of these wonderful people with you, to inspire your own artistic path, take a class, or learn more. See all of our interviews here.
In this interview, meet Joyce Shon, a long-time Richmond Art Center instructor who’s teaching our upcoming Handprinted Textile Workshop and Material(s) World (which teaches basic screenprinting techniques). You can register for both of these classes now (see links above).
Joyce Shon is a Berkeley-born artist with a particular fondness for screen printing. She would probably rather sketch her bio than try to write it. She attended UC Berkeley and worked in construction for many years, supplementing her income and retaining her sanity with her artwork. Her unofficial job title for herself is Semi-professional Dilettante, constantly trying new techniques and attempting to integrate them into her artwork. Joyce loves not only creating art but also adding to her collection of the work of local artists.
Q. What do you find most inspiring about teaching art?
A. It might be easier to answer what is not inspiring about teaching art. In particular, I am always amazed at the way ideas multiply exponentially in a class. So much creative inspiration! Although most of my personal work is done in a solitary setting, the energy and inspiration I get from students and other teachers is simply phenomenal. And I love to solve problems, so when a student asks, for example, “Can I print with patinas? Can I print on glass? Can I print an image of the moon on green cheese?”… I’m instantly trying to figure out how to do it. Those sort of challenges really jazz me and expand my repertoire as both a teacher and an artist.
Q. How did you become involved with the Richmond Art Center?
In 1998, I was recovering from nearly two years of treatment for cancer. I spent a lot of that time in “solitary confinement,” and being able to draw and journal saved my sanity and possibly my life. I really wanted an arts community and found the Richmond Art Center through the recommendation of Patti Kjontaas, who was teaching there at the time. My goal was to learn enough basic ceramics skills to move on to meshing it with screen printing. Curtis Jones was teaching a screen printing class, and I took that because I love learning other artists’ tips and techniques and approaches. When he left to teach at the University of Oklahoma, he suggested that I take over his classes. I was hesitant (scared!) but agreed to teach one class. I loved it! But I still love being a student, too.
Q. What was your path to becoming an artist? Please share some of your favorite work (captions below).
A. Wow…my path is now 67 years long, and very meandering. My family was very hands-on. We did these very un-suburban things in suburban California. Making our own soap in a big kettle outdoors, pouring concrete for patios, building stairs and retaining walls, canning our own food, picking berries for jam, digging clams, sewing our clothes—we were always Doing Something. And I was one of those children who was constantly drawing on everything, always making something: Ballpoint pen tattoos on my friends, costumes for the family cats, papier-mâché dragons and castles for my little sister’s Barbie dolls, little mud figures that I would bury to be discovered in future eras as Items of great Archaeological Interest. I sketched while babysitting, which led to my first commission work: watercolors of toy soldiers for a little boy’s room.
Then my father gave me a screen printing kit for my 12th birthday. He had an ulterior motive—labels for his homemade beer. I really got into it, though: labels, posters, cards, yearbook covers. I attended the University of California in the ’60s (!) with a mind to transfer to CCAC but got waylaid by politics and ended up in Vancouver, Canada with a community of conscientious objectors.
Eventually I returned to the Bay Area and worked in construction, did custom sewing and screen printing and raised a daughter. Regardless of the direction I was headed at any point in my life, there was always an element of art. I remember washing new towels once and being intrigued by the lint in the dryer. It was so beautiful and soft, I decided to felt it into wall hangings. Meanwhile, at my day job, I was operating heavy equipment, turning the Berkeley Landfill into Cesar Chavez Park. Large scale sculpting! I could go on and on and on, but you’ve probably got the drift by now. No particular favorite work—after all, I am a semi-professional dilettante. But I am sorta more jazzed by fiber than paper. May my path continue to meander.
Q. Who are your inspirations?
A. That’s a tough question, because inspirations are everywhere. But what comes to mind first is all the hours I’ve spent in museums looking at marvelous magical works by unnamed artists from cultures all over the world. Masks from anywhere, cloth of bark or fibers, painted or printed, kachinas, carvings, ritual objects of known and unknown purpose. Our human history is full of everyday people recording their visions in marvelous ways.
Q. What do you like to do when you’re not at the Art Center?
A. Well, twenty years ago, I might have been racing camels or fueling up a backhoe. But these days you are more likely to find me working on a costume for an event past, present, future (or none of the above), baking cookies, reading anything in print, attacking weeds or packing my suitcase —the sketchbook and camera go in first.
