Five Years: Anniversary Exhibition

FIVE YEARS SCAA’s 5th Anniversary Exhibition Catalogue

Introduction Five Years: Anniversary Exhibition celebrates Sergott Contemporary Art Alliance’s fifth year in operation. To commemorate this occasion, the exhibition features a selection of new works by sixteen artists who have exhibited at SCAA over the years.

The aim of an exhibition of this scope is to highlight and celebrate the work of local, Southern California and Tijuana artists, which has been at the center of SCAA’s mandate for the past five years. Works consist of a wide variety of media including acrylic and oil painting, encaustic, sculpture, and glass works. The exhibition also features a dance and theatrical performance by Amigos Del Rep, a volunteer Council that promotes Chicano-Latino/Hispanic themed plays, music, educational and social events in conjunction with the San Diego Repertory Theatre.

SCAA is grateful to San Diego and its neighboring arts communities and looks forward to many more years of successful programming, events, and exhibitions to come. In the words of Director and Founder, Tom Sergott, “It has been an honor to represent these artists and as we commemorate our fifth year, I look forward to our continued growth and collaboration together."

Five Years: Anniversary Exhibition was presented at Sergott Contemporary Art Alliance from September 9 to November 9, 2016. Charitable contributions were made to the Synergy Arts Network from sales at the opening presentation.

List of Artists Dia Bassett Erin Dace Behling Joseph Caroff De La Torre Brothers Jeanne Dunn Emily Halpern Beliz Iristay Robert Michael Jones Jeffrey Laudenslager Echo Lew Marco Miranda Fred Ploeger Heidi Rufeh Jiela Rufeh Deanne Sabeck Jee Yoon

Dia Bassett 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”

Erin Dace Behling In her work, Erin Behling explores various mediums such as wood, fiberglass, plastic, concrete, foam, asphalt shingles, carpet and fibers, while striving to arrange a setting where they are able to cohesively exist. She enjoys working with mundane materials in order to present the familiar in unfamiliar ways, soliciting the viewers to reconsider the role of objects and materials within their environment and to see the banal presented otherwise.

Tufted 2012 concrete, baltic birch plywood 18" x 36" x 14" Â

Interpolation II 2015 fiberglass, acrylic glass 21� x 23" x 21"

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Joseph Caroff 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 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

The Conversationalist 2016 blown glass, cast resin with inclusions 11.5” x 8.5” x 14”

A donde vas Corazon? (Dear heart, where goeth thou?) 2012 blown glass, cast resin with inclusions 15" x 15" x 24”

East Block 2016 Lenticular print (edition of 6 commissioned by the University of Notre Dame) 52" x 40"

Jeanne Dunn Tangle Trees Series: Nature has lured me to the uncertain and the ominous. Anticipation, dogged persistence, foreboding, bewilderment, and discovery are all present in a journey over a twisting, seldom-used road. This series began when I took an unfamiliar shrouded path to a distant village while visiting a foreign place. The serpentine passage suggested a dark mystery, simultaneously pulling me forward and holding me back. The surprises in that secluded quest resulted in my desire to make paintings that could point to such places and experiences and conjure up a parallel intensity. – Artist Statement

Garden of Delights 2015 oil on canvas 36� x 36�

Emily Halpern 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

Trigger Warning 2016 oil on canvas, 48" x 48"

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Beliz Iristay 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.

El Belis/ Luggage 2016 Mexican hand made, fired brick 12"x 6"x 2.5"

Robert Michael Jones My process of hands on material exploration of form drives my practice which I use to investigate philosophical belief, social behavior, and conceptions of time and reality. Narrative and historical context helps ground my work and give the viewer reference points from which to enter my mental space. In a rapidly changing world I find much of the human activity to be short sited and conformist and seek to challenge ideas of normalcy and tradition. – Artist Statement

Ride or Die 2015 bronze, stainless steel, concrete 72” x 30” x 72”

Jeffery Laudenslager 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 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 12” x 34”

Marco Miranda 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”

Fred Ploeger 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”

Stone Walls and Rothko 16141, Bassac 2016 oil pastel/paper 8.5” x 10.5”

Three Windows: Abbaye de Bassac 2014 graphite/paper 34” x 23.5”

Heidi Rufeh My abstract paintings reflect my intensely personal feelings to my surroundings, where I freely give expression to dreams and my inner self. Vibrant color compositions allude to pictorial events that evoke a contemplative mood and invite the viewer to enter into the world of my imagination. The textures created with the encaustic medium in combination with collage elements, give voice to suggestive drama and mystery. – Artist Statement

Ascending 2016 acrylic and oil 30” x 40”

Jiela Rufeh 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 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

Sanctuaire de la Jalousie 2013 aluminum, glass, dichroic mosaic and light 24” x 30" x 4”

Jee Yoon 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 an 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. Her art work is 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

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”

Myself 2012 mixed media 26” x 38”

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