Sergott Contemporary Art 2017 Art Market San Francisco Catalogue
By working closely with local art organizations and community partners, our gallery, Sergott Contemporary Art Alliance, fully embraces the idea of an artistic community and seeks to showcase local artists to a global audience. Since our founding, we maintain a growing supportive and philanthropic role in the greater San Diego Art Community and have hosted multiple community outreach programs outlined in our exhibition history. In 2016, we extended our alliance program by creating two new divisions that focus on multidisciplined mid-career to established artists and international photo-based artists. Our goal is to provide a format whereby our emerging artists have a platform for growth. Currently, SCAA maintains a full schedule of national Art Fairs where we have extended our connections to collectors, museums, foundations, and corporate collections. We are open by appointment only in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
Cover: Hung Viet Nguyen, Sacred Landscape II #12, 2016. Oil on canvas. 30� x 24�
Exhibiting Artists
Joe Caroff
……………………………………………………………………………….. p. 4
Stone Chen ……………………………………………………………………………….. p. 5
De La Torre Brothers …………………………………………………………………….. p. 6 – 7
Mauricio Garrido
Peggy Hinaekian
Echo Lew
………………………………………………………………………… p. 8 – 9
………………………………………………………………………. p. 10 – 11
………………………………………………………………………………… p. 12
Hung Viet Nguyen ………………………………………………………………………… p. 13
Jody Wiggins ………………………………………………………………………………. P. 14 – 15
Joe Caroff b. U.S.A.
“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, Director of the Ruth and Elmer Wlin Museum of Art
The Matron, 2005 mixed media 29” x 24.5” x 1.25” (framed)
Stone Chen
b. Taiwan, lives and works in the U.S.A.
Stone Chen is an active Taiwanese citizen, dedicated member of public service, and a culture enthusiast. Through his work, he has helped to integrate Taiwanese culture into the U.S. mainstream. As a child, Chen helped his family’s financial situation by selling paintings. Since then, he has displayed an adamant love of painting evident in his body of work. Chen graduated from the National Taiwan Normal University majoring in fine art, with a concentration in the Renaissance period. He also has teaching experience at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei. Most notably, his works were selected to show in the Tai-Yang Exhibition, a prestigious annual showcasing of Taiwanese artists at the forefront of their generation. After immigrating to the United States, Chen studied at the Pasadena Art Center, UCLA, Pomona College, and Southern Pacific University.
Balboa Park, 2011 acrylic 31” x 37”
De La Torre Brothers
b. Mexico, lives and works in both Mexico and the U.S.A.
“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. They are presently living and working on both sides of the border with studios in Ensenada, Mexico and San Diego, California. Jamex started flame-working glass in 1977, attended California State University at Long Beach, and received a BFA in Sculpture in 1983. Einar started work with glass in 1980, while also attending California State University at Long Beach. In the 1980s, they ran a flame-worked glass figure business while also developing their assemblage style of work. In the early 90s, they began working collaboratively as studio artists; later in the decade, they began work in installation art with participations in Biennales such as inSITE and Mercosul (Brazil). In the year 2000, the brothers began their work in public art; they now have six major projects completed. They have exhibited their work internationally, participating in exhibits in France, Japan, Canada, Germany, Venezuela, and Brazil, as well as the US and Mexico.” –Mindy Solomon Gallery
Wellness Mandala, 2017 Lenticular print, 16/20, aluminum frame, signed 23" x 23” x 1"
Dios lo ve Todo, 2010 Blown glass, mixed media 36" x 18” x 5"
Savanah Tudor, 2012 digital print, aluminum, resin castings 22" x 16� x 2"
St. Roch’s, 2012 digital print, aluminum, resin castings 16" x 22� x 2"
Mauricio Garrido Chile
The world of the visual artist Mauricio Garrido is surrealist, exuberant, complex and dark all at the same time. Garrido’s 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 collage 44” x 32.5”
Piazza del Mercato di Venezia, 2014 collage 8.7” x 13”
Day Light, 2015 collage 17.7” x 15.5”
Peggy Hinaekian U.S.A
Hinaekian is an internationally recognized artist whose works consist of a variety of mediums ranging from oils, acrylics, to collage, monotypes and etchings. Most notably, her etchings were distributed by Christie’s Contemporary Art, London, Edition de Francony, Nice, and Stuio Arco of Rome. Since then she has embraced abstract art and produced a great number of paintings on canvas along with collages on paper. She has exhibited extensively in Switzerland, France, England, Spain, Germany, Italy, Norway, Austria, Japan, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Canada, South Africa and the United States. Before pursuing art as a profession, Hinaekian was a fashion designer in Boston and Manhattan. As an artist, she is a multi-faceted creator with a deep interest in color—indeed, her hues can be seen as allusions to the natural wonders of the landscapes she has experienced during her worldwide travels. Hinaekian has a fascination with creative imagery and considers herself as a color field artist; she describes the nostalgic character of her work as atmospheric, poetic and quiet. She tries to breathe movement into her “abstract landscapes” (blue and earth colors) and “quiet collages” (where the dominant color is red, blue or black) to guide the viewer into the paintings and making them wander into a different reality.
Reflections in Red Desert, 2016 mixed media 22" x 22"
Green Windows, 2016 mixed media on paper mounted on wood 10" x 10"
Flying Away in Blue, 2017 acrylic 30" x 24"
Distant Memories, 2016 mixed media on paper mounted on wood 10" x 10"
Flying Away in Blue, 2017 acrylic 30" x 24"
Black Sands and Red Sky I, 2016 mixed media on paper mounted on wood 10" x 10"
Echo Lew U.S.A.
“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 ultra-contemporary medium with limitless potential. Art for me is an experimental adventure, a profound form of play.” – Artist Statement
Blue Dream, 2016 photography of moving lights, printed on Fine Art paper 38” x 24”
Hung Viet Nguyen
b. Vietnam, lives and works in U.S.A.
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 #5, 2016 Oil on canvas 12” x 12”
Sacred Landscape II #12, 2016 Oil on canvas 30” x 24”
Ancient Pine #16, 2016 Oil on canvas 12” x 12”
Jody Wiggins U.S.A.
“My world of Art has given me a life with deep valleys and huge plateaus. Often I uncover ideas and dreams never possible without the constant urge to attempt new avenues on paper, canvas and wood. The unknown world has given me a purpose to create; to explore and to deliver. I want to try new techniques and learn from what works and what doesn’t. The adventure of art is my gift to myself. Pablo Picasso said, ‘The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away!’ Life is as busy and complicated as I want to make it so I’ve decided to make the time and the effort to just paint. The more I paint; the more I learn. Some days are dreadful while others shower me with inner peace.” – Artist Statement
Hidden Figures A, 2017 Mixed media 12” x 12”
Hidden Figures B, 2017 Mixed media 12” x 12”
Epic Warrior, 2017 Mixed media 30” x 40”
P.O. Box #239 Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 (858) 756-2377 sergottart.com info@sergottart.com