Q. What’s on your bucket list?
A. I always thought it would be very cool to learn to fly a helicopter. And I am terrified of heights.
Q. If you could meet one artist, living or not, who would it be and why?
A. Unfair question! How ever to make a single choice? Any of the unnamed women who made those carvings, textiles, baskets, adornments that I have gazed at, enraptured, in countless museums. Maybe Susie Silook, a woman of Yupik, Inupiak and Irish descent. Her work, which combines traditional carving technique with a modern message, just takes my breath away and makes me feel my heart sending my blood to my brain. And she doesn’t live so very far away—can you get me an introduction?
Thank you, Joyce!
Be sure to check out Joyce’s class and workshop and register early before they fill up!
Images, from left to right:
1st row: screenprinted cats plates (set of 4), handmade bog coat, “Chat Noir” print, “Curios” print
2nd row: felt cuff, handmade journal,“Nostrum” print (from The Alphabet According to Kate series), screenprinted poppy pod plate
3rd row: ceramic sculpture—piece from “The Right to Bear Arms”,“Look Up Sam” mixed media piece—screen print on salvaged materials, “Tools” print, “Kilter” print
The people and places which mark a town as “Our Town” are as varied as our lives.
The histories and generations of schools and teachers, shops and customers, workplaces and co-workers, these populate our days.
As the Richmond Art Center reflects on its 80th Anniversary, we are asking for your views, impressions, thoughts on what makes a place unique, what gives a place its identity, what meaning can be drawn from experience, association, or memory. We invite artists to show us their art reflecting their town, our town, a better town.
Juror: Jack Fischer, director of the vibrant Jack Fischer Gallery in San Francisco, brings a unique point of view to this selection. Always fresh and direct in his response to art, Fischer extends a multi-textured and open approach to “Our Town.”
Submission Deadline: Monday, April 11
Notification of jury results (via email): Sunday, May 1
All accepted work must be Hand Delivered Friday, May 27 or Saturday, May 28 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Opening Reception: Saturday June 11 5 – 7 PM
Exhibition Closes: Saturday, August 27
Pick up of accepted work: Sunday, August 28, or Monday, August 29 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Entry Fee is $40 for two works
RAC Members Discount: $30 for two works
$15 for each additional work
Awards totaling $1,000
Submission of artwork entries is online only. Go to CaFÉ at https://callforentry.org/
Deadline: Monday April 11, 2016 11 p.m.
Digital Images are required for Jurying
Insurance
The Richmond Art Center will insure the artwork while on site with the exclusion of any damage due to acts of God. Artists are responsible for insuring their artwork to and from the RAC.
Sales
The RAC will retain 40% commission on all art sales. Not for Sale work (NFS) will also be accepted but an insurance value must be stated.
For general information, please contact Jan Wurm via email jwurm@richmondartcenter.org
Image: Christ’s Entry into Brussels, James Ensor, 1888.
Come make new art and new friends at the Richmond Art Center this summer!
Our teaching artists will create wonderful opportunities for students to experiment, create, and make amazing art in our beautiful studios. Classes are organized by age and you can sign up for multiple weeks to experience everything we’re offering this summer. Full descriptions and instructors will be listed on our website. Students age 7+ who are taking a morning and afternoon class can break for lunch in our enclosed courtyard supervised by summer camp staff.
The Richmond Art Center’s Art Camps offer kids and teens a nurturing environment and creative atmosphere to experience hands-on activities including painting, drawing, clay, weaving and collage in small morning and afternoon classes during summer and spring breaks from school.
Parents have voted! The Richmond Art Center has won the Silver Award for Best Arts Camp in Contra Costa County and Gold Awards for Best Art Classes and Best Enrichment & After School Programs.
About the interviews: The Richmond Art Center is fortunate and proud to work with a diverse and growing number of artists and teachers who work with our students at the Art Center as well as in our local communities. We want to share some of these wonderful people with you, to inspire your own artistic path, take a class, or learn more. See all of our interviews here.
In this interview, meet Dawn Gonzales, who’s teaching our upcoming Story Book Cigar Box Diorama Class in March (and you can still register for it here online).
