Sergott Contemporary Art
Art San Diego 2016 Catalogue
Introduction For 2016, Sergott Contemporary Art’s 5th year as a participant in Art San Diego, SCA is excited to present an expanded roster of national and international artists from Brazil, Mexico, France, and Chile, as well as bicoastal artists across the United States at BOOTH #317.
Exhibiting Artists Tania Alcala Dia Bassett Joe Caroff De La Torre Brothers Mauricio Garrido Becky Guttin Emily Halpern Beliz Iristay Jeffrey Laudenslager Echo Lew Marco Miranda Hung Viet Nguyen Tatewaki Nio Fred Ploeger Momilani Ramstrum Becky Robbins Jiela Rufeh Deanne Sabeck Jee Yoon Cover Image: Emily Halpern, Tightrope Walking for People with Complicated Lives, 2016, oil paint and resin on panel, 16” x 16”
Tania Alcala (lives and works in USA)
Born and raised in Mexico City, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Ottawa University in Phoenix, AZ and a Master’s degree in Arts and Consciousness and Transformative Arts from John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, CA. Tania Alcala’s paintings are about finding the joy of being and freedom within herself. Her work is about experiencing consciousness and presence with the seduction of color with her brush strokes. Growing up and living in Mexico for many years, played a critical part in Tania's passion for color. She was mesmerized by the dramatic colors of the great muralists like David Alfaro Siqueiros, Rufino Tamayo, and Diego Rivera as well as the great folklore in the culture, which include the enchanting Mexican markets. The resin finish on all Tania’s work is similar in nature to the varnishes used by artists a century ago and acts like a mirror’s reflecting surface, adding another dimension to this very 21st-century painter’s work.
Aurora 2016 mixed media on wood 36” x 48”
Dia Bassett (lives and works in USA)
Dia Bassett crochets, weaves, or sews with irregular and unpredictable techniques to build abstracted forms. Though abstract, her sculptures are informed by the human body. Her process involves cutting used materials like clothing, curtains, and sheets from family and friends into giant, continuous thread. Using this thread, fiber, paint, and found materials, she creates linear elements, which intersect and transform other found objects. Her process is inspired by the repetitious movements of the quotidian workday and the confinement experienced in modern industrialism. Contrastingly, the resulting material configurations resemble the individualized handiwork of women craft-makers, but with an explosive or decaying quality. – Artist Statement
Matters of the Heart 2012 secondhand fabric and clothing, vinyl, plastic, netting, feathers, resin, belt hook, plant from former house, natural fiber 41” x 26” x 9”
Joe Caroff (lives and works in USA)
Joseph Caroff is an artist who explores abstraction through mixed media paintings that verge on the sculptural. Caroff’s work is about the vital inner world of the artist as well as a response to the broader world and current events. Often suggestive narrative elements seep into abstract forms. Color accents the monochromatic. Forms define negative and positive space. Lines interface and rise from the surface. Through his work, Joe Caroff strives to unify diverse aesthetics and influences to create a unique internal harmony. His intuitive process – guided by the interaction between line, color and space – defines the direction of each work as it evolves. – Tracy L. Adler
Fable 2010 23” x 30” (framed) acrylic and Arches on board
Gestures 7 2012 19” x 19” (framed) mixed media
Gestures 8 2012 19” x 19” (framed) mixed media
De La Torre Brothers (b. Mexico, live and work in Mexico and USA)
Collaborating artists-brothers Einar and Jamex de la Torre were born in Guadalajara, México (1963 & 1960), where they grew up until a sudden family move to California in 1972. Presently living and working in both Ensenada, México and San Diego, California. Jamex started lampworking glass in 1977, attended California State University at Long Beach under scholarship; received a BFA in Sculpture in 1983. Einar started work with glass in 1980; also attended California State University Long Beach. Both owned and operated a flame-worked glass figure business from 1981 to 1997. The De la Torre brothers inhabit a multicultural, polyglot world, creating works that serve as delightful and thought-provoking funhouse mirrors that distort reality in comical and subversive ways. Whether it’s a reflection of the increasing diversity of athletes in American sports in Nazcar Dad or an homage to the violent Oaxaca rebellion in 2006 through zAppo, the brothers let their imaginations run wild, exploring everything from the cultural significance of fusion cuisine and the deeper side of pop culture to the intersection between Mexican and American cultures and politics. – Laguiri
