Three New Exhibitions at Pacifica’s Sanchez Art Center (Jan. 21 – Feb. 13)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Three New Exhibitions at Sanchez Art Center, Jan 21–Feb 13, 2022

Sanchez Art Center greets 2022 with three fascinating new exhibitions. In The Male Glaze, a Main Gallery show curated by Susan Hillhouse Leask, Philo Northrup dazzles with his colorful, whimsical assemblage pieces. In Art Quilts 2 in East Gallery, the artists of Studio Art Quilt Association (SAQA) share their stunningly beautiful quilted artworks, not at all your traditional quilt patterns. And in West Gallery, Art Guild of Pacifica artists explore The Heart of the Matter. Northrup and curator Leask will talk about his work on Feb 13, 3:30 pm, in the Main Gallery. Also on Feb 13, a number of Art Cars (registered and licensed vehicles that artists have permanently altered) brought together by Philo Northrup will be on view (weather permitting) in the area between the East and West Galleries beginning at 2:30pm. On Jan 29 at 2 pm, the artists of SAQA will discuss their work in an Artists Talk via Zoom. All three shows will open on Friday, Jan 21, with an opening night reception from 7-9 pm. Following the opening, gallery hours are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 1–5 pm, through Sunday, Feb 13. Our safety protocols include face masks, physical distancing, and limited numbers of people in the galleries.
Assemblage artist Philo Northrup began collecting bits and pieces, and gluing them together to suit his fancy, when he was 9 years old and intent on making a birthday present for his brother. Thank goodness he hasn’t stopped! The pieces in Philo Northrup’s The Male Glaze are from his series called Color Stories, which he began in 2007 and has added to every year since. The show’s title, The Male Glaze, plays on the feminist term for patriarchal influence in art on every level, “the male gaze.” Twist the words just slightly to acknowledge the high gloss, the “glaze” of Northrup’s assemblages, and there you have it—a visual and linguistic pun.
Northrup has many collectors and has exhibited widely in California and other western states, including at the Triton Museum in Santa Clara, SOMArts in SF, and Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. He has also exhibited in Grenoble, France at the Galerie Jean-Claude David. He co-founded the annual ArtCar Fest and co-created ArtGolf, a series of collaborative installations based on miniature golf. His awards include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a purchase prize from USC Fisher Museum of Art. Guest Curator Susan Hillhouse Leask is an Independent Curator, former Acting Senior Curator at San Jose Museum of Art, and current Adjunct Faculty Member in Art History at California State University Monterey Bay.
The artist has a complex relationship with the toys he finds. In his words, “Toys were never innocent playthings for me. I have always seen them as darker symbols of the culture that made them.” As Curator Susan Leask says, “The pieces in this series are both light and dark. Philo acknowledges we all inhabit a somewhat dark and troubled world, yet he remains joyful, kind, and hopeful in spite (or because) of it.” Northrup’s pieces are well made, shiny, bright, and ready to spark further imagination. The Male Glaze is a treasure trove of imaginary situations and beings with unexpected connections. Viewers may find themselves looking at the world around them in a different, more open way after seeing the show.
To hear Philo Northrup discuss his work, come to the Artist/Curator Talk in the Main Gallery on Sunday, Feb 13, at 3:30 pm. Come early to see an array of Art Cars on display at 2:30pm (weather permitting) between the East and West Galleries.
In the East Gallery, Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) presents gorgeous artworks from their exhibition Art Quilts 2, first shown at the California Heritage Museum in Santa Monica. Over the past 30 years, SAQA has grown to include over 4,000 members around the world, including not only artists, but also curators, collectors, and other art professionals who love art quilts and are dedicated to promoting this sometimes underrated medium to its rightful place as fine art.
SAQA defines the art quilt as “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched, or that references this form of stitched layered structure.” In addition to traditional pieced and appliqued quilts, the display includes art quilts with images that have been digitally enhanced, painted, or dyed. Their surfaces are hand or machine stitched and sometimes embellished as well.
The diversity of subject matter is inspiring, from portraits to flora and fauna, from stunning landscapes such as Carol Sebastian-Neely’s Monument Valley to abstract impressions of beloved places, such as Cathy Miranker’s Headlands: Kirby Cove. Lorraine Woodruff-Long created Quilt Melt, a black and white abstract work that makes a very strong visual statement about the loss of glacier ice in our time due to global warming, with its quilted texture adding a tactile element to the visual impact of the piece. Some works are lighter in tone: Who wouldn’t love Kathryn Pellman’s humorous four-square piece, A Fashionista in Quarantine. Overall, Art Quilts 2 is an eye-opening experience of what wonders are possible using fabric and thread.
The SAQA artists will hold an Artists’ Talk on Saturday, Jan 29, at 2 pm via Zoom to provide the opportunity for artist in the group who are outside of the SF Bay Area to take part.
In West Gallery, the Art Guild of Pacifica’s theme for their first exhibition of 2022 is The Heart of the Matter, a subject that evokes many artistic approaches, from drilling down into almost any subject or “matter” to reach its deepest meaning to focusing directly on the feelings that emanate from our hearts. This show closes on Feb 13, so the timing leads us directly to Valentine’s Day. Chocolates and flowers may be lovely, but art takes us far deeper into The Heart of the Matter.

We greatly appreciate the energy and support of our community as we continue to share the joy and inspiration of the visual arts, despite the difficulties of the time we live in. Sanchez Art Center is located at 1220 Linda Mar Blvd in Pacifica, about a mile east of Highway 1. For more information: www.SanchezArtCenter.org.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.