LA Visit

Last weekend was a quick trip to Los Angeles to see painter Chiyomi Taneike Longo. She's gathering her work to be shipped down to Ensenada, for her first retrospective exhibition. Sponsored by the United States Consulate General in Tijuana and ADC Contemporary Art Gallery in Los Angeles, Japanese American artist Chiyomi Taneike Longo exhibits a retrospective (1995-2010) of her mixed media abstract paintings in the Sala International of Ensenada’s Centro Estatal de las Artes (CEARTE). This is going to be exciting!

I brought the work to ADC Gallery, and enjoyed seeing co-owner Marisa Caichiolo again. She is so vibrant and dedicated to her work - I can't believe everything she accomplishes! I got to see their new space for the first time, which is beautiful. Located on Factory Blvd, the complex has a wonderful courtyard that they use to its fullest, having special performances each opening night.


Marisa and I also talked briefly about about collaborating, so stay tuned! Am very excited by this prospect!

There will be about 60 of Chiyomi's paintings in this exhibition. Every nook and cranny of ADC is filled with plastic-wrapped paintings, and there will be more work being driven down just in time for the opening! There are some exciting new works that will be featured:

"Resurgent #3," 2010, oil/acrylic/charcoal on canvas diptych 52"x100"


"Reflection #3," 2010, oil/acrylic/charcoal on canvas diptych 48"x108"

(And yes, these two delectable works are for sale....)

The next morning, I met Chiyomi and Al Longo in our usual spot: Marukai Pacific Market on Redondo Beach Blvd. in Gardena. The most amazing Japanese market, with a huge selection of tiny restaurant kiosks to graze from! We usually spend several hours there, starting with coffee and pastries and moving on to lunch..... very decadent.

A PS: Went to the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show at the beginning of February - fantastic! I only went to one bead show and the African Art Village, and that was overwhelming enough. Don't know how the diehards hit all those shows! Picked up some beautifully-colored seed beads and some unforgettable jasper, and was inspired overall. Hope the shows were profitable for all.


There was a booth that had tons of African and Afghani silver; was fascinated by this shirt. It was traditional-looking, but notice the zipper that runs along the hem! Probably caught my attention as I'm anticipating Kate Cusack's participation in March's Art Jewelry Trunk Show.

More DBG

My second week of tai chi was as good as the first, and though I'd planned to leave after class and "be productive," the garden had other plans for me. Class was moved to a building deep within the garden, so I had to give in and wander along another pathway after class, enjoying the fresh air and smells of plants and dirt after yesterday's serious rain. The birds seemed particularly happy too. I've included another of Alan Houser's sculptures in this photo journal, and the stunning-against-the-blue-sky Chihuly, also.







The leaves of the cottonwoods were just dancing on the breeze - we don't get that kind of leaf-rustling in AZ very often.








Alan Houser, "Embrace"

Desert Botanical Garden, Tempe AZ

A great way to start the new year has been taking a Tai Chi class held in the DBG - but the best part is that it gets me to the garden every week! As if the class wasn't relaxing and rejuvenating enough.... another hour wandering amidst the gardens is amazing. Sometimes I can find a path that hides me from view of any other humans - I get to pause in a secluded spot and watch quails, lizards, and the ever-amusing cactus wrens.

The plants in the garden are works of art - some of them even remind me of some artists that I work with! Looking forward to my next class this Weds.

A beautiful place to wait for Tai Chi class to start......








This giant yucca reminded me of CA artist Randy Strong's glass sculptures.






Artist Alan Houser has a joint exhibition of his work at DBG and The Heard Museum in Phoenix. Love how this sculpture juts skyward just like the yucca behind it.

SOFA Chicago Part 2: Closure....

As I seem to have never found the time to write all the words I meant to about November 2009's SOFA Chicago, I'm going to post the pictures as that's what really matters in the end. Enjoy! I'm sorry there are no significant captions - this is driven by my need to simply move on to the new year.... I promise to do better in the future.


Feminine Mystique
I found an interesting trend of traditionally feminine works at SOFA - delicate stitches, lace-bound books, purses, dresses.... enjoyed seeing this theme amidst the bold, shiny objects that abound....
























This fascinating woven glass work kept me coming back again and again - little glass bolts woven together with copper wire, threaded or crocheted through with the fuzziest purple fiber.... very unique!

FIBER.....


As always, beautiful work by Barbara Lee Smith at Snyderman-Works Gallery.


Vivid bright colors in a dramatic large textile work by Joy Saville, also at Snyderman-Works.


Gorgeous stitches by Hilde Morin at Maria Elena Kravetz Gallery. I liked these intimate little works the best.


Intriguing layers by Jeanne Raffer Beck, also at Maria Elena Kravetz.


And the glass.. the glass........

Randy Strong... the agave plants I saw recently at the Desert Botanical Gardens reminded me so much of his work...


Standards: Therman Statom and Danny Perkins...


Another stunning display of Czech glass. Always powerful.


New body of work by Jamie Harris - love the fluidity of color.


Long-time favorite artist Stephen Dam - thrilled to see his show pretty much sold out.


More beautiful work by Cassandria Blackmore...


Alex Bernstein, who also gave a wonderful lecture at SOFA....


And Phoenix favorite David Bennett!




Mmmmmmm..... clay..........

ASU Professor Susan Beiner had a fantastic, intricate installation....



Compelling and unique: Dirk Staschke at Wexler Gallery.




Birds were also seen throughout the fair, and not just flying overhead in the cavernous space.


Beautiful evolution of Myung-Jin Kim's work at Ferrin Gallery.


Vivid colors and pop shapes were prevalent this year, and overall the fair was well-curated, well-attended, and reasonably well-bought. Here's to better years and adventurous dealers, may we match the daring of our artists!