East Block 2016 Lenticular print (edition of 6 commissioned by the University of Notre Dame) 52" x 40"
Mauricio Garrido (lives and works in Chile) The world of the visual artist Mauricio Garrido is surrealist, exuberant, complex and dark all at the same time. The majority of the time, his work has been categorized as neo-Baroque and takes on various forms of expression, such as sculpture, collage, textiles and video art. His work reviews codes of representation throughout the history of art, and is particularly centered on the figure as allegory as a method of synthesized narration. The idea of found materials has been present as a way of transitioning towards an existence of a visual operandi. His work is made from the collection of found papers in the diverse regions of the world where he has travelled especially to find them. Recently, those papers were collected by the world and his art took the form of a trip. His artwork has been exhibited in Europe, Asia and Latin America and can be found in important public and private collections. He is currently preparing a monumental showing of his work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chile (MAC Quinta Normal).
Calypso 2015 44” x 32.5” collage
Parsifal 2015 44” x 32.5” collage
Becky Guttin (lives and works in USA)
Becky Guttin is a 21st Century alchemist that masters the materials to generate visual poems about humanity and its connection to the earth’s cycle. She borrows from the palette of nature: a moment of catastrophic or slow transformation that becomes physically expressed. She conquers the threedimensional form by forcing it into a particular shape, curving and twisting it or hammering and expanding it. The artist labors with tenacity and vision. The artworks become metaphors of the inexorable passage of time. Can we find a moment to be quiet and meditate? Encapsulated in our awareness of existence is acceptance of its finality. As our eyes attempt to rest on Guttin’s intricate surfaces and absorb the intensity of her forms, our hearts flutter at the inevitable conclusion of our presence in the universe. - Alessandra Moctezuma
Home 3 2005 10” x 6” x 3” aluminum, natural roots
Emily Halpern (lives and works in USA)
My paintings map my inner world. My process seeks to open the locked door of the unconscious through methods suggested by Surrealism. I use a square format that negates hierarchical narrative composition, whether top-to-bottom or left-to-right. As I work, I frequently rotate the canvas in order to disorient the view, helping new directions emerge and facilitating my stream of consciousness approach. Color is used to reconstruct different moods and to connect to fragmentary, cryptic narratives. My goal is to create "nowhere" spaces with an absence of horizon lines and populated by what psychoanalyst Carl Jung referred to as archetypal imagery such as flying and floating contraptions, rocks and snakes. The mark varies from heavy and textural to a light touch befitting the content of the piece. My intention is to engage by slipping away, leaving gaps for viewers to fill as a springboard for their own imaginations. – Artist Statement
Parallax 2016 oil on linen 41" x 41"
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Falling in Love with Icarus 2016 mixed media, oil paint and resin on panel 16" x 16" and 10” x 10”
(bottom left) I like Myself 2016 mixed media, oil paint and resin on panel 16” x 20” and 9” x 12” Shipwrecks and Soulmates 2016 mixed media, oil paint and resin on panel 16" x 16" and 10” x 10”
(bottom right) Vertigo 2016 mixed media, oil paint and resin on panel 16” x 20” and 9” x 12”
Beliz Iristay (b. Turkey, lives and works in Mexico and USA)
Born in Izmir,Turkey, Beliz graduated from Dokuz Eylul Fine Art University with a focus on Turkish Ceramics Arts. She moved to both USA and Mexico in 2005. In her work, Beliz often uses the venerable traditions of her home country(s) and combines them with contemporary techniques. She collects the subject materials for her work from the traditions and politics of the countries she is living in. Beliz now passes on her ceramic knowledge by teaching in her studio in EnsenadaMexico. She continues to explore new ways to develop her art in different forms. She has shown her work internationally in Usa,Turkey and Mexico.She got nominated for arts grants and public art projects in San Diego,Ca and Izmir,Turkey. She now lives between in Baja California, Mexico and in San Diego, California with her family.
