John Sonsini
THE SANTA BARBARA PROJECT
October 5 – November 2, 2007
Opening Reception: Friday, October 5, 5 – 7pm
Artist’s Lecture: Wednesday, October 24, 4:30pm
  
Atkinson Gallery is pleased to announce an exceptional project. During the summer of 2007 nationally recognized artist John Sonsini used Atkinson Gallery as his studio. This exhibition presents the portrait paintings and drawings he made during this period along with documentary photographs by Gabriel Barajas. A color brochure accompanies the exhibition.
As he has been doing for years, Sonsini hired Latino day laborers to be the subjects of his artworks. These men were chosen from a group of men waiting for work at the ”Wall” on Yanonali Street in Santa Barbara. Paid hourly wages by Sonsini, they were asked to pose naturally in their own clothing. Sonsini had conversations with the men as he painted, asking about their lives and culture. Sonsini sees his work as a collaborative process with the model. To affirm this, he titles each painting with the name of the sitter and also has the model sign the back of the canvas.
While Sonsini work references the history of painting and photography, in particular portraiture, his paintings are unquestionably contemporary both in subject matter and approach. The figures in the paintings are set in an undefined, non-narrative space. This allows the painter to use this space in abstract rather than a descriptive manner. While doing this, the artist still maintains the humanity of his subjects. They clearly gaze out to the viewer, projecting their individual identities.
Using no photographic references, Sonsini’s process is based in direct observation of his subject. His paint is thick, applied and manipulated with house painting bushes, palette knives, paper towels and his hands. He adeptly depicts the physicality of clothing,
the colors and patterns, and the range of tones in skin and hair. He uses a unique “tilted” viewpoint that emphasizes the heads, handsand feet of the worker. The artist says, “My painting is not so much about a literal likeness but very much more about a sensation of likeness.”
Painterly portrait painting, seemingly long out of fashion in contemporary art, has been raised to a new level by John Sonsini with his bravura technique and the evident passion he has for his subject matter. His work radiates authenticity and compassion.
Sonsini has had exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego and the San Jose Museum of Art, as well as ACME gallery in LA and Cheim & Read Gallery in New York City. His work was recently acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the High Museum in Atlanta, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. His work is also in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, LA and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego.
ATKINSON GALLERY is located on the East Campus, on the second floor of the Humanities building, of Santa Barbara City College, at 721 Cliff Drive Santa Barbara.
Gallery Hours:
Monday – Thursday 10am – 7pm
Friday - Saturday 10am – 4pm
For more information contact:
Dane Goodman
Director, ATKINSON GALLERY
(805) 965 – 0581 x 3484
http://gallery.sbcc.edu
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