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February 2, 2012 Open publication - Free
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SEPT. 15, 2010 - Doctoring Wood: Q&A with Dr. Gene Blickenstaff By: Mark Hiss Featured in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine, September 2010
Starting with a piece of specially imported Norfolk Island pine (a decorative tree allegedly introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by Capt. James Cook), Dr. Gene Blickenstaff begins a lengthy process of spinning a hung of tree trunk into a museum-quality objet d’art. His translucent, nearly glass-like bowls—lathe-turned and sanded up to 40 separate times to just an eighth of an inch in thickness—have been consistent award winners at the annual Design in Wood showcase at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. His work is also in the permanent collection of the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park, and is currently on view at Art Expressions Gallery. Dr. Blickenstaff, 74, is a clinical professor of radiology at UCSD Medical School, specializing in mammography and breast disease, and prior to that was in private practice for 30 years. He and his wife, Denise, have been La Jolla residents since 1968.
Q: What inspired you to create bowls, particularly using this unique wood?
A: My wife is a windsurfer and we were in Hawaii, oh, it’s gotta be 15 years ago, and I went to some galleries and I saw these bowls and I thought, oh my goodness, those are so beautiful; I can do that. Well, I met a guy over there—his name is Ron Kent—and he is the first person in the world to turn bowls out of Norfolk Island pine. I became good friends with him and he gave me a piece to bring home and I turned it and I thought, gosh, this is fun. I’ve turned 450 bowls so far and just kind of learned by experience.
Q: Aren’t doctors supposed to play golf?
A: Well, I play golf, too. I play at it; I am an average golfer. I built a shop on the back of my garage probably 20 years ago; I built furniture—grandfather clocks, bedroom furniture, whatever. And then I went to Hawaii and found these bowls and that’s all I’ve been doing lately. I flunked retirement about 12 years ago and I’m back working now. I’m a radiologist and I’m working half time at UCSD Medical School, which has been the pinnacle of my career because I teach these young people, the residents. It’s not a job, it’s a fun experience. When I signed up, I said I’ve never taught or been in an academic situation before and I’ll try it for a year; well it’s been 12 years.
Q: What skills or mindset does your artist/craftsman side share with your doctor/professor side?
A: I have always enjoyed working with my hands. When I was in private practice I did a lot of angiograms and radiologic studies (for which) I had to use my hands, and I guess my head a little bit. My dad was a shop teacher for a long time and he and I built things together when I was young—basketball goal posts and things like that. It may be an inherited sort of thing also.
Q: Did you ever feel like you had to make a choice between woodworking and medicine?
A: No. I would hate to make a living turning bowls. It’s an avocation, a hobby that I enjoy very much. My shop is my hideaway; I can do anything there. I can have a bad day at work and come out and do a little bit and forget about everything.
Q: What’s the distinction between craftsman and artist?
A: I had my bowls at the Mingei Museum and one of the questions that people asked was, “Are you an artist?” And I said, “No, I’m not an artist.” I am far from being and artist and I think I’m a craftsman more than an artist. I don’t like being called an artist. I don’t really like those kinds of words. I can remember that I used to go see my dad and he would introduce me to his friends as Dr. Blickenstaff. I said, “dad, don’t’ call me Dr. Blickenstaff to your friends; it’s Gene Blickenstaff.” I just have never liked those kinds of adjectives, I guess.
JULY 15, 2010 - Sharp Memorial Hospital Named #1 Most Beautiful Hospital in the U.S. AE Art Consultants Debbie Linn and Patty Smith were called upon to come up with art concepts, acquire and place art, and design custom framing for the state-of-the art facility, Sharp Memorial Hospital, located in Kearny Mesa (San Diego, CA). Recently, Sharp Memorial Hospital was named the "#1 Most Beautiful Hospital in the U.S." by Soliant Health. To read more about Sharp Memorial Hospital and the other Top 20 Most Beautiful Hospitals, click here.
