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Movers & Shakers:
Who’s Who in the San Diego Visual Arts World

Local Artists Portray Local VIPs

Visit the Movers and Shakers website for Artists and Movers and Shakers biographies as well as VIP views of their visions for the future of the visual arts in San Diego in Part One and Part Two of this project. The website is sponsored by SDVAG. We are deligted to add an educational component to this project. View info our LipSticks, a fun project for kids of all ages, our student portrait on display in Movers and Shakers 2 exhibition at Art Expressions Gallery and a portrait painting project at SDAD.

Movers & Shakers 2: Who’s Who in the San Diego Visual Arts World
Reception, Thursday Jan 21, 2010from 6:30 to 8:30
Show continues until Saturday, Feb 6, 2010
Art Expressions Gallery: 2645 Financial Court, Suite C, SD, 92117 Link for map to gallery
Exhibition hours: Monday - Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-5pm
Info: Patricia Frischer 760.943.0148 or Patricia Smith 858.270.7577
Photos of the event by Sidney Wildesmith, Rosemary KimBal, Charles Bronson and Fritzie Urquhart and Alex Berkowitz can be seen on the Movers and Shakers/SDVAG site.
Movers and Shakers opening reception video
by Art Rocks247 Team
LIPSTICK video by Steve Lillegren

List of Artists with Movers and Shakers 2

James Aitchison - Anita Edman, Director, Solana Beach City Hall Gallery
Joseph Bennett - Irène de Watteville , Board member Synergy Arts Foundation and Tile Heritage Organization
Nancy Bergmann - Carolyn S. Mickelson, Chair of the City of Oceanside Arts Commission, Vice-President of Oceanside Museum of Art, President, Creative Designs, Inc.
Jenifer Broomberg- Ian Ashley
Alberto Caro - Ernest Silva Professor of Visual Art, University of CA, San Diego
Ashley Blalock - Carol McCusker, Ph.D., Curator of Photography, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego
Alberto Caro - Ernest Silva, Professor of Visual Arts, UCSD
Josue Castro - Deborah Klochko , Director, Museum of Photographic Arts
Petyr Cirino - Mollie Kellogg , Coordinator, UU Art Guild and Bard Hall Gallery
Renee Corwin - Dottie Stanley, President, Patrons of the Prado
Marianela de la Hoz - Pierrette Van Cleve, Director, Van Cleve Fine Art
Mireille des Rosiers - Sharon L. Gorevitz, Producer, Talmadge Art Show and Corporate Development Executive, KPBS, Steven Nossan, Director, Front Porch Gallery and Creative Director, Studio Masern Claire Slattery Vice Chair, Board of Directors, San Diego Art Institute
Ellen Dieter - Andrea Chamberlin, San Diego Art Department, Tim Field, President & CEO, San Diego Art Institute, Kerstin M. Robers, Director of Admin, San Diego Art Institute
Max Dolberg - Jerry Waddle, Ducky Waddle's Emporium
Shahla Dorafshan - Andrea Chamberlin, San Diego Art Department, Tim Field, President & CEO, San Diego Art Institute, Kerstin M. Robers, Director of Admin, San Diego Art Institute
Renee Bonorand Fleming - Ron Jessee, Visual Arts Coordinator, Region 9 VAPA Lead, San Diego County Office of Education
Will Gibson - Abraham P. Ordover, Owner The Ordover Galleries, Solana Beach/SD Natural History Museum
Vero Glezqui - Rachel Teagle, Executive Director of The New Children’s Museum
Brian Goeltzenleuchter - Teri Sowell , Director of Exhibitions and Collections, Oceanside Museum of Art
Michael C. Gross James Skip Pahl - Director, Oceanside Museum of Art
José Alfredo Gutierrez Jimenez Julio Rodríguez Ramos and Cecilia Ochoa V. Co-Director, Entijuanarte
Michèle Guieu - Lynn Susholtz, Owner, Stone Paper Scissors and Art Produce Gallery
Becky Guttin - Ron Newby , Curator, The Bronowski Art & Science Forum
Norma Brown Hill - Erika Torri, J oan & Irwin Jacobs Executive Director of the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
Georgia Hoopes - Robert C. Wright, Founding Member Wright & L’Estrange
Suda House - Jennifer Spencer
Jeffery Laudenslager - Patricia Frischer, coordinator, San Diego Visual Arts Network
Ron Lemen - Sebastian Capella, Master teacher
Vanessa Lemen - Jim Gilliam,
Arts Administrator, City of Encinitas
Mary-Margaret - Paul Vauchelet
Kelly Mellos - Debra Turner-Emerson, MBA, Executive Director, St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center
Richard Allen Messenger - Andrea Chamberlin, San Diego Art Department, Tim Field, President & CEO, San Diego Art Institute , Kerstin M. Robers, Director of Admin, San Diego Art Institute
Irina Negulescu - Sandi Cottrell, Managing Director of Mission Federal ArtWalk and Art Walk on the Bay
Herb Olds - Mark-Elliott Lugo,
Library Curator, San Diego Public Library/Visual Arts Program
Stathis Orphanos - Charles Bronson, Vista Art Foundation
Julio Orozco - Luis and Gerda Ituarte, Consejo Fronterizo de Arte y Cultura (COFAC)/Border Council of Arts and Culture
Tony Peters - Patti and Coop Cooprider, art collectors and advocates
Lee Puffer - Karen McGuire, Curator of Exhibitions, City of Carlsbad’s William D. Cannon Art Gallery
Deanne Sabeck - Ted Washington, Pruitt Igoe and Puna Press
Cheryl Sorg - Angela Carone, Arts and Culture Producer at KPBS
Jennifer Spencer -Suda House
Dottie Stanley - Vicky DeLong , Executive Director Bonita Museum & Cultural Center
Michael Steirnagle - Joanna Bigfeather
Kim Treffinger - Gerrit Greve, Arts for Healing and Board Member, Synergy Art Foundation
Fritzie Urquhart - Joni Miringoff , Co-Founder of ArtSplash
Brian Weisz - Kathy Rubesha, Board Chairperson, California Center for the Arts Escondido
NC Winters - Melissa Inez Walker, Director, Distinction Gallery and Artist Studios

