2018 Left Coast Annual* Opens at Sanchez Art Center*

Sanchez Art Center is pleased to present the 2018 Left Coast Annual Juried Exhibition, on view from April 13 through May 20. Showing concurrently in the East Gallery is the 2017 Left Coast Awards Exhibition, featuring Christine Atkinson and Tyrell Collins. An opening reception will be held from 7 to 9 pm on Friday, April 13, with live music provided by Blue on Jazz, featuring Rob Wullenjohn on guitar, Paul Clanon on upright bass, Ishan Vest on drums, and Rick Brown on trombone.

Claudia Schmuckli, Curator in Charge for Contemporary Art and Programming at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, served as juror for Left Coast Annual this year. Juror Schmuckli selected 50 artworks from the nearly 900 entries by artists from the left coast states of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. The works chosen span a variety of media, from painting, photography, etchings, and archival inkjet prints to mixed media and installations, both large and small. The public is invited to hear Schmuckli discuss her jurying process and talk with the artists about their work on Sunday, May 20, at a 3:00 pm Gallery Walk.

Showing concurrently is the 2017 Left Coast Awards Exhibition, showcasing work by Christine Atkinson and Tyrell Collins, award recipients chosen by 2017 juror Susan Sayre Batton, Oshman Executive Director of the San Jose Museum of Art.

It’s not easy to describe Atkinson’s works. They begin as photographs, but morph into more ephemeral experiences. The artist is intent on exploring the edges of transition where color and light meet, “creating a dialogue between color as absorbed energy and color as reflected light.” Says Atkinson, “I am interested in where colors touch, where they combine, and where they cancel each other into neutrality. This is a physical alteration, a change in the wavelength of light, a change in energy.” Sounds abstract, but her works have great presence and physicality as well as beauty.

Tyrell Collins likewise works with color and transitions, in her case with colored pencil on black paper. She calls this body of work Quantum Entanglement. These pieces are very meditative, sometimes pensive, and have been compared to works by Mark Rothko in their simplicity and gravitas. Philosophically, her approach encompasses the dark aspects of life while letting the depth of color shine through in a natural, authentic celebration of life. Again, harder to describe than to relate to when you see the work, which has an endearing immediacy.

Come to the reception on April 13 to experience both of these strong exhibitions of contemporary art from the left coast, and to the 3 pm Juror’s Talk and Gallery Walk on May 20 to learn more.

Sanchez Art Center is located at 1220 Linda Mar Boulevard in Pacifica, about a mile east of Highway 1. Following opening night, the galleries are open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 1–5 pm, or by calling in advance to set a time, through May 20.