A San Francisco museum honors local artists

 

In early 2020, after the advent of the Corona Virus pandemic, art museums, music venues, and most public institutions closed their doors for public safety.  With this impetus, San Francisco’s de Young Museum initiated an ambitious local project.  Seasoned and emerging Bay Area artists were invited to enter a salon-style 9-gallery juried exhibition called “The de Young Open”.  Out of more than 11,000 entries, 877 pieces by 763 artists had been chosen.  I was honored to be one of those, with my piece “Heated Boundaries.”  In spite of virus case surges and a planned 15 week show open for only 7 weeks, the show did open with mask and distancing protocols in place.

A salon style show is meant to be eye-popping and overwhelming.  It invites you to return because you can’t possibly take in the scale and “wallop” in one viewing.  The sensitivity and subtlety of subject matter also bring you back for exploration.  You can see the show on line (and my piece) until January 31, 2021 at: https://deyoungopenexhibition.artcall.org/pages/web-gallery?keyword=Ileana+Soto

My piece “Heated Boundaries” refers to that zone in which populated areas and “the wild” come into close contact.  It is here that we experience one of the many dangerous effects of the warming of our climate.  Extreme fires have devastated communities in California and throughout the world.

The show is wide-ranging, including potent and relevant themes of Black Lives Matter, social justice, the pandemic, Bay Area views and scenes, representation, abstraction, and portraiture.  All media were included.  In viewing the show, I was thrilled to be in the midst of the diversity, artistry, and depth of expression that distinguishes our area’s artists. 

The museum world is changing.  De Young Museum Executive Director Thomas Campbell acknowledges that “looking locally and relying less on traveling exhibitions of internationally famous artists may be a key part of how Fine Art Museum San Francisco (FAMSF) will move forward.”  Timothy Anglin Burgard, FAMSF curator-in-charge of American art, states that “museums have been dependent on the blockbuster exhibition schedule.  Here, we are relinquishing that role for a more populist model that engages community.”

Forest Floor Installation (in progress)

 Here are some photos of the Forest Floor installation piece that I have been working on for awhile. It includes, logs, tree stump, rocks of various sizes, leaves, moss and lichen all created with Fossshape , paint, burning, stitching. I hope to finish it this spring and display somewhere along with an assortment of large tree bark wall pieces and tree ring quilts.  I am currently in sunnier, warmer climes so will not be working on this again until spring.  But someday I will be done! Then have to find a place to show it.

 After mark making on paper, it was an easy transition to mark making on fabric. This fabric was put through several stages of dye and discharge. I have added the circle with heavy body acrylic and a brush. My next layer of marks will come from stitch.

Wounded Sentinels are Growing

Last year I did a series of 7 figures in response to the terrible fire damage in my home state of California.    They topped out at 24".   I have just started a larger version of that series; these will range from 3'-6'.   The first one (40" tall) is complete. 

Mark making

 I love taking classes. It is exciting to be amongst fellow artists and learning a new approach . However, at the beginning of the session, if I am told that we are starting with mark making, I freeze up and am filled with a sense of dread. Once again I return to junior high, suffering at the hands of a miserable and cranky art teacher. I have made several resolutions to overcome this negative attitude and tell myself that a lack of drawing skills should not paralyze. 

For this new year, I enrolled in Mark Making with Jane Davies. And, you know what?  It has been fun!

Here is a sampling of the very basic exercises to get started. No completed pieces to worry about, just having fun.

Inspiration for joining ACN

I am so excited to have been accepted into ACN this year. I have been using photos to create patterns for the last five years and I have been experimenting with printing the patterns and colors on fabric. I've been wondering, where this can go? What kind of meaning can be created beyond the surface pattern and the physical aspects of cloth? I am looking at the community of art cloth makers to develop these ideas. I've been so inspired by the work that I've seen in ACN and the way you support one another.This quote, that I found on the ACN website, will inspire me for the next year: 

" . . . This ability to invite interaction is part of what draws artists to the idea of cloth. . . . It satisfies because it is active, it is tactile, and it is personal."

Excited About My Presentation: Into the Third Dimension

JANUARY 9 FOR QUILTS ON THE WALL AND FEBRUARY 18 FOR SAQA REGIONAL CALIFORNIA AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO'S INTERESTED.   MORE INFO TO FOLLOW.   HERE ARE A COUPLE OF TEASERS.

TYVEK + ACRYLIC PAINT:

FOSSHAPE ON LAMINATED GROUND, MIXED MEDIA: