Installation 5: International (and LA) Art in San Jose

Souther Salazar

Bay Area fans of urban contemporary art can check out Scion’s Installation 5 Art Tour, which arrives in San Jose this weekend after recent runs in New York, Phoenix, and Miami during Art Basel.  The traveling exhibition / arts fundraiser / major auto manufacturer promotional event includes work by an international cast of new contemporary and street artists, designers, illustrators and photographers.  An opening reception for the San Jose exhibition will be held Friday, June 5 from 8 p.m. – 12 a.m. at Gallery Anno Domini.
The powerful lineup includes Brazilian painter and multi-media artist Alex Hornest, legendary French stencil grafitti artist Blek le Rat, painter and modern iconographer Nicholas Harper, famed culture jammer and billboard liberator Ron English, composer and visual artist (and former Devo band member) Mark Mothersbaugh, illustrator and urban pop artist Yoskay Yamamoto, and Los Angeles-based painter Souther Salazar.  The show’s nine-city 2008-2009 tour will wrap up in September at the Scion Installation L.A. gallery in Culver City.
Not surprisingly given the sponsor,  the Los Angeles art scene is strongly represented.  The show should offer an intriguing look at the cross currents at play where contemporary art meets street culture meets money and corporate branding.  Figures such as LA’s Augustine Kofie, Patrick Martinez and Skypage all emerged as street artists before moving on to gain wider recognition in gallery shows and (in some cases) as corporate-sponsored designers.  Other southern California artists showing in Installation 5 include David O’Brien, Jeff Soto, Kelsey Brookes, Rob Abeyta Jr, Sage Vaughn and Todd Tourso.

Kofie: Untitled

For this year’s edition of the Installation tour, artists were asked to create literal, or non-literal interpretations of the theme ‘Self-Portraits’. In addition to paintings by over two dozen artists, the show also includes photography by the likes of Angela Boatwright, Jamal Shabazz, stencil artist Logan Hicks, Peter Beste, and Rick Rodney.  Video art is included for the first time since the tour began in 2003, including work by graphic artist and novelist David Choe, Tokyo-based designer Ian Lynam, and the Bay Area’s Peter Glover.
Last year’s Installation 4 tour raised over $50,000 on behalf of Art From Scrap, a Santa Barbara-based environmental and art education organization.  Funds from this year’s tour will be generated at the Scion Installation L.A. gallery show, where all of the Installation 5 tour artwork will go up for public auction.  All of the proceeds from Installation 5 go  the national artist support and funding organization Creative Capital.
Installation Five / Self Portraits runs from June 5^th – 20^th at Gallery Anno Domini, 366 S. First St, San Jose, CA 95113. Here are some more images…

Edwin Ushiro: Familiar Kiss of the Underground Sandstorm

Kelsey Brookes: Self Portrait

Tessar Lo: Untitled

Nicholas Harper: Bonjour Tristesse (Hello to Sorrow)

Andrew Schoultz

Yoskay Yamamoto: Quiet Flame

Blek le Rat: The God Father

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Tags: alex hornest, Bay Area Art, blek le rat, Contemporary Art, design, installation art tour, mark mothersbaugh, nicholas harper, ron english, souther salazar, street art

Category: Art News, Urbanity