EBA 2016 hand-carved walnut, resin cast, mirror coat 20� x 30�
El Belis/ Luggage 2016 Mexican hand made, fired brick 12"x 6"x 2.5"
Jeffery Laudenslager (b. USA, lives and works in USA)
The work I do today is kinetic sculpture that consists of geometric shapes which are joined and balanced so that wind alone will activate them. And there is a sort of history to the development of this current work. I began using the figure as a basis of early work and that quickly became quite abstract, but the gestural, human qualities remained. An extended period of "illusionist" sculptures played with masses that defied gravity and retained a bit of narrative quality to them as well. I became increasingly interested in the levitating appearance of discreet parts that made up the entire sculpture. I wanted to see things float and move. My last 15 years of artistic production have been devoted to making my art practice as precise, visually satisfying, seductive and, well, yes, beautiful as I can achieve. – Artist Statement
ITSABOUTFUCKINGTIME 2014 stainless steel and titanium 99” x 72” x 42”
Echo Lew (lives and works in USA)
After several hours of preparation, I use just a single shot to complete each image. During an exposure time of approximately one minute, I manipulate lights in front of the camera to create “Light Drawings.” Sometimes I invert the positive image to a negative one on a computer but otherwise the “Light Drawings” are not manipulated. Sometimes I put the same positive and negative images side-by-side in the finished piece. . . I became curious about the effects of lights in motion. Could this become the basis of a new kind of drawing? I experimented with cameras and lights until I was able to spontaneously tap into decades of drawing experience while the camera’s shutter was open, bringing life to a series of “Light Drawings.” The technique originated in 1914 when scientists Frank and Lillian Gilbreth used small lights and an open shutter to track the motions of factory workers. My light drawings are inspired by Jackson Pollock and Cy Twombly whose paintings are composed with spontaneous actions, performances traced in time. I have been an abstract painter for many years, concerned with line, shape, composition and concept. Digital photography allows me to expand creatively while using an ultracontemporary medium with limitless potential. Art for me is an experimental adventure, a profound form of play. – Artist Statement
Land Sketch #1 (ed. 1/25) 2012 photography of moving lights, printed on Fine Art paper 20” x 57”
Marco Miranda (b. Mexico, lives and works in Mexico)
Originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, a graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Sonora majoring in Printmaking. From a young age he has made plásticasu profession and life, always led by the great desire for experimentation and mixtures, very evident in his work. Filing in Baja California since 2004, when incursions into pictorial elámbito, currently works full time in his studio in one Mexicali, with the representation of galleries in Tijuana and Los Angeles, CA.
Deformaciones XIX 2015 mixed media on plexiglass 24” x 42”
Deformaciones XXVII 2015 Esmalte acrilico / plexiglass 24” x 24”
Hung Viet Nguyen (b. Vietnam, lives and works in USA) Hung Viet Nguyen was born in Vietnam in 1957. He studied Biology at Science University in Saigon, Vietnam, then transitioned to working as an illustrator, graphic artist and designer since settlement in the U.S. in 1982. He developed his artistry skills independently, studying many traditional Eastern and Western forms, media and techniques. Nguyen’s complex, labor intensive investigations of oil paint reveal a methodical mastery of texture. While portions of Nguyen’s work suggest the influence of many traditional art forms including woodblock prints, Oriental scroll paintings, ceramic art, mosaic, and stained glass, his ultimate expression asserts a contemporary pedigree. Nguyen’s paintings have been exhibited at galleries, cultural art centers, and museums, juried by museum curators/directors [ Los Angels County Museum of Art (LACMA), Laguna Art Museum (LAM), Museum of Contemporary Los Angeles (MOCA), Museum of Latin America Art (MoLAA), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA), Torrance Art Museum (TAM), UCLA Hammer Museum of Art]. Honors include the Juror’s Choice Awards, 2013, and the San Diego Art Institute Biennial International Award Exhibition, 2015.
