I remember Sow's retrospective on the Pont des Arts in Paris!

Masai - mother and child - mixed media
courtesy "La Panse de L'Ours"


Masai - standing warrior, mixed media
courtesy "La Panse de L'Ours"

I just read that an ensemble of sculptures by Senegalese artist Ousmane Sow that were once shown on the Pont des Arts in Paris will be for sale at Christie's December 9. Proust's madeleine! Suddenly I was on the Pont des Arts again!

I was still living in Paris in May 1999. I remember the day I went to see the sculptures. I walked from my studio next to La Grande Halle de la Villette, in the XIX, to the Seine, taking my time, enjoying the walk, anticipating the joy to see Sow's work, one my favorite sculptors. I stayed a long time on that pedestrian bridge! Beautiful afternoon! Fantastic journey between Sioux, Peuls, Masai, Cheyennes, Zoulous... Unforgetable figures.
I took a lot of pictures but they are in France with a lot of other things I left there...

Iana Quesnell / Moving Point: Contemporary Drawing in Southern California @ William D. Cannon Art Gallery

Four of the six drawings by Iana Quesnell
shown at Cannon Gallery

I am an aficionado of Iana Quesnell's work. I do not think I missed one of her shows since I first saw her work at the MCASD in La Jolla in 2007 (Cerca Series). I did not go to CECUT in Tijuana to see her installation with the penciled walls and the long white tablecloth, "Limited Difusos", but I saw the video at UCSD. Quesnell lives and works in Tijuana. She teaches Foundations and Form, a sculpture class in the undergraduate Visual Arts department at USD.

Her work shown at the Cannon Gallery, which consists in a series of 6 drawings (pencil on paper), stroke me as the most interesting work in the show, it is almost like her drawings were glowing.

I love Belt and Silva's work. But Belt's work feels cold when I see Quesnell's work close to his, although the way he uses the space is stunning and the details are exquisite. I could feel the strength of Silva's work, but could not dive into it.

Quesnell's series is based on images taken of the burros painted as zebras one can see on Avenida Revolucion in Tijuana, with images of the gods and goddesses of the pre-colonial Mexico in the background. Iana is pictured in each image, sitting on a different burro, smiling and wearing each time a different sombrero.
The photos I took are not good, I encourage you to go see the drawings to enjoy them!


"Bonita Lucy"


"Cisco Kid"


"Drunk Again"


"Sexy Girl, Monica"


"Oh Boy! Barney"


"Pancho Villa, Ruben"

For those who do not know about the touristic attraction Iana Quesnell is picturing in her drawings, here's an image:


Courtesy Felixe

"Moving Point: Contemporary Drawing in Southern California"
August 30, November 1rst, 2009
Karen McGuire, Curator of Exhibitions
Artists:
Adam Belt
Joseph Biel
Tom Morgan
Enjeong Noh
Iana Quesnell
William Riley
Ernest Silva
Pat Warner

William D. Cannon Art Gallery
Carlsbad City Library Complex
1775 Dove Lane
Carlsbad, CA 92011
(760) 602 2021

News from "Trade Show / California-Turkey", now showing in Istanbul

At Isik University, Istanbul, Turkey.


Anna Stump, artist and curator (on the left),
presents the Trade Show project during the opening,
Isik University.

Anna Stump, organizer and curator of "Trade Show/California-Turkey" sent photos from the opening night which was yesterday in Istanbul, at Isik University. Anna says it was a great success! I do not know exactly how many artists in total (from Turkey and from California) participated to the project, but it is a lot. It's nice to think that all the paintings made in California traveled to Turkey to be shown there and vice-versa.


At the Garage, in San Diego

Trade Show / California-Turkey was first on view at The Garage in July 2009
The Garage
4141 Alabama Street #4
San Diego, CA
Email: deepseal2@aol.com
more info here about the show



Then the show traveled to L.A., at Edgar Varela Fine Arts in August 2009.

Edgar Varela Fine Arts
542 S. Alameda Street, 2nd floor
Los Angeles, CA 90013

Thomas Hirschhorn: Poor Tuning at kurimanzutto and Museo Tamayo, Mexico City

I stumbled upon this document about Thomas Hirschhorn's show "Poor Tuning" in Mexico City, which just ended. I would have love to see it!


