The most recent exhibition Of Sea and Sand displays oil paintings of vast California scenery, inviting the viewers to explore the mountains, vistas of the coast, deserts, pines, as well as the lagoons, beaches, and beautiful Californian seashore.
The works include artists from the 20th century. The featured artists are Alfred Richard Mitchell, Maurice Braun, Nicolai Ivanovich Fechin, Guy Orlando Rose, Charles Arthur Fries, and Charles Reiffel. The artworks are mainly dated to the third decade of the 20th century, and they are inspired by the European impressionist and post-impressionistic style. Finding endless inspiration in nature, named artists captured the Californian landscape in all its beauty for eternity.
Originated in the late 19th century, impressionism changed the face of art entirely. Artists started painting en plein air, due to new techniques they adopted. They were no longer trapped in studios, mixing the colors, and envisioning the scenery in their minds; now they were able to go outside and truly capture nature, its vivid colors, and the constant change of light.
Loose brushstrokes ignite the viewers’ imagination, inviting them to dive deeper into the paintings, or spark their curiosity to even go for a walk, and possibly try to look for the locations in question, and compare it to its present day. The ever-changing light brings life into the scenery. The absence of people is very noticeable, and nature is intact. Rapid brushworks and heavy strokes evoke impressionistic style in its most recognizable form, the artists painted quickly, wanting to capture every given moment. Contemplative in its essence, the exhibited artworks also bring up the eternal questions of man and nature, inviting the viewers to ponder upon the relations humans create with it.
All the exhibited paintings are a part of the museums’ collection, the artists are renowned and an inevitable part of California art history.
The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park in San Diego. It was opened in 1926, and the Museum’s nationally renowned permanent collection houses Spanish and Italian old masters, South Asian paintings, and 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and sculptures. Exhibition texts are always in English and Spanish. Of Sea and Sand exhibition on view on the museum’s First Floor, Gallery 6.
Tickets are available via the museum’s website and on site.
