SOUR&SWEET

Art exhibit explores the cute & twisted

Romero

Seeing an idea in your head and bringing it into fruition can be rewarding.

Such was the case for Jennifer Ahn, co-owner of Empire Seven Studio, an art production firm, who said Empire Seven Studio curated their art at the “SOUR & SWEET” art exhibition show in 2022.

Empire Seven Studio curated this exhibition as a way to have a kind of anti-valentine show without explicitly calling it that.

“We wanted to work with artists that we haven’t worked with in a while. Or new artists in the Bay Area,” Ahn said.

Empire Seven Studios made the decision to keep “SOUR & SWEET” in the west coast region because of the coronavirus pandemic and the high cost of shipping. The resolution allowed artists the opportunity to showcase their creative works.

Lacey Bryant, a San Francisco artist who paints large scale murals, had various works displayed at the exhibition. Bryant said she does scenic paintings, and has made art for California’s Great America and sculpts for parades in San Francisco.

Empire Seven Studio hosted its first art exhibition of the year and opening reception on Feb. 11 in downtown

San José. More than 20 different artists were featured in this exhibition, each bringing a unique perspective to the theme of something sweet, cute, sour and twisted.

“We try to book shows two years out so the invitation and all that, we started that last year. We installed them Monday. And then the paperwork, pricing sheet, putting them on the website, that took a few days after that. So maybe in a week but curation was last year,” Ahn said.

“People are just excited because they think it’s a good flow of different types of mediums. The roster is majority women and we have a few men so we feel like it’s really good, we try to work with both. I think when it comes to picking artists, we don’t go in thinking we want a certain type of (gender or genre), we try to keep it open, we like that we elevate women artists because I think a lot of times women artists can get put in the back burner,” Ahn said.

Artist recognition can be difficult if they’re just starting out, exhibitions like “SOUR & SWEET” can help boost the audience outreach. It also allows artists to explore other forms of art mediums and test new ideas.

“Most of the series that are displayed here, I did working with the idea of minimalism. Minimal brush strokes, kind of working with patterns. Sort of in between working with time,” Bryant said.

While each of her paintings that are displayed in the exhibition have the same brush stroke techniques and follow the concept of nature, they all incorporate different elements. They find ways to flow and create hidden faces and silhouettes among the swirls and patterns. They can require a closer look to better appreciate the value of the painting.

Bryant said while the paintings in the exhibition are from a different series, “an individual painting can take about a year or two to produce. Those were all done a few years ago.”

This is not the first time that Bryant has displayed her work at Empire Seven Studio. She has also previously created murals for San José Walls.

San José Walls works in a partnership with Guadalupe River Park Conservancy as a way to create public art that will inspire and attract the community. It is known as the “Bay Area’s Longest Public Art Corridor,” according to SJ Wall’s website.

Bryant said her next goal is to produce more work in 3D.

“I have done a lot of doll houses and dioramas in the past so it’s been a while,” Bryant said.

Other local vendors and businesses were also given the opportunity to come sell their merchandise.

Andre George, a “SOUR & SWEET” vendor, helped host the event and came to sell his artwork. He makes air fresheners based on real cars.

George said he used to do digital designing when he was younger and was eventually able to expand his hobby once he started receiving more requests.

George says he is also part of SJ Makers, which is a community-based market space that helps local businesses and artists come together to support one another.

SJ Makers has various events throughout the year that don’t focus on simply one theme. They try to create events that will attract old and new audiences to these events.

Some of the events, ranging from community events to art shows to give backs, SJ Makers participate in are either for fun or to help support the local artists, according to SJ Makers Instagram.

What George likes most about these events is that it allows community members the chance to interact with each other more.

“Everyone is socializing or interacting, you get a lot of people that live around here so they can meet each other and just form connections,” George said.

If you have yet to visit the art exhibition, don’t worry. Empire Seven Studios and SJ Makers will be hosting more events in the future. This exhibition is just one of many planned for the year.