State of the Art Competition R Blitzer Gallery in Santa Cruz
By: Molly Ressler
The walk from Mission St. to the archway of R. Blitzer Gallery takes you lot downward a maze of art-lined hallways in the Westside's old Wrigley Building. The gum factory close downwards production back in 1997, but when artist and gallery owner Robert Blitzer first opened his gallery in 2009, the building was still more often than not an empty shell, just growing into its new post-factory identity. Today, it'south an industrial-style workspace bustling with innovators from a diverse mix of industries, including tech, genomics, sports, and the arts. "The building has blossomed. We've been blossoming together," says Robert.
When I go far for our interview on a Friday morning, Robert, a Southern California native with wavy silverish hair and a ready smile, is playing acoustic guitar from the gallery's stage. (The gallery also regularly acts as a music venue for intimate concerts.) Despite my tardiness, he greets me warmly — "You're belatedly? I wouldn't know; I'grand on holiday!" — and begins sharing his story.
The perfect starting time job
Through his father's piece of work in illuminated ceilings, Robert was often effectually architects and designers as a child. Both his parents loved the arts, but information technology was through his commencement real job at T.A. Greene, a lighting factory in Fifty.A, that the doors opened for Robert as an creative person. "Tom Greene, the owner, was my first mentor," says Robert. "He was a concert violinist, a jazz percussionist, a painter, jeweler, a sculptor, and he went on to do these fabulous lamps that wound upwards in places similar Disney Earth and Las Vegas. He was my introduction to welding."
Robert'south welding work is featured throughout the gallery—brass, copper, and steel sculptures that gloat the grace of the human grade. As well a painter, Robert isn't one to shy away from color. "I go big for colour and I'g non afraid of the discussion decorative. If information technology's pretty that doesn't carp me a bit."
When I visit the gallery in July, the current showroom showcasing Robert's work is a series of abstract paintings in acrylic and oil inspired by a minor piece of matter called a neutrino. Countless colorful dots, like tiny pinpoints of light, come together to create hypnotic patterns and shifting landscapes. "I heard a talk by astrophysicist Frank Drake at Cabrillo back in 75 or 76 and he spoke of neutrinos, the subatomic particles that go through everything—the earth, yous and me, the dominicus …" says Robert. "The talk stuck with me a very long fourth dimension and and then a lot of my paintings all try to attain the particle sense. The thought that this universe is comprised of particles, both the incredibly small and incredibly large, influences a lot of my work."
Activating the Santa Cruz fine art scene
Robert start came to the Wrigley Building in 2008 when he was working on a fountain for the San Francisco Flower and Garden Evidence. The concept for the sculpture was 9-feet tall, so he was looking for a big studio where he could spread out and construct the piece. His wife Donna suggested the Wrigley Edifice, and it wound up being the perfect fit. After renting a couple of different spaces within the building, owner William Ow showed Robert a big, open up room that would go the first site of the R. Blitzer Gallery. "When I looked at it I said, this is a gallery," recalls Robert. "There were and so few [art] venues at that fourth dimension that having big walls was a real plus for the art world so that propelled the whole thing frontward. And then nosotros got wind of Outset Friday as Kirby Scudder was just starting it. Kirby promoted the gallery through his radio talk testify and a column for the Sentinel, so he also really helped propel the gallery into the art world of Santa Cruz."
10 years later, the gallery attracts artists from across the county and the earth. Through a partnership with the Catamaran Literary Reader, Robert has hosted artists from across the U.S. and from as far abroad as England, Italy, and Iceland. Still, Robert says at least fourscore percent of the artists are from Santa Cruz or Monterey. "Santa Cruz is blessed with then many fantastic artists," he says. "I dear to run across people calorie-free up and get excited about their art on the wall and the anticipation everybody has about the show. The office I come across this gallery playing is bringing fine art to the community and showing what a beautiful, talented community we have."
The R. Blitzer Gallery also works closely with Open Studios, Chip, and the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship. The gallery has hosted a preview exhibit for Open Studios for the last 5 years, featuring those artists on the outskirts of the county, such every bit Davenport, Scotts Valley, and Watsonville. Robert is as well office of the panel that selects artists for the urban center-sponsored Santa Cruz Recycled Art Program (SCRAP) and volition host the resulting exhibit this December 2019.
The Rydell Fellowship artists have also establish a home at R. Blitzer Gallery for the last three years. This year, Robert was invited to nominate artists for the fellowship, an opportunity he considers 'a privilege.'
Beyond First Fri events, the R. Blitzer Gallery hosts artist talks and music performances. In August, the gallery is showing an exhibit featuring nine women artists titled Creativity Thrives.
To stay in the loop on upcoming exhibits, talks, and performances follow R. Blitzer Gallery on Instagram @rblitzergallery or visit their website: rblitzergallery.com.
Molly Ressler is a writer and content marketing consultant based in Santa Cruz. She lives with her husband and pup in Seabright and loves sharing her community'south vibrant culture through her writing.
Source: https://firstfridaysantacruz.com/r-blitzer-gallery-redefining-westsides-wrigley-building-as-a-hotspot-for-the-arts/
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