Ancient Pine #13 2016 oil on panel 48” x 60”
Sacred Landscape #20 2016 oil on panel 30” x 24”
Ancient Pine #16 2016 oil on panel 12” x 12”
Ancient Pine #20 2016 oil on panel 30” x 24”
Sacred Landscape #21 2016 oil on canvas 48” x 84””
Tatewaki Nio (b. Japan, lives and works in Brazil)
More than 15 years have passed since Nio chose to live as a foreigner in a distant land far from his birthplace in Japan. The size of the cultural difference between Brazil and Japan is glaringly apparent by the fact that is day in one place while it is night in the other. This was one of the differences that attracted him to Brazil and made him take root there. As with many tourists the cultural differences provoked unfamiliar glances and got Nio interested in photography. In the beginning his work focused on regional elements such as folklore, the backcountry, and Carnival. Photographing these issues was a process of confronting a Brazilian audience with a foreigner’s observation. Over time, his Portuguese improved, but he will never achieve the proficiency of a native speaker (which often makes him the butt of jokes). Disappointed in his progress in learning the language, he recognized the possibility photography has as a means of communication. Since then, more than capture specific moments, his interest is to communicate with others through photography. Today, more than differences, Nio is interested in points of connection with and between others. Starting from a point of commonality, he hopes his work will result in two-‐way dialogues.
Neo-Andina #031 (ed. 6 + 2AP) 2015 32” x 40” inkjet print on cotton paper
Neo-Andina #032 (ed. 6 + 2AP) 2015 inkjet print on cotton paper 32” x 40”
Neo-Andina #034 (ed. 6 + 2AP) 2015 inkjet print on cotton paper 32” x 40”
Fred Ploeger (b. USA, lives and works in France)
Bassac is a medieval French village set in the midst of the Charente River vineyards. Living here I find myself surrounded by an inexhaustible source of visual stimulation. At the heart of it is an 11th century Abbaye that has known periods of sustained prosperity and periods of utter destruction, the remnants of which are left upon her walls. As a contemporary American artist whose primary focus has been in non-objective abstraction, I found it necessary to employ a classical drawing technique that would allow me to interpret this “old world” subject matter that surrounds me. Essentially I am drawing stone walls; vertical surfaces with recesses and protrusions: some with blocked-in windows and doors, others with major renovations to accommodate modern accessories that make it difficult to date the original structure. The only things that remain from an earlier period are the stones themselves. Past configurations are lost to new uses. All in all it is a fascinating study in entropy. – Artist Statement
Stone Walls & Rothko 16118, Bassac 2016 oil pastel/paper 8.5” x 10.5”
Stone Walls & Rothko 16122, Bassac 2016 oil pastel/paper 12.5” x 16”
Stone Walls & Rothko 16097, Bassac 2016 oil pastel/paper 12.5” x 16”
Momilani Ramstrum (b. USA, lives and works in USA)
As an artist, Momilani uses intuition, inspiration, discipline and madness. In each painting, she strives for exquisite detail as well as movement through the piece as a whole. Her visual art is influenced by musical improvisation, with the interplay of lines creating dissonance and resolving into consonance. She creates many layered-textures, enlivened by contrasting sections, and varied forms. Her use of color is bold with entwined and distinctive, twists and complements. She draws inspiration from her photography of nature, the desert, trees and plants and the vibrant interplay of shape and light. Her visual images are created through a process of internal dialogue with the painting – she watches the play of colors and shapes, sometimes for hours. Layers are begun, and a painting allowed to form itself over weeks or months of reflection. As a composer and inventor, she holds a patent for her MIDI glove which she created to control the computer in realtime. She has a Ph.D. in electronic music and performs unique improvisations using voice interacting with a MIDI glove controlled computer. She performs and gives presentations at seminars, festivals and conferences in California, Hawaii, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan.
