Here are the buzzy new exhibits and museum happenings you don’t want to miss.
Allison Wiese, “Matinee Today” (2021, found banner) PHOTO COURTESY OF LA JOLLA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
How do we create meaning and new narratives from remnants of the past? Seven San Diego artists scoured the La Jolla Historical Society’s archive for photographs, objects and other materials that served as a starting point for new work. The result is Memory Traces: Artists Transform the Archive, a nostalgic new exhibit of contemporary works, which runs from Feb. 5 through May 12. The exhibit title references a 1925 essay by Sigmund Freud, who coined the term “memory trace” aft er observing memory’s inconsistent nature. This collection curated by Elizabeth Rooklidge similarly speaks to memory’s subjectiveness in conjuring a collective truth. lajollahistory.org
A look inside Timken Museum of Art’s French gallery featuring works by Nicolas de Largillière PHOTO: COURTESY OF TIMKEN MUSEUM OF ART
Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography is home to over 5,000 fish in 60-plus aquarium habitats. PHOTO: BY JORDAN TOMASEK FOR BIRCH AQUARIUM AT SCRIPPS
After a virtual version last year, this 33rd annual program aimed at promoting San Diego as an exciting cultural hub is a collaboration between the San Diego Museum Council, Serra Cooperative Library System and event partner Macy’s—with additional funding from the California Arts Council, the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, and the County of San Diego. During Museum Month, residents in San Diego County’s diversity of neighborhoods will enjoy half-priced admission to over 45 local museums, historic sites, gardens, zoos, aquariums and other cultural venues—plus access to each museum’s special exhibits, behind-the-scene tours and events. Passes are available at all Macy’s locations and 75 public libraries, and Macy’s is also sponsoring free vouchers for students at Title I schools. sandiegomuseumcouncil.org/specials/museum-month
Installation views of Abstract Vocabularies: Selections from California and Joan Jonas PHOTO: BY DANIEL LANG FOR MCASD
Two new exhibits at MCASD Downtown’s Jacobs Building showcase cutting-edge contemporary work. Abstract Vocabularies: Selections from the Collection, open through April 24, highlights abstract paintings and sculptures from the last 10 years that explore the boundaries between representation and abstraction. Many artists focus on color and shape, and some incorporate textured materials like fabric and beeswax. In Joan Jonas: The Shape, The Scent, The Feel of Things, open through Aug. 7, a video by Jonas plays on five screens as part of an installation that also features sculptures and drawings. A trip to Arizona prompted the performance artist to explore the cultural history of the Southwest—prior to the Europeans’ arrival. The museum is also gearing up for the April launch of its expanded La Jolla location, helmed by Selldorf Architects. mcasd.org
The Shape, The Scent, The Feel of Things at MCASD Downtown PHOTO: BY MAHA BAZZARI OF STUDIO MAHA FOR MCASD
Marianela de la Hoz, “Global Coup d’etat” (2020, egg tempera on board) PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
During the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant months of confinement, San Diego-based Mexican artist Marianela de la Hoz tried to put aside any self-censorship and depict this invisible and threatening adversary. While she found herself unable to evoke death, she uses images and symbols to explore how the pandemic affected people’s emotions and behavior. Paintings from the Confinement, running at the Balboa Park museum through May 1, showcases 11 of the artist’s egg tempera paintings. While her works are dark and sarcastic, the pandemic taught de la Hoz to reevaluate what’s important. Accompanying the exhibit is a related display of two self-portraits by local artist Carlo Miranda, who worked during the pandemic as a nurse. sdmart.org
A photograph by JT Rhoades from Oceanside Unfiltered PHOTO: BY JT RHOADES
The Oceanside staple, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, will toast its lineup of new exhibits with a reception on Feb. 12. Don Bartletti: Elusive Moments -Enduring Stories, open through May 1, is the Pulitzer Prizewinning photojournalist’s look at the causes and consequences of illegal U.S. immigration from Mexico and Central America. The emotional culmination of his 40 years of travel to over 23 countries, Bartletti’s work attempts to promote a deeper understanding of immigration by telling silenced stories. Oceanside Unfiltered, which runs from Feb. 12 to May 29, is curated by photographer Zach Cordner. This collection of street photography from esteemed local artists unveils the people and places in Oceanside that are oft en overlooked. oma-online.org
“Pacific Avalanche” is featured in Don Bartletti: Elusive Moments-Enduring Stories. PHOTO: BY DON BARTLETT I
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