THANK YOU - This project would not be possible without the collaboration and enthusiasm of all of the artists and VIPs involved. Our special thanks goes to the Movers and Shakers committee for 2009/2010: Mireille des Rosiers, Kelly Mellos, Rosemary KimBal, Dennis Batt , Patty Smith. and Patricia Frischer . We also wish to thank all those who volunteered to help produce the opening reception at Art Expressions Gallery including Debbie Linn, Mary Ann Sutherland, Nicole Stephanson, Ellen Dieter, Donna Butnik, Deborah Francis, Carol Graber, Carol Beth Rodriguez, Tania Alcala, Silvia Valentino Karabashlieva, Jeffrey Brosbe, Cheryl Einsele, Denise Bonaimo, Sandra Chanis, Susan Berkowitz, Isabel Escalle, Lori Lipsman, Michael Bayless, Kaarin Vaughn, Mel Choy, Basil Hernandez, Naomi Nussbaum, Irene de Watteville, Sidney Wildesmith and Kazmiar Maslanka. We are grateful to Steven Nossan, Director, Front Porch Gallery and Creative Director, Studio Masern for providing a selection of music for the evening. Darwin Slindee makes this project possible with his contintued patience and help.

For their coverage of the event in audio, photo, and video our appreciation goes to Fritzie Urquhart, Alex Berkowitz, Steve Lillegren, Alexandra Rosa, Lu Magdaleno, Philly Joe Swendoza of ArtRocks!247 Internet radio and Video, and to Julio Rodriguiz and Frontera.

Special thanks to Laura Purdom and Debra Turner Emmerson from St. Madeleine Sophie's Center for contributions of food for our opening reception. Through St. Madeleine Sophie's Center, we received a special donation from Grove Pastry Shop in Lemon Grove for the tipsy cake. Annamarie Marcini created our special lip sheet cake.

Educational Components of Movers and Shakers 2

We are pleased to announce that the Movers and Shakers project of the San Diego Visual Arts Network has been recognized for excellence by the California State Legislature and District 77 Assemblymember Joel Anderson with a certificate in honor of outstanding service presented at the opening of the Movers and Shakers 2.

Nina Zhu’s portrait Women with Red Hair was chosen from a selection juried by SDVAN for special recognition at the Movers and Shakers 2. Nina Zhu is a 16 year old 11th grader at US ARTS Education Center. Her teacher for this portrait project was Fred Xu. The center offer offers enrichment programs in fine art for kids age from 4-18 year old. They believe strongly in their goals to encourage artistic creativity in youth, provide professional training to help develop talent, enhance problem-solving and
critical thinking skills and increase appreciation for arts. The school was founded by Jianmin
and Jianxin Zhao with emphasis on a combination of Chinese and Western teaching styles
and methods and is recognized by the California Department of Education.