Thomas Hirschhorn
Poor Tuning
march 14 – may 9, 2008
Kurimanzutto
gob. Rafael Rebollar 94, col. San Miguel
Chapultepec 11850,
Mexico City
info@kurimanzutto.com

Daniel Ruanova: Defend Security / Videos of the Talk

I took some videos of Daniel Ruanova's talk at Seminal Projects in March 2009. It was on the occasion of his show "Defend Security: Constructs of a People Fearing Society". Daniel lives and works in Tijuana.









Daniel Ruanova

Seminal Projects
2040 India Street
Little Italy
San Diego, CA 92101
619 696 9699

"Security for All - MXCITY" at Agitprop

Héctor Ivan Delgado, "Waiting for the Title"

Tomorrow is the last day of the show "Security for All". Last Saturday, I took some pictures in the dim light of the always surprising Agitprop gallery in North Park. (It seems to me that Agitprop should have a website where the activities of this stimulating art laboratory are compiled!).
"Security for All": artists Héctor Ivan Delgado (MX), Orlando Diaz (MX), Judith Pedroza (MX), Rodrigo Sastre (ARG) (I do not have a picture of his animation piece "South"!).
contact (Judith Pedroza): jude.pedroza@gmail.com

Héctor Ivan Delgado, "Waiting for the Title"
Orlando Diaz, “Structures of Protection", watercolors/drawings




Pedroza, "There is a house by the sea", charcoal, paper house, balloons.


Orlando Diaz, “Structures of Protection", watercolors/drawings







Agitprop
2837 University Ave. , North Park
(entrance on Utah Street)
San Diego
619.384.7989
contact: agitprop.events@gmail.com

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
UPDATE - thank you Justin for the info!
There is a website
and a Facebook page
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Daniel Ruanova: Defend Security / Constructs of a people fearing society

I went to Seminal Projects last Saturday to listen to Daniel Ruanova's talk about his show "Defend Security / Constructs of a people fearing society". Daniel lives and works in Tijuana. There are two pieces in the show: one mural-size painting where on can read the word "security" and one large metallic sculpture.
His sculpture is very strong and beautiful, but despite the title of the show, I do not feel threatened by it. It is a very attractive/seductive piece.






Daniel Ruanova during his talk at Seminal Projects

Daniel Ruanova is one of the 13 artists participating in "New Contemporaries II" at Noel-Baza.
Opening this Friday during Kettner Nights, from 6 to 9 pm.

Noel-Baza Fine Art
2165 India Street
San Diego CA 92101

Seminal Projects
2040 India Street
San Diego, CA 92101
619 696 9699
info@seminalprojects.com

Writing in English

Diary - French is my native language

It is a challenge for me to write this blog in English. I know I will never be totally bilingual: I was not born in the United States, so I am missing a good amount of cultural references. It does not bother me, it makes me very attentive. I am surprised every day by the language I am using, which is quite amazing and refreshing. Sometimes in a conversation I ask someone about the meaning of an expression or a word I hear for the first time.

Using another language makes me see the world with a different angle, not just from my French perspective. I am exploring a new territory and the unknown is exciting. Sometimes it is not easy, but it is exciting.

Life at the border

The Border, San Diego-Tijuana

I cannot believe that a few miles from here, and almost daily, people continue to die in the desert trying to cross the border. I wanted to see the wall between Mexico and the U.S. And so a few months ago I went there. I left the car in the south of the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve and I walked the short distance up to the wall which, at this point, is an assemblage of old metallic plaques. I took a lot of pictures. Then I painted "The Border".
As an artist, it is impossible for me not be influenced by what is going on.

Cultural Mixing

Landscape 11, 2006

Being an artist and living here is interesting for many reasons. One is that I love the cultural influence from Mexico and some very interesting Mexican artists show their work here, and some of them, like Acamonchi, live here. I always have been interested by cultural mixing. I lived in West Africa for a few years when I was a teenager and it changed me forever: it opened the world to me; it gave me the desire to know more, to see more.

It is quite fascinating and stimulating to live here!