Bakersfield Life

All > Community
Santos, Saints and Santa: A Holiday Exhibition
Topics:
Anonymous user Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:41:14 PDT
Viewed 757 times
0 responses 0 comments


In the spirit of the holiday season, a colorful exhibition of historical and contemporary Santos from New Mexico, Mexico and South America will go on exhibition at the Bakersfield Museum of Art on December 6, 2007.

The Cunningham Gallery will feature stunning “retablos” (small, two-dimensional oil paintings, typically on wood) and “bultos”  (three-dimensional, carved wood figures). The exhibition is set in a time-line as the Saints appeared in history. Historical retablos from José Aragon (active 1825-1835) and his school are displayed as well as works by José Benito Ortega, Antonio Molleno, Arroyo Hondo and other artists.

Contemporary works by today’s santeros such as Alcario Otero, Charlie Carrillo, Leo Salazar, Nicholas Herrera, Gloria López Córdova, Jerome Luján, John Gallegos, Felix López and Floyd Trujillo will also grace the exhibit.
Although the exhibit has strong religious content,  curator Nicole Saint-John emphasizes the artistic value and historic aspects of the objects so that the exhibit has broad appeal .

The lively history of St. Nicholas will be on display in the Dezember Gallery. There, the visual transformation from the original St. Nicholas into the current Santa Claus will be traced. The exhibit ranges from a traditional St. Nicholas retablo by Gustamo Victor Goler to the transformation by Thomas Nast and then the Coca Cola Santa.

Nast, a German-American caricaturist for Harper’s Weekly, developed his own image of Santa. Although he did not settle on one size for his Santa figures, which range from elf-like to man-size, his drawings are quite close to our modern-day image.

Also on exhibit are works by Joseph Christina Leyendecker(1875-1951) who was a popular American illustrator who created the mainstream image of Santa Clause. Leyendecker was a friend of Norman Rockewell who drew Santa covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Several Rockwell prints will also be on hand,
Rounding off the exhibit is Haddon Syndeblom (1899 – 1976) who is best known for his Santa Claus images of the Coca Cola Company. His painting of Santa became so popular, many believe he was the creator of the modern Santa Claus image.

Also in the Dezember Gallery, as a local reference, the Bakersfield Icon Guild and local artist Joyce Tanner will exhibit icons of various saints.

Also on exhibit will be a plein air group from Northern California known as “The Outsiders.”  These seven top San Francisco Bay area plein air painters will showcase scenes of traditional landscapes. Known colorists with bold brush work and liberal use of paint, these seven artists paint together for camaraderie and feedback as they capture rural scenes and funky towns outside San Francisco. The group, comprised of Nikki Basch Davis, Warren Dreher, Pam  Glover, Ray Jackson, Judy Molyneaux, Bill Rushton and Jerrold Turner, promotes plein air painting through group shows and fund raisers throughout the Bay Area.

The exhibits will open at a reception on December 6 at 6 p.m. Admission is free to members, $10 for non-members with hors d’ouevres and a no-host bar.  RSVP to 661-323-7219 or call for more information.

Send to a Friend

Report a Violation