The annual KVIE Art Auction is including the work of 16 Davis artists in its collection from Sept. 28 to 30, with three of these artists winning the juror award.
Each year, Northern Californian households have the opportunity to tune into a parade of expression on their public access channel KVIE. The channel hosts Northern Californian talents every year and throws a preview gala to determine the best artwork in show.
The art show gathers an eclectic mix of artists utilizing different mediums. This year, three Davis artists received the juror award for exemplary rule in their artistic achievements.
“I paint… to make people see the things they don’t appreciate,” Marie Therese Brown said.
Brown is one of the recipients of the juror award, given to her for her plein air painting. The French words describe the act of painting in the moment.
She delves into the bustle of both the city and the wild to capture the life in objects otherwise overlooked. In this case, her choice of focus was the bridge over the Sacramento River.
She chose the bridge for its placidity — no one ever thinks of the bridge they are crossing. She took the time to appreciate the lights falling off the handrail and the water’s reflective nature. Brown said she wants to make people realize how beautiful things really are, adding that there is an endless supply of beauty in Davis.
Different artists use different mediums and in the case of artist Emma Luna, who is also a recipient of the juror award, her choice of ceramic cloth goes beyond the canvas.
“I always try to be very unique. In my work there must be an originality to it,” Luna said.
Luna’s artwork involves the manipulation of ceramic material and suggests a sort of elegance to the piece. Two pears sit side by side on a cloth that encompasses the fruit. Luna describes this as being synonymous with couples, transcending the artwork’s fruity nature.
In a way the metaphor goes beyond the fruit to rank statements on same-sex couples, male and female couples, peas in a pod, whatever can be coupled. To Luna, the piece makes a statement wherever there are couplings and can be interpreted by an inquiring audience to their own preferences.
Luna strives to give audiences an appreciation of everyday life from form, shape and texture.
“It’s always nice to have people enjoy your artwork,” Luna said.
In art sometimes there is a functional side and a sculptural side, said Thomas Post, another recipient of the KVIE juror award. In his piece, there is movement and physicality. Post describes his collages as accompanying feelings of space and openness.
Tune in to the three-day live auction on KVIE from Sept. 28 to 30, or view it online at kvie.org/artauction. The three Davis artworks are “American River Bridge,” “Two Pears On A Ceramic Cloth” and “Still Point.”
PETER AN can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