LIPSTICKS - These laughter provoking, moving mouth puppets can be made using photos, drawings, paintings or even cut from your favorite magazine. The can serve as attention getters and conversation starters at a variety of events. Use them for vaudeville performances to deliver one liners or just to help your students or children become involved in the arts. Instructions are linked for the simple or more deluxe version. Creative kudos to Lynne Jennings of the SD Guild of Puppetry for the invention and lesson plans of the LipSticks. Please open this PDF for instructions for making LipSticks with your students, your kids or for yourself. THANKS to Steve Lillegren for producing this wonderful video which features the LipSticks at the reception.

Sean Sullivan Portrait Workshop - San Diego Visual Arts Network and the Movers and Shakers 2 exhibition are delighted to support a special Portrait Painting in Oils Intensive 2 day workshop taught by Sean Sullivan at the San Diego Art Department. This course covers Intensive Glazing Techniques & the Secret to the Seductive Glow. Sat, Feb. 20th from 11am – 2pm & Sat, Feb 27th from 11am – 3pm. To register Andrea Chamberlain 619.299.4278. The San Diego Art Department (SDAD) a s a program of The San Diego Art Institute ; Museum of the Living Artists, offers art classes, workshops, studio space for rent, and gallery space for monthly exhibitions. The mission of SDAD is to establish itself as a sacred place that encourages the creativity of artists of all ages and stimulates the ongoing flow of ideas and expression. SDAD offers painting classes in oil, watercolor, acrylics, from portraits to still life, plein air to abstract. Also in the curriculum are classes in drawing, mosaics, stained glass, silk painting, and jewelry making.

Movers & Shakers: (plural noun) very important, influential or innovative San Diegans in the visual arts community.

Mission: To recognize the people who make the San Diego art world spin through an online and gallery exhibition of portraits by San Diego regional artists.

Goals

  • Educate the public about the efforts of the San Diego “Movers & Shakers” and their tremendous impact on the health of the art community
  • Foster relationships between the “Movers & Shakers” and San Diego artists
  • Promote San Diego regional artists and the art of portraiture through the Art Expressions Gallery, SDVAN and SD Visual Artists Guild
  • Foster awareness of San Diego Visual Arts Network and the roles we take in nurturing collaborations and creating artist recognition
  • Encourage Art Collecting and Connoisseurship

Description: Unyielding enthusiasm, imagination, dedication and an intense love of art, drives the individuals who shape the art community in San Diego County. Artists, art collectors, students, teachers and the community at large all benefit from the extraordinary efforts of those who help put the San Diego cultural scene on the map. Movers and Shakers: Who’s Who in the San Diego Visual Arts World will celebrate these influential people through a collection of their portraits.

Past Events

Movers and Shakers at the L-Street Gallery
San Diego Visual Arts Network, SanDiegoArtist.com, L Street Gallery at the Omni Hotel
Who Do You Love? - Movers & Shakers: Who’s Who in the San Diego Visual Arts World
Local Artists Portray Local VIPs

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 - Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Presented by
San Diego Visual Arts Network , SanDiegoArtist.com, and
L Street Gallery at the Omni Hotel

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 22nd 8-9 pm
at
L-Street Fine Art Gallery
at the Omni Hotel “ San Diego’s Hotel of the Visual Arts”
628 L Street , San Diego , Ca 92101
Ann Berchtold selects works from the Art Expressions Gallery exhibition.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays 1 to 5 p.m.
Info:
Patricia Frischer 760.943.0148 or Ann Berchtold 858.254.3031

View the information document with images of all ten artist Movers and Shakers at L-Street

Patricia Bean - Constance White (Art Program Manager, Public Community & Customer Relations Dept, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority)
Dan Camp - Jonathan Segal (Jonathan Segal FAIA & Development Company)
Alida Cervantes - Jean Lowe (Installation artist, lecturer at UCSD)
Mireille des Rosiers - Felicia Shaw (Director Arts and Culture, The San Diego Foundation)
Raymond Ellstad - Mary-Catherine Ferguson (Museum Director, California Center for the Arts, Escondido)
Gerrit Greve - Derrick Cartwright, (The Maruja Baldwin Director, San Diego Museum of Art) and Vas Prabhu (Deputy Director for Education and Interpretation , SDMA)
Raul Guerrero - Larry Poteet (lawyer, SDAI board member, art collector and Debra Poteet collector and both honorary VIP hosts for SD Art Prize)
Pamela Jaeger - Robert Pincus (Art Critic and Books Editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune and Sign-On San Diego)
Philipp Scholz Rittermann - Mary Beebe (Director, Stuart Collection , University of California)
Jeff Yeomans - Hugh Davies (The David C. Copley Director, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego)

