An artist’s Instagram post leads to Milan gallery show
A self-taught artist from Wisconsin, who works under the name of Beeple, shocked the art world when a piece of his digital art sold for $69.3 million in a Christie’s online auction March 11.
He is a prime example of how technology has stepped in, and digital auctions, galleries and exhibitions have given artists struggling to survive the pandemic lockdown new and expanding outlets for their artwork.
Denise Burton Vakili can attest to that. The Carlsbad mother of two, a business entrepreneur-turnedartist, hasn’t been able to show her work of late.
With COVID-19 restrictions and the dwindling f low of customers, galleries have closed or cut back on exhibits. So, imagine Vakili’s surprise when she unexpectedly was contacted by an art gallery in Milan, Italy. An abstract painting she had posted on her Instagram account had attracted the attention of an art curator in Europe.
“I was invited to exhibit internationally — all through the use of technology,” Vakili says. “One of curators in the gallery stumbled on my piece and loved it and asked if I would submit it for the exhibition.” But, of course.
The glory of the digital exhibit is that all Vakili had to do was take a photo of her painting and convey the digital image to the M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Italy.
The cost of packaging, shipping, insurance and customs fees can be stif ling, she says. Plus, there is always the fear that art could be damaged in transit. She explained that she just paid $600 simply to send a commissioned painting to a client in Texas. “I couldn’t be more thrilled ... to exhibit internationally without having to ship anything.”
The M.A.D.S. Art Gallery in Milan occupies a twostory building, but it was conceived as a showplace for art through multimedia digital image displays on 50-inch and 60-inch monitors and screens, rather than mounting the actual pieces.
With Milan being one of the earliest and hardest-hit COVID-19 cities, the digital concept proved a saving grace because the art images could easily be transferred online to attract art enthusiasts shopping from home.
M.A.D.S. gallery curator Marta Graziano explained to Vakili that they no longer need to rely on gallery visitors to make sales all over the world: “We are really making a difference in the art space during a time when all has been still,” she
said.
Vakili points to the lack of digital galleries in Southern California. However, Saatchi Art, an online global gallery based in Santa Monica, conducts art fairs with digital displays of art in Los Angeles and several other
cities.
Vakili has submitted her abstract piece, “Good Things Come in Threes,” to the online “Gaia The Origin” exhibition that runs from March 26-April 4.
“My goal to get as much visibility as I can . ... I just got
so lucky to have this as my fist exhibition,” she says.
Kristin Gaspar moves on: The former Encinitas mayor and San Diego County supervisor gets another “government”related job.
Palomar Health named her its senior director of government affairs, working with CEO Diane Hansen and Foundation Vice President Wayne Herron. Hospital spokesman Derryl Acosta describes it as a new position within the health care district’s administration.
“I look forward to beginning this grand, new adventure,” she announced on Facebook. She recently reported to work and will be based on the Escondido
campus.
Park and play: The pandemic has sent more San Diegans motoring to drive-ins for movies, but heading to a driveway for a concert is a newer twist. Nevertheless, that is what will be happening in San Carlos outside a one-story home at 7623 Flag St. from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday.
After its prestigious win of West Coast Country Music Association’s “Best Band of the Year” last August, the Enter the Blue Sky trio is performing its second show of 2021 outside a garage.
“We had such a big turnout last time that we had to plan another driveway concert right away,” says singer/songwriter Sandé
Lollis, who won best female vocalist and best female entertainer of the year at the August event. She’s also a three-time best female vocalist winner of the North American Country Music Association’s international competition in Tennessee.
“This is all about sharing. We’ve got something to say, and it’s bursting out,” Lollis says. Her band played 10 driveway pandemic performances last year “until it got too cold.”
The show is free, although the band will happily sell fans its two albums. Attendees are urged to wear face masks, bring their own lawn chair, sit in their cars or dance in the street. Play on!