cross-pollination

cross-pollination
Inspiration, stimulation or influence between diverse elements

Studio Artists + Members Exhibition
14.nov.09 thru 26.dec.09

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@ fine art base
652 Redwood Ave | Sand City CA | 93955

cross-pollination, is indeed the theme of the day, from the actual collaboration between artists to the subject matter of individual artworks. The show explores hybridizations from all walks of life: plant, human, political, and social. Displayed in a classic scientific cataloguing fashion, Robert Armstrong's sea kelp utensils take their cue from Ron Baldwin's retro-scientific investigations for Netsil Institute; the two collaborated through the mail to create found object devices that measure artistic perception and bend imagination. dlwilkinson crossed with over 25 individuals, inviting each of them to break a light bulb, from which he printed the unique, pollen-like shards, creating crisp photograms of hallowing beauty. dlwilkinson's installation piece utilizes other forms of broken glass to bend light off the smooth back of a driftwood log. Kris Cowen + J.R.Uretsky's installation art brings together the intimate, the voyeuristic, and the abstract. Inviting the viewer to get close and nestle into the earpiece of an oversized audio cone, the viewer is then cradled by narratives of a false pregnancy alarm and imaginings of possible offspring. Christina Riley's Portraits with Strangers captures the tension between the comfort and strangeness of first crossings. Tracy Parker + Kelley Calvert's Detroit Packard Plant 2009 turns an eye toward the desolate landscapes of post-industrial Detroit. Integrating pages of Calvert's manuscript in collage concept with Parker's painting, the piece gives an impression of Detroit as fragments of past and present. Marguerite Driscoll + Jim Torres' painting "Ye Are Many" explores the Bill of Rights and the people who uphold and defend these rights. Rob Carver's installation art of signs collected from homeless people raises questions about capitalism and the welfare state, insider and outsider, and fixed and mobile. Elizabeth Russell's root-like installation of a hybridized manzanita, madrone, and tree root sprouts down from the ceiling, tapping into the gallery air for nutrients. And, indeed, it is a fertile space for the ripening of new ideas and dialogues, a environment rich with new hybrids.

The inspiration for cross-pollination grew out of a desire to strengthen community: our Studio Artists, our Members, and the public. The intent was to facilitate crosses between these populations to create a new breed of artwork. We began with potluck at fine art base, to bring people together, begin the transfer of ideas, see what new ideas stuck and what others did not. The end result is cross-pollination. Thank you to everyone involved.

Contributing Artists: dlwilkinson, Elizabeth O'Malley, Marilet Pretorius, Lesley Pretorius, Marguerite Driscoll, Jim Torres, Tracy Parker, Kelley Calvert, Peter Hiller, Robert Armstrong, Robert Carver, Ron Baldwin, Elizabeth Russell, Kris Cowen, J.R.Uretsky, Lenka Manning-Warder, Christina Riley, Ellen Osborne, Jim Dultz, Ed Leeper

Collaborators: Bev Movson, Cameron, Cornelis Van Reusburg, Christina Riley, Elizabeth O'Malley, Emily Sevier, Ilene Tuttle, Jana Heer-Glowacki, Jim Torres, Johnny Apodaca, Keith, Kelley Calvert, Kris Cowen, Lesley Pretorius, Lynne Cook, Misako Inaoka, Patrick Orosco, Paula McChesney, Rob Carver, Scott Brown, Thomas Poole, Tim Kemp, Tracy Parker, William Swanson, Yves Goyatton, Zachary Kirschner, Doug Glowacki, MAS, Jennifer Elin Hogan, Kate Bernstein, Matt Stein, Judy Christen, Soaring Uyematsu, Gypsy Johnny, Diane Patracuola, Doug Glowicki, Radish Robbins, BB Smith, All Saints' Day School Class of 2010, William Farley, Kristin Eppler, Pamela Smith, Adam, Kay Cline, Cathy Rivera, Tom Hughes, Andy Szmit, Mansico Cudge, Sarah + Pasquale, Mike, Asha, and many others

Thank You to Esmeralda Distillery, Whole Foods Market, Passion Purveyors, and all of our amazing Vollunteers for their support of cross-pollination