First Thursday in Santa Barbara is always full of surprises and the September First Thursday was no exception. Here are my photos.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was passing the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and seeing live opera singing happening out on the steps! Often there are such performances inside the Museum lobby, but this was a new thing having it outdoors. I preferred this experience. It felt less claustrophobic and more open to the world. Here I captured one of the singers in all her glory!
When I first arrived this gentleman was singing, but I only caught the last bit, hence no good video.
Close by is Sullivan Goss, which is almost always my favorite gallery on the tour. It was the opening of “The Muralists”. The program explained this exhibit “brings together a diverse group of artists from the past and present who have played a major part in creating Santa Barbara’s public art legacy.”
Here are a few pieces I especially liked. This one is by “Chadillac Green”, whose given name is Chad Westmoreland. He is also a local tattoo artist.
This reminded me a bit of some of Escher’s art, with the stairs to nowhere and the bizarre perspectives. This is by Matt Rodriguez.
This is by Angela Perko.
This is “The Girl With the Pearl Ring”.
This piece by David Flores is simply called “Lunar Rover” and is “Anofax serigraphy on anodized aluminum”. At six feet wide it is a bit big for our condo!
Walking down State Street I peered into a window of a shop that was closed. Yet another surprise to see what was inside!
I usually make the rounds of the galleries and most of them are the same for years or even decades. But this was a surprising new one: Seimandi and Leprieur, a French Art Gallery. The exhibit is called “Fertilum” by Ricardo Ozier-Lafontaine. “Rooted in ancestral memory and pre-Columbian forms, the works create a contemporary visual language both powerful and immersive.” This is his only solo show in the US. The gallery owners want to bring French art specifically to Santa Barbara. Interesting that some of the “pre-Columbian forms” look like space aliens!
I was curious about the mysterious red dots on each piece. They explained that this was the artist’s way of saying the piece was finished.
On to the Faulkner Gallery at the Library. The featured artist was Jacqueline Valenzuela. Her exhibit is called “Raices y Sueños”. She explained to me that she really does build and create lowriders and lowrider art. Quite a surprise! She kindly posed for me with one of her pieces that includes her and her partner in her art.
Her partner also posed for me.
Here are more of her pieces.
And here is an explanation of her and her exhibit.
First Thursday is a happening place for people to be out and about meeting friends and new people. And a lot is always happening! For more information about upcoming First Thursday events, please go to https://www.downtownsb.org/events/1st-thursday
– Robert Bernstein
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