Permanent Exhibit at VIDA SF in The Mission

When I paint, I am usually not thinking about how this or that painting will “live” its life once it is out of my studio. But, oh they do…

Even with my training in architecture and design, how a painting belongs or not to a place where it is displayed is usually not in my control. Therefore it is rare when I get to see how it all works out beyond the pristine white walls of a gallery that frames them. That is what is so exciting about installations and public art to me. It is kind of thrilling and scary to see your work out there, not necessarily being the central point, but just a piece in the experience of the people visiting the space. I know the purists would disagree, they would say: art is for art sake… Sometimes, but nothing, absolutely nothing stands on its own without context.

I feel super humbled to have 3 of my paintings permanently installed at the residential lobby of the new VIDA condo building in The Mission San Francisco, since the end of last year. Designed by Kwan Henmi Architecture/Planning, Sandra Vivanco of A+D Architecture and Developed by  Oyster Development Corp. the building is filled with life, color, design, and art.  I am so happy that the pieces are displayed on a semi-public space. Hopefully you get a chance to see them!

The pieces are part of the wonderful work of the huge team that orchestrated every single detail in the space. For example, Mark Mccullough from OCD Interiors furnished the seating areas in a way that both enhances and integrates the art into the space using a unique, rich, and modern combination of colors and textures that brings everything together.

On the light wall above, you can see the two large circular paintings: “The Origin of Life” and “The Capacity of Wonder”, the first pieces of the #SOMOS] Series. The concept is inspired by the first two chapters of Sophie’s World, a novel about the history of philosophy I am using as guide for this long-term project. Versions and studies on paper of the same ideas are available at The Compound Gallery‘s special collection room and at City Art Gallery during the month of February.

Visual artist and curator Toni Gentilli, installing the pieces with security hardware back in December