San Diego Visual Arts Network and Art Expressions Gallery presented
Movers & Shakers: Who’s Who in the San Diego Visual Arts World


Sept 5 to Oct 4, 2008
Collectors Cocktails, How to Commission Art Thursday, September 25, 6 to 8 pm - $15
with special guest Ellen Phelan, Art activist, educator, and noted contemporary art collector and Charlotte S. Jensen , FASID - Please RSVP to Patricia Smith 858.270.7577 for this event
Art Expressions Gallery : 2645 Financial Court, Suite C, SD, 92117 Link for map to gallery
Exhibition hours: Monday - Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-5pm
Info: Patricia Frischer 760.943.0148 or Patricia Smith 858.270.7577
Special note: a percentage of sales from Art Expressions Gallery exhibition and seminar  will be made as a donation to the non-profits: San Diego Visual Arts Network and ArtsBusXpress

From Sept 5 to Oct 4, 2008, invited artists exhibited portraits that were featured at Art Expressions Gallery. To celebrate the opening, a reception was held on Friday, Sept 5 from 7 to 9 pm to honor the Movers and Shakers, as well as the artists who created their portraits. An educational event Collectors Cocktails: How to Commission Art took place on Sept 25, 2008. San Diego Visual Art Network will be showcasing portraits in an online gallery with linked images produced by San Diego Visual Artists Guild


Id, Ego and Superego An introduction to the portraits in this exhibition
SD Flash Forward: Movers and Shakers Speak Out A summary of the visions for San Diego Futures by Movers and Shakers in this exhibition by Patricia Frischer and Kevin Freitas

Artists and Movers and Shakers involved in this exhibition were invited to participate by the Movers and Shakers committee:

Patricia Bean - Constance White (Art Program Manager, Public Community & Customer Relations Dept, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority)
Denise Bonaimo - Arline Fisch (Artist/Jeweler/ Author/ Professor of Art Emerita SDSU)
Stuart Burton - Doug Simay (Simayspace Gallery at Co-founder, The Art Academy of San Diego)
Dan Camp - Jonathan Segal (Jonathan Segal FAIA & Development Company)
Alida Cervantes - Jean Lowe (Installation artist, lecturer at UCSD)
Becky Cohen – Ellen Phelan (Art activist, educator, and noted contemporary art collector)
Cynthia Colis – Liz Edwards (Founder and Director of LetsPlayDowntown)
Isaias Crow (Crol) – Naimeh Tahna (Vice President of Network Development and Operations, Satori World Medical, Inc. and founder of Studio Vivace)
Kevin M. Connors - Victoria Hamilton (Executive Director of the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture)
Mireille des Rosiers - Felicia Shaw (Director Arts and Culture, The San Diego Foundation)
Irène de Watteville - Zandra Rhodes (International Fashion Icon)
Raymond Ellstad - Mary-Catherine Ferguson (Museum Director, California Center for the Arts, Escondido)
Mary Fleener – Gustaf Rooth (Planet Rooth , founder Ray at Night)
Dave Ghilarducci & Cindy Bis-Sevon – Laurie Brindle, Laura Groch, Pam Kragen, and Gary Warth
(North County Times staffers)
Gerrit Greve - Derrick Cartwright, (The Maruja Baldwin Director, San Diego Museum of Art) and Vas Prabhu (Deputy Director for Education and Interpretation , SDMA)
Raul Guerrero - Larry Poteet (lawyer, SDAI board member, art collector and Debra Poteet collector and both honorary VIP hosts for SD Art Prize)
Pamela Jaeger - Robert Pincus (Art Critic and Books Editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune and Sign-On San Diego)
MOFO - Matt D’Arrigo (Founder/Executive Director, Pat D’Arrigo ARTS (Art, a Reason to Survive) Center)
Aaron Rix - April Game (CEO, San Diego Fine Art Society)
Gail Roberts - Tina Yapelli (Professor and Director, University Art Gallery , San Diego State University)
Lisa Roche - Ann Berchtold (Gallery Director, L Street Gallery Art Gallery, Program Director, San Diego Art Prize)
Jamie Roxx - Philly Joe Swendoza (Chanter of Personality ArtRocks! Internet radio ) and Alexandra Rosa ( Co-Producer ArtRocks! Internet radio and SDVAN RAW Columnist)
Philipp Scholz Rittermann - Mary Beebe (Director, Stuart Collection , University of California)
Lisa Smith - Mario Torero (artivist , Barrio Logan /East Village Art Association) and Steven Churchill, producer, The Art of Photography Show, The Art of Digital Show
Stacy Smith - Patricia Smith (Art Expressions Gallery , ArtsBusXpress)
Doug Snider and Chris Brown – Nate and Ralyn Wolfstein (Wolfstein Sculpture Park , Scripps Hospitals)
Cheryl Tall - Sandra Chanis (Carlsbad Outdoor Arts Foundation, President, Board of Trustee, Oceanside Museum of Art)
Mario Torero – Naomi Nussbaum (Director, Synergy Arts Foundation and the BL/EV Project )
Jen Trute - Dennis Paul Batt (Museum Artists Foundation, San Diego Visual Artists Guild)
Sidney Wildesmith - Catherine Sass (Public Art Director, Port Of San Diego )
Jeff Yeomans - Hugh Davies (The David C. Copley Director, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego)
Yuransky – Kevin Freitas (Art As Authority)