JULY 12, 2010 - AE Represented Artists featured at Oceanside Museum of Art
Art Expressions Gallery Artists Robin Hall and Jeff Yeomans were featured at the Oceanside Museum of Art in an exhibition entitled "Impressions of Southern California," which ran from May 25 through July 11, 2010. Description from the Oceanside Museum of Art's website: "Impressions of southern California presents captivating views of San Diego and beyond from the illimitable coastline to dense urban landscapes that color the city. Orange County artist Robin Hall and San Diego artist Jeff Yeomans will display new paintings of Oceanside inspired by the recent transformation of urban development in the area as well as endearing scenery from Southern California. Meet the Artists Robin Hall and Jeff Yeomans on Saturday, June 12 at 2:00pm and hear them discuss the artistic process behind their artwork. The talk is free with museum admission and complimentary for OMA members. Impressions of Southern California will be on view May 25 through July 11, 2010 in the Oceanside Museum of Art Groves Gallery.
JUNE 14, 2010 - Jian Wang Solo Exhibition "Fluid Discourse" Art Expressions Gallery featured the latest works by Chinese-American Artist, Jian Wang, in his latest exhibition "Fluid Discourse." Jian Wang, a prolific painter working in oils, gives a surreal mood his works while grounding his subjects in realism. He describes his own painting style as a silent dialogue that occurs between himself and his subject. The exhibition opened on Thursday, April 29, 2010 with an evening reception and book signing with the artist. Several adjunct events took place to celebrate Jian Wang's work, including The 2010 Asian Heritage Awards Nominee Reception, which took place on Tuesday, May 4, 2010, and a special guest lecture and book signing featuring Giovanna Pang Garcia and her book Why Chinese Women Are Not Broke, which took place on Thursday, May 13, 2010. The exhibition closed on Saturday, June 12, 2010.
April 30, 2010 - Feature from Asia Journal: "Artist Jian Wang: Pushing the boundaries is his style and passion" By Leonard Novarro Special to ASIA
Artist Jian Wang’s early life was not exactly conducive to being creative.
At the age of 12, when he first developed an interest in art, he lived in a small 120-square-foot apartment in Dalian, China, with his parents, grandmother, brothers and a sister.
When they went to bed at night, the family would fold up the dinner table and put it away so they could pull out a bed, which they all slept on. He found a small place behind the door, where he created.
“It was like a children’s desk,” he recalled. “I would sit up and draw until midnight. My mother would read to me while I still practiced. For many years I practiced like that.”
His work earned him admission to the Dalian Youth Palace Arts, where he studied for six years. But art was not a money maker in China. Urged by his parents, he earned a science degree and for four years taught at the Dalian Railway Institute, which later became a turning point in his life. There he met Marjorie Francisco, a retired Sacramento art teacher, who sponsored him to come to this country. He has lived in Sacramento ever since, in between exhibiting all over the world, including at the Olympics in Beijing, along with only one other artist.
The latest retrospective of his work, with many of the paintings that have earned him widespread critical acclaim, is on display at Art Expressions Gallery, 2645 Financial Court in San Diego. A reception in honor of this year’s Asian Heritage Awards nominees will also be held there Tuesday, May 4, in conjunction with the exhibition.
Wang is a student of the Russian school of social realism, but his landscapes and portraits are more reminiscent of Van Gogh, showing traces of Rembrandt and Michelangelo, who also inspired him. The way he paints in some ways is reminiscent of the way Van Gogh has been depicted over the years—feverish and frantic, according to Wang’s own admission.
As one curator wrote: “Jian Wang’s buffet of visual delights emerges from the concept of method itself of the painter’s technique, of the practice of applying paint. The process of creation is as important as the product created….No matter the subject, be it landscape, still life or figural, Jian Wang’s paintings express more than the essence of the scene, but also push against the boundaries of his medium.”
