San Francisco artists Robin Dick and Sandoval explore and celebrate life, love, and loss through mixed media using discarded and found artifacts, reclaimed wood, paper, string, photographs, plastic, metal, and objects from nature. Am I Dead opens Friday, January 10th with refreshments from 5-7pm and will continue to be on view through Feb 21st, 2020.

Circle Study, by Robin Dick

Robin Dick

Using her subtle sense of art and design, Robin invokes complex feelings by blending ordinary and found objects. Motivating her work is a strong desire to work with her hands and communicate artistically in a non-digital medium.

In her constructions, she merges her passion for the aesthetic nature of objects with inspiration from travel, music, the beach, and the many people who’s lives have touched her own.

Robin was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and raised in the Midwest. After some formative years in Colorado, she headed farther west, landing in San Francisco where she’s resided since 1988.

She earned her Bachelors degree in Design from the University of Kansas, with minors in metal smithing and painting, as well as an Associate’s Degree in Design from the Art Institute of Colorado.

Artist Statement

I have always been drawn to the way objects and images make me feel. My process starts with my tendency toward accumulation – the gathering of the silent bits and pieces that occupy my world…clues that might someday speak to me as I search for links between myself and these precious, discarded raw materials.

Sorting through an arsenal of found treasures – mined everywhere from the street, and trash bins, to flea markets, estate sales, and antique stores – I decide which objects I want to use, always searching for an emotional and spiritual connection between myself and these materials.

As I begin to position objects together – adding and subtracting – I move forward, never feeling satisfied until I’ve reached what I feel is a visual absolute. The merging of my personal feelings with the alchemy of textures, color, and materials is key.

Over time, my compositions begin to reveal a nature behind my materials, enabling me to create works that mirror my own feelings and communicate my discoveries to others as well.

It’s rare that a piece is meticulously planned; it’s a very spontaneous process. Though these pieces are outwardly an assembly of visual elements, the work’s origin stems from my intuition and emotions.

Block art 2, by Rondoval

Rondoval

Ron Sandoval’s creative talents are inspired by his passion for paying attention to the the small details and artful beauty of nature, little structures and odd mediums. His childhood dreams of floating fantasies like lilies in a fountain are recreated in his work as an artist, landscape and floral designer, where his imagination and depth of vision are suspended in his works. His breakout was his LACMA installation in 1990, where his recycled use of rose stems as a crucifix, sphere and box, caught the attention of the LA art world and catapulted him onto the Hollywood scene where his pioneering work influenced the floral design industry internationally. Fleurish, his acclaimed Los Angeles design studio on Beverly Blvd, attracted regular clients such as Quincy Jones, Yves Saint Laurent and Judy Knapp.

Artist Statement

My work concentrates on the mythology of process and elements of nature. My installations’ emphasis is in the pockets of natural curiosities and the beauty of their materials. One can reflect, meditate and interact with the importance of recycling. Through this woven balance of mystery and ever changing nature, , we can hear the message of “conserving the life on earth.”