San Diego Visual Arts Network: SDVAN is a database of information produced to improve the clarity, accuracy and sophistication of discourse about San Diego's artistic and cultural life and is dedicated to the idea that the Visual Arts are a vital part of the health of our city. SDVAN hosts a free interactive directory and an events calendar covering all San Diego regions including Baja Norte with an opportunity section, gossip column and the SmART Collector feature to help take the mystery out of buying art. SDVAN is the proud non-profit sponsor of the SD Art Prize. This is the only site designed exclusively for the SAN DIEGO region and the VISUAL ARTS and is one of the most technically advanced sites of this kind in the country.

Art Expressions Gallery : Art Expressions Gallery provides personalized service to both residential and corporate clients. The gallery features a vast selection of both traditional and contemporary art in a variety of media, as well as an extensive inventory of fine art photography. Art Expressions Gallery also offers on-site art and framing design consultation and art locating services with worldwide resources for the serious collector. Under the stewardship of Patricia Smith, who founded the gallery in 1984, Art Expressions Gallery represents emerging American artists who share a mastery of their medium. Patricia Smith established ArtsBusXpress, a program that offers all school children in San Diego County free transportation to the arts.   To date, this nonprofit has provided rides to over 135,000 children.

San Diego Visual Artists Guild: SDVAG became an online representative for artists in the San Diego/Baja Norte region in Jan. of 2004. It evolved from the original San Diego Art Guild founded in 1915. It features images of well over 300 artists and links to hundreds of websites of the participating artists, museums, and art resources throughout the region. Also on the site is a comprehensive history of the Guild from 1910-1999.

The Movers and Shakers 2008 committee is composed of the following who are giving of their times as volunteers to make this project successful: Patricia Smith, Debbie Linn, Denise Bonaimo, Mireille Des Rosiers, Dennis Paul Batt, Rosemary KimBal, Kaarin Vaughn and Patricia Frischer.

Movers and Shakers Masked and Unmasked is a selection of photos by Julio Rodriguez who is the organizer of Entijuanarte08 (held Sat/Sun 4/5 Oct at Centro Cultural Tijuana). Our thanks to him for all the wonderful photos he took at the opening celebration of this exhibition. You can see all those picture on the Movers and Shakers web site on the programs page.. We found Mr. Rodriguez through the International Institute of Photographic Arts. Great thanks to Lorena Giddens for making that connection for us for this volunteer effort. Your can also see photos by Cong Nguyen who is another vastly talented photographer who generously volunteered his talents for this worthy cause.