Says Wang: “I may not have Picasso’s talents, but I work harder.”
With his broad strokes, heavy paint and brushes that often measure three inches in width, he attacks his canvas with an intensity that is both rewarding to him and art aficionados, which has not only earned him praise but a recent bad case of tendonitis, similar to carpel tunnel syndrome.
“When a painter holds a brush, his fingers are not moving. For a time I couldn’t get my fingers to open up,” Wang explained. Rather than discourage him, the long hours of work were inspiring.
“It forced me to keep the excitement going like a 100-meter rather than a long-distance runner. I want to keep that freshness.”
Of the 2,000 or so pieces he has done, his series “Beijing Girls,” 50 portraits of young Chinese women, remains his favorite.
While living in China in 2007, preparing for an exhibition, he sought fresh subjects but found none to his taste.
“The same subjects were being painted a million times over,” he said. The changing character of the city inspired a lot of filming and art work, but I didn’t’ see the uniqueness of China as changing. I got really discouraged about finding a subject,: he explained.
Then he noticed something—in the faces of many of the young women he saw on the streets. Many had migrated to the city from the country in search of jobs, usually as waitresses or in some other service.
What distinguished them was the unusual ruddiness in their complexions, characteristic of the rural outdoors. At the same time, they possessed an outward expression that exuded confidence. “They didn’t shy away,” Wang said. “They would spend a month’s salary to have their hair dyed, to make them very stylish. I thought that was a very profound testimony for the newly developed China.”
Several pieces from the series, many of them measuring six-by-six-feet, are featured in the San Diego exhibition.
“The philosophy of what I think as an artist is that I paint all different subjects. It is testimony to an artist’s ability to handle all material. That is why I look back in history at the great masters who came across in all different subject matters,” said Wang, who remains immediately attracted to landscapes, such as the American River near his home in Sacramento. “The first time I walked along (the river), it inspired me. The scenery itself when a storm comes in, bringing very dramatic clouds, the seasons and all those elements that give an extended life to the river—that is what I wanted to paint.”
Married to his childhood sweetheart, Bonnie, the couple, both 53, have a grown daughter.
When he is not religiously practicing painting Wang practices Chinese calligraphy and collects stamps, with more than 100,000 in his collection.
“It has helped me a great deal, knowing the history of the world,” he says.
When he is not otherwise engaged, Wang is ruminating on his next subject, which, in all probability, will be a landscape.
He says: “When the sun bursts from the clouds, my heart is thumping. I get that excited. Every day is an inspiration.”
-Article posted with permission from Asia Journal.
JAN. 12, 2010 - Art Expressions Gallery is proud to host the annual "Movers & Shakers" Exhibition, in conjunction with the San Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN) and San Diego Visual Artists Guild for the second year in a row. "Movers & Shakers" is a collection of portraits created by San Diego regional artists celebrating influential people involved in the arts community in all of San Diego County. The exhibition runs from Thursday, January 21, 2010 through Saturday, February 6, 2010, with the opening reception taking place on Thursday, January 21st from 6:30 to 8:30. There will also be a closing reception and Children's Educational Event on Thursday, February 4th from 6:30 to 8:30. For more information, contact Patricia Frischer at 760-943-0148 or visit the SDVAN website by clicking here.
APR. 27, 2009 - ART TALK: "Japanese Woodblock Prints & the Art of Collecting" |
One of Robin’s paintings of a cypress on the cliffs of the California coastline was recently purchased for the foyer of the Flatley’s Rancho Santa Fe home. Art Expressions Gallery’s professional framing department also provided the mat and framing for the painting. The image is elegantly displayed on page 233 of the San Diego edition of Luxe Interior & Design magazine. Designer Kathleen Kita-Palmer brought her client to Art Expressions to see the many paintings that would blend well with the golden, persimmon and chocolate tones of the home’s interior. A Jian Wang original oil on canvas of the Grand Canyon was also purchased.