CZI, Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation Launch ‘Re discover, Reimagine, and Revive’ A... CZI, Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation Launch ‘Re discover, Reimagine, and[...]

The Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation (RWCPAF) and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) launched their annual art exhibition March 22, 2024 in the CZI Community Space. The exhibit, "Re-discover, Reimagine, and Revive" aims to showcase diverse interpretations of this theme and includes intricate digital art and wooden sculptures.

One artist chose to depict the subtle affection in Chinese culture through the act of slicing oranges, a perfect metaphor for rediscovering the different love languages. Another artistic approach encourages people to reimagine their relationship with their medicine cabinet - to rediscover plants through their stained-glass art pieces.

RWCPAF made a community-wide call for artists of all ages and abilities who are living or working in San Mateo County, California. Nine artists, including two sculptors, were selected to exhibit their artwork as part of the annual series.

"For the first time, our exhibition showcases works of two sculptors, adding a three-dimensional element to our showcase. The exhibition also features artists from different generations, proving that creativity transcends time and age barriers," says Pamela Estes, President of the Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation.

The pieces in the exhibit were selected by members of RWCPAF's art advisory work group, composed of six local community members of diverse backgrounds, to implement annual art exhibitions in the CZI Community Space. CZI and RWCPAF welcomed the nine artists into the space with a celebration and meet-and-greet on March 22. Their work will remain in the Community Space through the spring of 2025.

"We're excited to welcome nine incredible new artists into the space and celebrate local artistry in San Mateo County," says Alma Pulido, Community Affairs Program Officer at CZI. "We invite community members to join us in celebrating the unique talents and life experiences of these artists, who are sharing with us a piece of their identities."

Launched in January 2020, the CZI Community Space offers convenient, high-quality meeting and event space to local organizations based in and serving San Mateo County, free of charge. Through dedicated space for organizations to connect, collaborate, and host a variety of community-led events and programming, the CZI Community Space aims to support a more diverse, inclusive, and vibrant community.

RWCPAF is one of three CZI-funded grantee partners that lead the development and management of event programming for the Community Space, with the goals of supporting local arts and culture, building community, and supporting non-profit leaders.

The artists featured in this exhibit are:

Rebecca Archer | Rebecca Archer is the bi-racial black/Jewish daughter of American diplomats, and grew up moving all around the world. In her art she strives to connect to her upbringing, cultural experiences and identity in a way that is authentic and honors all parts of her. She is drawn to faces of women of color that hold untold stories and are cloaked in color and festivity. She seeks to show the beauty and variety of melanated skin and depict women of color in their strength, beauty and mystery. An attorney by trade, she has an analytical mind and collaging combines that analytical side with her love of color and faces.

Natalie Ciccoricco | Natalie Ciccoricco is a self-taught mixed media fiber artist who was born and raised in The Netherlands. While in college, she received a bag of embroidery thread from her mom, who found the thread in a vintage tin she bought at an antique store. A decade later after moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, it inspired her to create art incorporating different kinds of fiber in combination with various other materials. In her media-driven art practice, Natalie experiments with thread, yarn and rope in combination with different materials, such as paper, ephemera, ink, sticks and rocks. In her work, she has an intuitive approach to use these materials in unexpected new ways. With Mother Nature as her muse, she challenges herself to play with the juxtaposition between organic and geometrical shapes and compositions. Her works are deeply personal and allow her to express herself beyond words.

Guy Clement | Guy Clement was born in Egypt in 1951 to a French Jewish father (whose own father was a rabbi) and an Italian mother. His family moved to Paris (France) when he was five. From age six, his mother took him to museums and exhibitions, developing a strong interest in the various types of artistic expression. As a university student he graduated in Electrical Engineering. One of his favorite hang-outs in the heart of Paris was Les Halles where the Centre George Pompidou museum was created. He developed some of the earliest Computer-Aided Art and several of his pieces were shown at the opening of the Museum in the early 70's. In the following years he made a career in high-tech to support his art passion. He lived in Germany for several years and then returned to Paris where he met his German wife, Marlene. After studying at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), BU (Boston University) and the fine arts at the College of San Mateo, Guy and his wife adopted two daughters and settled in Emerald Hills near San Francisco, California, where they currently live.

