Exhibiting outstanding work by established and emerging artists and offering
San Diego's only hands-on program in Museum Studies and Gallery Management.

Current ExhibitionCurrent Exhibition:

image: Experiment

Atara-Baker
Layering Time and Place: An African Memoir

Location: Art Gallery - D101 and Gallery Courtyard

Dates: February 9 - March 1, 2012

Hours: MTW 11-4 pm, Thursday 11 - 8 pm. Closed Fridays, weekends and school holidays.

Reception: Thursday, Feb. 9, 5:00 - 7:00 pm
D101 and Gallery Courtyard

Artist Talk: 7:00 pm in the Gallery

Artist Atara-Baker spent ten years living in South Africa. During this time she developed a deep passion for the richly textured artifacts and the culture of the San people of the Kalahari Desert. The paintings and sculptures in this exhibition are reminiscent of (and inspired by) the African masks and other crafted objects that she encountered. Baker is also fascinated by the formal study of color and form. The surfaces of her canvases, heavily layered with earth colored hues, evoke the uneven irregularities and the organic qualities of rocks, mountains, caves and land. A brilliant red, gold or lapis, sometimes appears, an unexpected jolt of color amid the natural palette.

Baker’s large-scale paintings exhibit the energy and intense layering of abstract expressionism but they also are imbued with figurative suggestions of a mask, a face, or a human gesture. Found objects embedded onto the canvas–a bolt, a washer, a gasket–become an eye, a nose or a mouth. Burlap, fiber and the scrapes of the palette knife build up and texture the surface. Newsprint sometimes emerges presenting glimpses and testimony of the political and social turmoil affecting Africa. As curator Eliot Lugo pointed out, her artworks 'possess a raw primal power that goes way beyond being merely decorative.'

These intriguing artwork ‘masks’ are Atara-Baker’s homage to her life in Africa: a tangible and tactile visual memoir that speaks to her profound understanding of human beings’ universal need to create and connect through time and place.

Atara-Baker was born in Israel. She studied sculpture at the Academia Della Arte in Rome and continued her art studies in London, at the Arts Students League in New York, and in Los Angeles. She lived in South Africa where she furthered her studies with artist Bill Ainslie and at the Johannesburg College of Art.

Atara-Baker moved to San Diego in 1979. Recently, she has shown her artwork at the Yigal Alon Center Museum in Israel, the Jewish Community Center in La Jolla, and at the Henry Gregg Gallery in New York. Her artwork is on display in private collections in South Africa, United States, Mexico and Israel. She works out of her studio in the city of La Mesa, CA.



Welcome to San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery Welcome to the gallery:

Welcome to the San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery. The gallery exhibits outstanding work by contemporary artists and showcases artwork created by San Diego Mesa College students. The gallery is located in room D101.

GALLERY HOURS HAVE CHANGED
The gallery is open MTW 11-4 pm, Thursday 11 - 8 pm. Closed Fridays, weekends and school holidays. Visitors may schedule an appointment to view exhibit when the gallery is closed. We need a week advance notice to schedule special visits. The gallery is closed during the summer months and winter break.

PARKING IS FREE ON RECEPTION NIGHT. Park in the upper faculty parking areas adjacent and across from the flagpole. During regular gallery hours: From the Marlesta entrance purchase a $1.00 per hour permit from the machine at the information booth, to be used only in the student lots. Or use the visitors' metered spaces in the upper parking area across from the flagpole. (Find additional parking info at www.sdmesa.edu/parking).

To receive email press releases and gallery announcements, or to be placed on our mailing list, please email Alessandra Moctezuma, Gallery Director, at amoctezu@sdccd.edu.

Gallery MissionGallery Mission:

The Mesa College Art Gallery is an educational forum to present the work of professional artists in a range of media and dealing with diverse issues.
The gallery also showcases outstanding artwork created by students in the Art Department.

It is our mission to enrich and engage our student community through art. The gallery exhibits are complemented with artist lectures, workshops, and guided tours.

The works on display reflect a variety of topics in order to engage students from other disciplines and departments. We have created exhibits in collaboration with Chicano Studies, Women Studies and the Black Studies department.

The gallery serves as a laboratory for the Art Department's Museum Studies Program. The college is the only San Diego institution to offer an AA and a Certificate in Museum Studies/Gallery Exhibition Skills.

During the academic year four exhibits features art by emerging and established contemporary artists.

A student exhibition is held at the end of every semester. Besides exhibits in our main space, D101, the Art Gallery program and the Museum Studies classes also curate exhibits in the LRC, 2nd Floor Art Corridor.

Information:information

Alessandra Moctezuma,Gallery Director,Museum Studies
Pat Vine, Art Gallery Assistant
Ph.(619) 388-2829
email pvine@sdccd.edu
7250 Mesa College Drive -D104 San Diego, CA 92111-4998

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