| Sanchez Art Center is pleased to present the work of conceptual artist/sculptor James Shefik. The opening reception is on Friday, January 13, from 7 to 9 pm. Music for the reception will be provided by Vivacé, with Rob Hughes on flute and saxophone, and Alan Lee on keyboard.
James Shefik’s work
is thought-provoking, addressing the conflicting forces of political
power and individual inquiry. Shefik worked for many years as a
set designer, including painting sets for theater and for films
such as Milk. "I was always good with my hands and
good at drawing, but I never had much to say," claims the artist.
This has changed. Shefik now constructs sculptural pieces that capture
some of the more alarming aspects of life in the 21st century. In
this exhibition the artist manages to address the topics of global
warming and the resultant sea level rise (Waiting); violence
(GunPlay); and surveillance drones (I’ve still not
had enough of you). And that’s only three pieces! Shefik’s
show is curated by Susan Hillhouse Leask, and is, appropriately
enough, titled It Can Happen Here.
Shefik, whose work
won a first prize at Richmond Art Center in 2013 and who was awarded
a San Francisco Masterminds grant by SF Weekly in 2011, challenges
our assumptions even about the materials he uses. In pieces like
Waiting, what appear to be stock matchbox cars have actually
been painstakingly hand-painted. This kind of attention to detail
demands of the artist an almost meditative frame of mind. "Another
aspect of the laborious quality of each piece is a rebuttal to the
digital instant gratification, short-attention-span landscape that
pervades the early 21st century," says Shefik. "In general,"
he says, "much of my work deals with how easily swayed we are
and how fast we're moving (as a society), how we're losing things,
like things made by hand, and the ability to think and work in an
old analogue way."
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To learn more, come to the free Artist/Curator Talk
by James Shefik and Susan Hillhouse Leask
on closing Sunday, Feb 12, at 3:30 pm. |
Sanchez Art Center
is located at 1220 Linda Mar Blvd in Pacifica, about a mile east
of Highway 1. Following opening night, the galleries are open Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday, 1–5 pm, and by appointment, through Feb 12.
For more information, info@SanchezArtCenter.org
or call 650.355.1894.
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