Jennifer Kelley | Jennifer Kelley creates detailed mosaics using vibrantly-colored stained glass. Working in both direct and indirect methods to create mosaics, each piece of stained glass is hand-cut, with colors carefully chosen to emphasize light and shadows, giving depth to the compositions. Raised in California, Pennsylvania, and New York, she has been influenced by botanicals, the ocean and photography. Jennifer received her BA in Studio Art/Graphic Design from Stanford University with a concentration in graphic design, painting, printmaking, and photography. She studied master works of art while living in Florence, Italy. Her environmental interests developed while working in marine geology, when she joined a submarine research expedition off the East coast of Florida. Environmental subjects have remained a life-long focus of her art. Jennifer currently resides in Redwood City, California, as a full-time mosaic artist following years in corporate graphic design.

Barbara Kibbe | Per Barbara, "For me, art-making is equal parts sense-making and solace. In these turbulent times, I work to make art that holds and communicates meaning, and that builds community. That means work that speaks to the viewer about something we may have in common and about a future we can reimagine through art-making and viewing. I also have a commitment to the use of recycled/upcycled materials."

Audrey Lam | Audrey Lam is a 16-year-old student at Carlmont High School. She was born in San Francisco and spent much of her early life drawing and painting with her mother. Her artwork depicts her life experiences growing up in a Chinese-American household and her path to discovering her culture. Audrey expresses her struggle to find a sense of belonging to either culture as well as various traditions and expressions of affection through the use of symbolism and uses each work to tell a story. Her mediums of choice are Acrylic paint and graphite, and she enjoys harnessing small details to draw attention to important aspects of her pieces. She hopes her artwork can reach a community of other Asian Americans and build connections with others with similar memories and stories. Audrey hopes to continue making artwork in the future and discover who she is as an artist.

Priyanka Rana | Born in India in 1980, Priyanka Rana's early inquiries into aesthetics and philosophy and professional work in exhibitions led her to establish a full-time sculpture practice in 2018. Largely self-taught, Rana's experiments with various sculptural materials have led to a nearly singular engagement with untreated wood. Her practice is rooted in ecology and sustainability. She works with local trees, transforming naturally-felled trunks into abstract sculptures using a range of power tools. Rana chars many of her surfaces, which she likens to "painting with fire." Central to Rana's work is the interplay between that which is dangerous and delicate. While the main tools for sculpting with wood - chainsaws, handsaws, and a torch - require extreme care, including protective clothing and safety protocols, many of the artist's works are completed amidst the sociality of a home dinner table. The artist collects domestic and intimate materials, such as fabric from saris and children's toys that are then treated with polyurethane and spray paint, using these to intervene in the wood. Through pairing with softer household materials, Rana's largely abstract works invoke questions of migration and nostalgia, with individual toys speaking to specific moments and places that her multicultural community calls home, as well as her own personal history across three continents.

John Romano | John Romano is a digital artist living and working in Menlo Park. His multidisciplinary approach to art is reflected in his diverse portfolio, encompassing painting, photography, photo-collage, film, and sound. John's work explores the interaction between different forms of visual and auditory expression, and creates porous boundaries between traditional and contemporary imagery and techniques. He likes to work intuitively and experimentally, and his art represents an interconnection of nature, technology, and human perception. John has a BFA from The Cooper Union, and a California Community Colleges Credential. He has over 40 years of experience as a creative director in Silicon Valley technology firms, and as a fine artist whose paintings, photographs, and photo-collages hang in private collections internationally. Online portfolios: JohnRomanoFineArt.com and JohnRomanoCreative.com

Ella Satterwhite | Ella Satterwhite is an artist based in San Carlos, California. She is currently a senior attending Sequoia High School in Redwood City, where she takes the International Baccalaureate Art course along with the full International Baccalaureate Diploma program. She enjoys finding beauty in the little things and loves experimenting with new mediums. For her newest series, which has the theme of water, she has explored mediums such as oil, resin, freestyle embroidery, waste sculptures, and thread art. Ella hopes to use her love of art in her future profession, whatever it may be.

###

About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society's toughest challenges - from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our communities. Through collaboration, providing resources and building technology, our mission is to help build a more inclusive, just and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit chanzuckerberg.com.

About Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation
Established in 2012, RWCPAF is a 501(c)3 public charity. The Foundation's mission is to advocate, advance, and develop support for parks, recreational programming, community services, cultural activities, and the arts in Redwood City and surrounding unincorporated areas. The board works closely with the City of Redwood City's Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services and provides technical, volunteer and financial support for entertainment and community events which enhance our quality of life. For more information, please visit www.rwcpaf.org.

Tags: Bay Area, Community

Share