Dawn Gonzales is a Richmond based artist specializing in surface design, illustration and mixed media. She received her BFA from the University of Arizona. After many years working in Marketing and Design for apparel companies including Gap Inc and lucy Activewear, she’s returned to her passion for art and good ol’ fashioned analog sketching. She is a collector of “stuff” and delights in re-purposing gently loved items into treasured new art objects. These days she loves the work of late collage artist Rex Ray, hand drawn typography, duct tape and pom-poms. A lover of all animals, she also enjoys creating custom embroidered pet portraits for friends and family. http://www.dawngonzalesillustration.com
Q. What do you find most inspiring about teaching art?
I believe that art saves lives. Not only visual art, but music, theatre, and performance. When I was a child in elementary school, our art teacher, Mrs. Spearo, would wheel her “art cart” full of glue sticks and tempera paint into the classroom on Wednesdays and all the kids would start clapping. We went crazy! That’s how much we loved it! So, it’s very concerning to me that the first programs cut from school curriculae is usually art. It makes me very sad. After a dry spell of many years, I am recapturing that joy I once had in making art as a child, and I want to share it with others. I want to help others, especially adults, find their joy in “creating” and when I see people get excited about it, being compelled to make art… well, that inspires me!
Q. How did you become involved with the Richmond Art Center?
I have lived in Richmond Annex for over 10 years and always knew about the center. But since I spent the last two decades deeply entrenched in corporate America, I felt that I never “had time” to explore, visit or learn more about RAC’S offerings. When I started freelancing two years ago, my friend suggested that I try teaching at the center. I had led creative workshops in my previous life, but teaching in a formal capacity really wasn’t on my radar at the time. The more I thought about it and the more I created my own art, the more the idea appealed to me. So in 2015, I pitched some class ideas to Erin and here I am! My introduction to teaching at RAC was my Pom-Pom booth at Skeletonfest 2015. What a blast! (Click on the images below to enlarge.)
Q. What was your path to becoming an artist?
I have always been artistic. As a child, my sister and I would busy ourselves for hours just drawing, and making things with any materials that we could find. I remember I even made a pair of high heeled shoes out of cardboard once. Eventually, I studied art in college and received my BFA from the University of Arizona. After school, I moved to San Francisco to “become an artist” and promptly took a job in retail, of course. But that led to many other creative opportunities for me, career wise. I discovered the world of Visual Merchandising and environmental design which is a genre that encompasses all sorts of mediums, especially if you are working on a shoestring budget! It was a very hands on job, and I found myself splattering paint, hammering nails and chopping up astroturf to make my ideas come alive. It was innovative work for a retail environment, and, even though I was not drawing or sketching, it kept my creative juices flowing and I learned a lot technology wise. So, I guess you could say that I took the long way around!
Q. Who are your inspirations?
Of course, I am inspired by the late David Bowie who was a true artist in every aspect and showed us all that being different is okay. That being unique is, in fact, quite special. I admire people who are true to themselves, kind, and hard workers. I’m really inspired by the talent, work ethic and attitude of illustrator, Lisa Congdon. She’s worked very heard to pursue her heart’s desire and she’s a very nice person. She also didn’t hit her prime until her 30’s. I’m also really inspired by other “late bloomers” like David Sedaris and Julia Child who didn’t begin their careers until mid-life. And who can forget Grandma Moses, an embroiderer whose arthritis inspired her to take up painting at age 78 because it was “easier for her hands.” Grandma Moses is my spirit animal! Ha ha.
Q. What do you like to do when you’re not at the Art Center?
I’m either working on pattern designs for clients, art journaling, building up my own accessory design business, or doing something fitness oriented. I also spend a lot of time at home with our 12 year old Bulldog, Cookie. She is the light of my life. http://www.dawngonzalesillustration.com/sketch-book/.
Q. What’s on your bucket list?
I have never been to Europe! I would definitely love to go one day. I would also like to run a marathon. I did a half marathon a few years ago, and it felt great. I love challenging myself. If I won the lottery, I would build my own English Bulldog sanctuary and care for all the wayward pups.
Q. If you could meet one artist, living or not, who would it be and why?
I would love to meet painter, Martha Rich. She’s wacky. I think she would be a fun friend. I love her talent and her incredible sense of humor. http://cargocollective.com/martharich/ABOUT