Our thanks to Apollonia (La Jolla) Costa Verde Shopping Center, 8650 Genesee Avenue,#106 SD Diego, 92122 for their generous support of food for our opening reception 858.455.1535

For More information: patricia@SDVisualArts.net 760 943 0148

Press links:
PRESS RELEASE Par 2, 2010
PRESS RELEASE Part 1, 2008 - Listen to the ArtRocks! Interview
Id, Ego and Superego An introduction to the portraits in this exhibition
SD Flash Forward: Movers and Shakers Speak Out A summary of the visions for San Diego Futures by Movers and Shakers in this exhibition by Patricia Frischer and Kevin Freitas
Movers and Shakers 2 - Introduction to the second exhibition and a description of leadership qualities in the arts.
Movers and Shakers 2: Whos Who in SD Visual Arts - Foreward by David Lewison
Movers and Shakers 2 -
Dreams and Visions of our elite
Del Mar Times
ArtSlant (New York)
CityFeedsSan Diego

Art as Authority
ArtRocks! Interview
City Beat
UCSD Visual Arts"
Essentials, Union Tribune
David White, owner/director of the Agitprop Gallery in North Park, speaks out through Art as Authority
David Lewison
, Movers and Shakers Part Two, 2009
Frontera Interview of Patricia Frischer by Cecilia Ochoa and Julio Rodríguez, entijuanarte 2010 - We are delighted to present the Spanish version of this interview
Art Rock! Internet Radio Interview of Patricia Frischer by Philly Joe Swendoza, Jan 13, 2010
Editor's Pick SignOn San Diego, Jan, 2010
When.com, Jan 2010
NBC San Diego, Jan 2010
Art As Authority, Jan 2010
Angela Carone's blog on KPBS, Jan 2010
Photos of the reception by Sidney Wildesmith, Rosemary KimBal, Charles Bronson and Fritzie Urquhart. can be seen on the Movers and Shakers/SDVAG site. Jan 21. 2010
Movers and Shakers opening reception video by Art Rocks247 Team, Jan 21, 2010
Louisa Garcia: Movers and Shakers:Who's Who in SD Visual Arts, Jan 26. 2010
LIPSTICK video by Steve Lillegren
Baudelaire review on his blog, Feb 3, 2010

Movers and Shakers: Who’s Who in the Visual Arts in San Diego
by Patricia Frischer, coordinator of SDVAN

The original idea for a portrait exhibition came from Julia Gill when a general request went out for projects to increase the awareness of the San Diego Visual Arts Network once we had over 1000 resources listed on the site. We wanted to celebrate this benchmark, create an exciting project that would continue to involve the visual arts community and at the same time reach out to the general population of the San Diego region. On a trip to London in Jan-Feb of 2006, I was able to see the major retrospective of William Hogarth at the Royal Academy of Art and this encouraged me to take the idea further and include all art forms. Hogarth portraits are documents of life in London in Georgian times that ring with life and still capture our interest to this day.

The exhibition we are sponsoring could have been self-portraits of artists or portraits of artists in their studios or portraits of artist’s models or even portraits of animals or border guards or any number of subjects. All are of interest, but we decided on Movers and Shakers because we are interested in capturing a period in San Diego’s artistic life. Working with Denise Bonaimo to flesh out these ideas, we came up with a proposal for an exhibition at Art Expressions Gallery and an online gallery through the San Diego Visual Artists Guild. .

Mike Von Joel in his article Here’s Looking at Me, published in State of the Arts, says “(Portraits) have been the mainstay of visual art ever since that first scratch on rock.” In fact, we can see the whole history of art in portraits. In America’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington a law restricting portraits to those at least ten years dead was repealed in 2000 but we still have a long way to catch up to the National Portrait Gallery in London with it’s well supported yearly competition. Portraits of children are particularly absent in public collections perhaps due to the strict laws protecting them from pedophiles and pornography.

Portraits might not be considered to be the height of fashion now, but that is changing fast mainly because we have become a society not only fascinated by art and its economy but with self. Fortunes are spent to preserve a youthful body, especially i n Southern California, it is only natural to want to document that result.

Most good portraits are, in a way, portraits of the artist who create them. The best, express a feeling about the human condition and have exceptional clarity. They reflect not only the subject but also something of the time and place. They advance the scope of art. We want to see a physical resemblance but we also need the intellectual and emotional aspects of the subject’s personality revealed.

The show is not intended as a 'best of" survey. It is a sampling instead of many types of art honoring just a few of the VIPs in the art world. We hope this combination of Movers and Shakers with artists does not result in Matisse’s famous sentiment, “God preserve me from the model!” But instead will urge our artists to dig deep to show their best about some of our brightest supporters.

Visit the Movers and Shakers website for Artists and Movers and Shakers biographies as well as VIP views on highlights of the last year and their visions for the future of the visual arts in San Diego.