| Artistic vision, bold imagination and staying power are all necessary for the participating California artists who undertook an intense journey this summer to create 50 small artworks over 50 days for the SF Bay Area's favorite art extravaganza: The 50|50 Show! Featuring over 50 talented California artists and an astonishing +2,500 original artworks, this year will again be a destination for art lovers. Each artist was challenged to create the 50 small works — all in a 6" x 6" format. The result? The galleries are transformed into a vibrant mosaic of styles, themes, and mediums.
Mark your calendars! The only chance to see all +2,500 artworks in their entirety is during the Opening Benefit Fundraiser on Fri, Sept 5 and Sat, Sept 6. It's an exciting immersive experience that celebrates both artistic process and connection. So whether you're a longtime supporter or a first-time visitor, come and see why the 50|50 Show is considered the most wonderful time of the year for art! Tickets are available now on Eventbrite.com — and they regularly sell out! Each ticket lets you choose your preferred date and timed entry interval. Be sure to grab your tickets now.
The opening fundraiser also offers live music, time to speak with artists about their work, beverages for a small donation, lite snacks, and the opportunity to purchase your favorite pieces. The astounding array of original art, along with the affordability of the small format, makes the 50|50 Show the most highly anticipated exhibition of the year! (Note: All works stay on the wall during the opening, and can either be picked up or shipped to buyers for a small fee as of the week of Sept 8.) Tickets are limited and none will be available at the door, so get yours early on Eventbrite.com.
Melissa Kreisa and Rose Sellery were the shows very first juror duo. With eyes for engaging work and making connection, the co-directors of M. K. Contemporary Art in Santa Cruz dove into the 185 entries to create the show. The Call for Entry for the show requires artists to develop an overall theme that will absorb their artist practice over 50 days. Viewing the bountiful array of proposed work, Kreisa and Sellery emerged with an intertwined mix of themes, mediums and processes, developing a show highlighting how creative boundaries are pushed, with surprises awaiting throughout the Center.
Recollections of place and expression of emotions are strong themes in the show. Grounding oneself through nature and studies of light and water, mingle with explorations of people through portraiture. Concern for the planet and current events also thread their way through the exhibition. Laura Engdahl, Portola Valley,"Marked Departures: Emotional Cartography in Encaustic Wax Using Boarding Passes" — is created in mixed media and inspired by the ethereal nature of time and the idea of growth and expansion. Working in oil on paper, Victoria Veedell, San Francisco, has documented her early morning routine walking along the Bay Areas's coastal edge, observing subtle shifts in light. Sarah Travis Buck, Sacramento, worked in oil for her series, "Exploring Abstraction in Landscape to Convey Emotion and Mood". Susan Friedman, Pescadero, offers the opportunity to reflect and find refuge with "Spirit Houses", developed through printmaking and collage. A palette knife and oil provided Robert Dvorak, Pacifica, with a means to explore the raw, unspoken language of human emotion through abstract forms in "An Unspoken Language of Human Emotion in Spontaneous Oil Color". Working with metal leaf on etched steel, Robin Denevan, Pacifica, presents "Pacifica Reliefs, Musings on Pacifica and the Sea", while John Whitemarsh, San Anselmo has developed "Psychedelic Portals Evoke Alternate Modes of Consciousness", working with patinated copper, to evoke the intricate patterns of a human iris. Maria Go, Pasadena, documents through simple, graphic and sometimes mysterious photography the joy and awe that she feels in nature, in "Thirsty for Nature | Nature Quenches Thirst". An entrancing mix of mediums offer inspiration through an homage to avians by several artists including: San Francisco's Jen Norris' torn paper collages "Bay Birds and Gardens' Bounty"; Frances Williams, San Rafael, "Small Jewels, Bird Portraits", that layers copies of individually hand colored prints on delicate Japanese rice paper onto panels, and sealed with varnish and cold was and additional final color; and Margaret Norman, Berkeley, celebrating "The Fifty States Birds" with whistles, created in clay.
Can't make the opening? Don't worry! After the opening fundraiser, Sanchez Art Center will welcome visitors at no charge on Sunday, Sept 7, 1–5 pm, and thereafter galleries are open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 1–5 pm, through Oct 5. Beginning on Sunday, Sept 7, art buyers get to immediately take purchases home with them. Art enthusiasts often visit multiple times to take it all in, and return again and again.
Proceeds from the annual 50|50 Show support Sanchez Art Center's programs that, for nearly 30 years, have created community through art. Special thanks to exhibition sponsors: Art Guild of Pacifica and Shelldance Orchid Garden.
Since its colorful beginnings in 2009, the 50|50 Show has showcased more than 51,000 original works by over 985 artists — offering collectors and casual art lovers alike a unique opportunity to discover accessible, affordable art. It's an exciting immersive experience that celebrates both artistic process and community connection. So whether you're a longtime supporter or a first-time visitor, come and see why the 50|50 Show is considered the most wonderful time of the year for art!
Don't miss this inspiring celebration of art and artists! Order your ticket to the Opening Fundraiser at Eventbrite.com. Sanchez Art Center is located at 1220 Linda Mar Blvd in Pacifica, about a mile east of Highway 1. After the opening fundraiser, gallery hours are Fri, Sat, Sun, 1 – 5 pm or by prior appointment during the week. For more information: info@SanchezArtCenter.org.
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