Art Produce: AiR Open House and ‘116 Drawings of Ketanji Brown Jackson’
Visual art
Alexander Zimmerman, or Zim, recently received his MFA from SDSU with a series of livestreamed portraiture, primarily of significant figures in social justice and current events. In an exhibition at Art Produce, he further explored this relationship between the internet, activism and his mark-making style of artmaking and performance by gradually livestreaming the works in “116 Drawings of Ketanji Brown Jackson.” The finished effect is striking, with all 116 works filling the walls of the gallery, and it can also be viewed from the sidewalk along University Ave. in North Park, day or night. The exhibition closes on Saturday with a reception.
Details: Closing reception is 3-8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022, coinciding with the Artist-in-Residence (AiR) Program open house, which runs from 6-8 p.m. Art Produce, 3139 University Ave., North Park. Free.
‘A Weekend in Paris’ at SummerFest
Music, Classical
This weekend’s La Jolla Music Society SummerFest delivers three days of Paris-themed concerts, each part of a historical romp through what made Paris the cultural hub we know it to be.
“Most of the pieces are from these two iconic periods in Paris, basically a span of 100 years from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s. So the ‘La Belle Époque,’ which roughly translates as the beautiful period and then ‘Les Années Folles,’ the crazy years, which primarily focus on the 1920s in Paris and the ’30s,” said Inon Barnatan, music director for SummerFest. “We were going back in time and experiencing basically the years that made Paris what it is, the center of culture, where all the writers and composers and thinkers, everybody was in the same pot.”
Friday’s performance touches on the salons and masquerades in Paris, including works by Chopin, Debussy and Ravel — plus André Caplet’s “Conte Fantastique,” which pays homage to Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Masque of the Red Death.”
Bain Collection / Library of Congress
Saturday focuses on the conservatory, Le Conservatoire de Paris — including “Nocturne,” by a young, female prodigy Lili Boulanger. “She was one of the brightest stars to come out of the conservatory,” Barnatan said.
Sunday afternoon’s concert studies the ways Parisian composers borrowed styles from around the world, with works by Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Couperin and more.
Bonus: There is a free, open rehearsal at 2 p.m. on Friday. Cellist Efe Baltacigil, pianist Inon Barnatan, violinist Liza Ferschtman and violist Yura Lee will rehearse Fauré’s “Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor” — which will be performed during Saturday night’s concert — followed by a Q&A session. Drop-in, no reservation required.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5-7, 2022. Baker-Baum Concert Hall at The Conrad, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla. $48-$98.
New Sculpture: Adam Belt, Christopher Puzio, Chris Thorson
Visual art
Quint Gallery in La Jolla opens an exhibition of new sculptures from three artists: Adam Belt, Christopher Puzio and Chris Thorson. All three sculptors’ work is distinctly wonderful, but don’t miss Thorson’s misleadingly humble collection of everyday consumer toiletries transformed into cast bronze sculptures — recognizable shapes of protective things like Neosporin tubes or sunscreen bottles that are actually only recognizable due to the vessel, not the actual substance.
Courtesy of Quint Gallery
While you’re there in Quint’s 7655 Girard gallery, check out Dana Van Horn’s “Caught” at the tiny The Museum Of ___ space tucked in the back. Van Horn’s grid-like arrangement of 441 monochromatic mugshot watercolors represents the artist’s evening ritual: paint one mugshot each evening.
Details: On view Aug. 6 through Sept. 17, 2022. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Quint Gallery, 7655 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Free.
‘Blue Period’
Theater
Local playwright Charles Borkhuis’ new play, “Blue Period,” which chronicles the life of Picasso, closes this weekend at Chula Vista’s OnStage Playhouse. The story chronicles a period in Pablo Picasso’s life when he and his close friend Carles Casagemas left Spain for Paris — leading up to the tragic events in their friendship that launched Picasso’s famed “Blue Period.”
Details: Remaining performances are 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4-7, 2022. OnStage Playhouse, 291 Third Ave., Chula Vista. $22-$25.
More theater: You can learn a bit more about The Old Globe’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” check out Beth Accomando’s interview with director Patricia McGregor here and our playlist listening session with castmember Miki Vale — who has original Shakespearean rap in the production. This weekend’s performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Runs through Sept. 4.
‘Pollinators and Jazz’
Music, Jazz. Food
Enjoy dinner and drinks in the charming outdoor garden at MAKE Projects in North Park and learn about the impact of pollinators on your food — plus a live jazz performance from the Young Lions Jazz Conservatory, under the direction of Rob Thorsen.
MAKE Projects is an urban farm and restaurant that provides employment and experience for low-income women and youth from refugee and immigrant communities. If you’ve driven along 30th St. just south of University, you may have noticed the flourishing food garden in the lot adjacent to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Proceeds from the tickets will directly support the non-profit’s work.
Details: 5-7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. MAKE Projects, 3725 30th St., North Park. $15 for youth, $50 for adults.
Richard Ybarra
Richard Ybarra: ‘Lights, Nights: Neon’
Visual art, Photography
Photographer Richard Ybarra has been capturing neon signage for four decades, and his new exhibition at La Jolla’s BFree Studio is a love letter to the art form’s impact on the nighttime landscape. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., but this weekend you have two chances to check it out in the evening: the First Friday La Jolla ArtWalk, and Saturday’s opening reception.
BFree Studio opened their La Jolla gallery space almost a year ago, in August 2021.
Details: La Jolla’s First Friday Art Walk is 4-7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5; the opening reception is 5-7 p.m.Saturday, Aug. 6. On view through Aug. 15, 2022. BFree Studio, 7857 Girard Ave., La Jolla). Free.
More visual art: ArtWalk returns to Liberty Station this weekend, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
For more arts events, to submit your own or to sign up for my weekly KPBS/Arts newsletter, check out the KPBS/Arts Calendar.