Seeds of Light 2016 Mixed media and watercolor 36” x 48”
Becky Robbins (b. USA, lives and works in USA)
Becky Robbins’ portraits offer a fresh and very present perspective on the individual subjects, created in the ancient method of encaustic painting. Robbins has traveled world-wide and her portraits – as an example of confluence - both emerge from, and embody, a foreign or exotic community-identity, while at the same time representing individuals from those communities. Becky Robbins has been reading about and studying art since she was a child. She immersed herself in learning encaustic and other painting techniques after a successful career in developing motivational and educational systems that helped thousands of people bring accomplishments into their lives.
Teach Peace 2015 36” x 36” fiberglass / encaustic limited edition
Jiela Rufeh (b. USA, lives and works in USA)
I first began experimenting to create a new dialogue with my photography by combining my pictures with unconventional materials such as canvases made of weathered wood, sheet metal scraps, plexiglass, etc., and playing with the ancient method of encaustic. The encaustic medium captured my interest with its sculpture‐like qualities that come from building up layers of wax, embedding various media, and conversely subtracting and distorting the wax to create another type of texture. This medium suddenly broadened my ability, allowing me to express myself on multiple levels and imbue my work with layered narratives. By merging the image with the encaustic, it allows me the “push and pull" of sculpting. Using it to bring focus to a space, or obscure a space, and to also literally scrape, carve, and mold the surface of the piece is a constantly dynamic process and brings the photograph back to a living, vibrant, organic state. Restraint becomes an important component in resolving the work; that neither the image nor the surface overpower the other. Through the repeated handling of the materials, the painting soon expresses the weathered feeling of the landscape and a hidden energy is revealed in my translation. – Artist Statement
Awaken 2016 encaustic, archival photo, and oils on wood panel 30" x 20"
What Can Be 2016 encaustic, archival photo, and oils on wood panel 30" x 20"
Deanne Sabeck (b. USA, lives and works in USA)
My light sculptures are created from pure light refracted into the brilliant colors of our physical world. Using dichroic glass, which divides the light spectrum, transmitting one color while reflecting its opposite, I create sculptural light paintings with forms and colors that continually evolve, appear and disappear in meditative patterns. – Artist Statement
Piccola Spirale Luminoso 2016 stainless steel, dichroic glass on stainless riser 6’ x 2’
Heliotrope III 2015 stainless steel, dichroic glass on rusted steel pedestal 7’ x 4’
Jee Yoon (b. Korea, lives and works in USA)
Jee Yoon is a contemporary self-taught artist born in Korea in 1977. She graduated from Ehwa Woman's University, majored in Fiber Art and continued her artistic education in the US. Upon graduation she worked two years as a soft furnishing designer. Since she moved to Miami, she began a new series of artworks trying to identify her multicultural identity in a unique style. She is comfortable working with Korean rice paper and silk thread in her art pieces. She strives to create harmony and balance within two different cultures through art. “My work begins from my observations of my "routine" in living a life, and pondering upon the meaning of "memory" drawn from my personal experiences. As I live in an environment quite different from my birth place, the Korean traditions that I have never paid attention to nor recognized have shown me different perspectives. The silk threads and rice paper that I used help re-create somewhat opposite images of fluid and abstract images that communicate numerous slices of life that all of us individually encounter daily. As these countless strands weave together as warp and weft to give birth to tapestry, our life and our history are being made as we bear with good grace the daily components of repetition and boredom. My work of touching each thread and each sheet of paper may represent the events and thoughts of my daily life as well as those of viewers. In conclusion, my art offers to myself and viewers the important values of process of life not the results. This is done through repeated usage of materials in the objects d'art. My hope is that those who experience my work receive inspiration to look around and examine their own lives.” – Artist Statement
Myself 2012 mixed media 26” x 38”
The Moon Far, But Close 2014 mixed media 16.75” x 16.75”
The Moon Far, But Close 2014 mixed media 16.75” x 16.75”
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