4th Annual 50-50 Show

Art Center Throws Down the Gauntlet with 4th Annual 50-50 Show

Nancy Hall for
the Sanchez Art Center

We all need a little fire lit under us from time
to time. Deadlines can make someone break out in a cold sweat and/or get
really, really focused! The Sanchez Art Center’s 4th Annual 50-50 Show challenges artists to create a
completely original work every day for 50 days, and this year 70 California
artists will go from panic to brainstorm to full immersion in their mediums,
and finally to a gala opening that annually brings thousands of people out to
see the results, in this case 3,500 new pieces of art. Phew!

It is as exciting to see the work as it is for
the artists to realize they’ve met the challenge, which permits them to use any
medium, 2D or 3D, as long as it fits in on 50 6x6-inch squares. Limiting? Yes!
In a good way. No two artists approach the task the same way, and the ideas that
are born out of the time-crunch-plus-the-format are absolutely stunning. Juror
Barry Sakata, owner of B.Sakata Garo in Sacramento (who has shown such greats
as William T.Wiley, Manuel Neri, Roy DeForest, Richard Shaw, and Nathan
Olivera), chose this year’s participants from a field of 121 entries. The
finished works show a level of creativity and depth of vision that only this
type of uninterrupted concentration can produce.

An added attraction is that small works means
the price of purchase is well within most budgets, which is unusual in such a
high-end art exhibition. (I personally own 20 of these diminutive masterpieces
and can’t wait to add to my collection!) Many artists will be offering a 10%
discount on the purchase of two or more pieces. Go to “Exhibitions” at the
Sanchez Art Center website (www.sanchezartcenter.org) for the 50-50
Artists Roster, with links to artists’ websites and blogs.

A ticketed Preview Party will be held from 6 to
7:30 pm on Friday, Aug. 24, followed by the FREE Grand Opening from 7:30 to
9:30 pm. Preview attendees will be able to beat the crowds and view the show in
its entirety as well as to select and purchase works in advance of the official
opening. After the Grand Opening begins at 7:30, buyers may take their
purchases home with them. Preview tickets are $10 in advance (plus service
charges) through www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/250995
(1-800-838-3006), or $20 at the door.

The Sanchez Art Center is located at 1220 Linda
Mar Blvd. in Pacifica, CA, about 1.5 miles east of Highway 1. The center was founded
in 1996 by a group of artists who repurposed the abandoned elementary school into
artists’ studios and galleries designed to accommodate exhibitions of
excellence. Now home to the Art Guild of Pacifica and run by the nonprofit
Sanchez Art Center, the center offers arts events and activities throughout the
year. Galleries are open (during exhibits) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from
1 to 5 pm, and during intermissions of performances at the Mildred Owen Concert
Hall. For more information: 650-355-1894; www.sanchezartcenter.org.