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October 19, 2024–January 11, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, October 18, 6:30–8:30 PM
The Athenaeum is pleased to present Carlos Castro Arias, who will exhibit his newest project, The Splinter in the Eye, an installation composed of paintings and objects in which the artist reflects about memory, trauma, and elements of the individual and collective identity, on view in the Joseph Clayes III Gallery and the Carolyn Yorston-Wellcome Rotunda Gallery.
Also, a selection of artists’ books from the Athenaeum’s Erika & Fred Torri Artists’ Books Collection will be showcased in the Max & Melissa Elliott North Reading Room.
The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library has earned a reputation as one of the outstanding art galleries and art collectors in San Diego. The Athenaeum’s art exhibition program, begun in the 1920s, has grown tremendously in both scope and recognition, particularly in the past 20 years.
Exhibitions are presented in three gallery spaces: the Joseph Clayes III Gallery, the Carolyn Yorston-Wellcome Rotunda Gallery, and the Max & Melissa Elliott North Reading Room. Approximately four exhibitions per year are presented in each. Exhibitions in the Joseph Clayes III Gallery focus on nationally and internationally recognized artists. The Rotunda Gallery emphasizes community partnerships or emerging regional artists. Art in both galleries are related to the Athenaeum’s other focuses, namely books or music. Works have included limited edition artists' books, drawing, painting, site-specific installations, photography, sculpture, collage, mixed media, architecture, and calligraphy.
The Max & Melissa Elliott North Reading Room, opened during the library’s expansion in 2007, is devoted to showcasing the Athenaeum’s Erika and Fred Torri Artists’ Books Collection.
The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library’s art exhibitions are on view during library hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There is no charge for admission. Opening receptions and artists' walk-throughs are also free of charge.
The Carolyn Yorston-Wellcome Rotunda Gallery features annual collaborations with the San Diego State University Art Council and Children’s Hospital. Other community projects have included a fundraising exhibition for the Pacific Rim Parks Project.
The Athenaeum’s Annual Juried Exhibition is among the most prestigious in the San Diego area and the most sought-after by entering artists.
Exhibitions have given deserved recognition to San Diego artists including Joyce Cutler-Shaw, Patricia Patterson, Manny Farber, Italo Scanga, Zandra Rhodes, Russell Forester, Ernest Silva, Faiya Fredman, Jean Lowe, Viviana Lombrozo, Becky Cohen, Nina Katchadourian, Ethel Greene, Robin Bright, Raul Guerrero, Ellen Phillips, James Hubble, Jo Ann Tanzer, Christine Oatman, Roberto Salas, Marie Najera, Kim MacConnel, Teddy Cruz, Adam Belt, Jim Lee, Jay Johnson, David Adey, Ellen Salk, Gail Roberts, Sondra Sherman, and Philipp Scholz Rittermann. Artists from across the United States and around the world have included Harry Sternberg, Mauro Staccioli, Marcos Ramirez (ERRE), Nathan Gluck, William Wegman, Faith Ringgold, Ming Mur-Ray, Rolf Händler, David Teeple, and Peter Dreher.
Joseph Clayes III Gallery
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Carlos Castro Arias: The Splinter in the Eye
Exhibition Dates: October 19, 2024–January 11, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, October 18, 6:30–8:30 PM, free
Artist Talk: Tuesday, November 12, 6 PM reception; 6:30 PM lecture
Carlos Castro Arias will be exhibiting his newest project, The Splinter in the Eye, an installation composed of paintings and objects in which the artist reflects about memory, trauma, and elements of the individual and collective identity.
Carlos Castro Arias is a Colombian artist, professor, and musician. He received a BA from the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Bogota in 2002 and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2008 to the San Francisco Art Institute, where he received an MFA in painting in 2010. Castro Arias has been an associate professor at San Diego State University since 2019. In 2022, the Museo Universitario Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia exhibited a retrospective of his work entitled La Vida de las Cosas Muertas (The Life of Dead Things).
Most recently Castro Arias has exhibited at Artpace, San Antonio; Bread & Salt, San Diego; LA Galería, Bogota; Quint Gallery, La Jolla, and Espacio El Dorado, Bogota. He has participated in group shows in Sweden, Peru, France, Spain, New Zealand, Mexico and Venezuela. His musical projects include: POPO (2000), Los Claudios de Colombia (2005-2010) and Amor Negro (2020). The artist lives and works between San Diego, Tijuana, and Bogota.
The exhibition can be viewed in the Joseph Clayes III Gallery at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library (1008 Wall Street, La Jolla, CA 92037) during open hours, Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Appointments are not required.
Carolyn Yorston-Wellcome Rotunda Gallery
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Carlos Castro Arias: The Splinter in the Eye
Exhibition Dates: October 19, 2024–January 11, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, October 18, 6:30–8:30 PM, free
Artist Talk: Tuesday, November 12, 6 PM reception, 6:30 PM lecture, $15/20/5
Carlos Castro Arias will be exhibiting his newest project, The Splinter in the Eye, an installation composed of paintings and objects in which the artist reflects about memory, trauma, and elements of the individual and collective identity.
Carlos Castro Arias is a Colombian artist, professor, and musician. He received a BA from the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Bogota in 2002 and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2008 to the San Francisco Art Institute, where he received an MFA in painting in 2010. Castro Arias has been an associate professor at San Diego State University since 2019. In 2022, the Museo Universitario Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia exhibited a retrospective of his work entitled La Vida de las Cosas Muertas (The Life of Dead Things).
Most recently Castro Arias has exhibited at Artpace, San Antonio; Bread & Salt, San Diego; LA Galería, Bogota; Quint Gallery, La Jolla, and Espacio El Dorado, Bogota. He has participated in group shows in Sweden, Peru, France, Spain, New Zealand, Mexico and Venezuela. His musical projects include: POPO (2000), Los Claudios de Colombia (2005-2010) and Amor Negro (2020). The artist lives and works between San Diego, Tijuana, and Bogota.
The exhibition can be viewed in the Carolyn Yorston-Wellcome Rotunda Gallery at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library (1008 Wall Street, La Jolla, CA 92037) during open hours, Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Appointments are not required.
Max & Melissa Elliott
North Reading Room
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Art & the Environment | Selections from the Athenaeum’s Erika & Fred Torri Artists’ Books Collection
Exhibition Dates: October 19, 2024–January 11, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, October 18, 6:30–8:30 PM, free
A selection of artists’ books on the environment in the Athenaeum’s Erika & Fred Torri Artists’ Books Collection will be showcased in the Max & Melissa Elliott North Reading Room.
About the Athenaeum’s Erika & Fred Torri Artists’ Books Collection
The Athenaeum’s artists’ books collection was initiated in 1991 when Joan & Irwin Jacobs Executive Director Emeritus Erika Torri received a generous donation from life member Hope Shipley with the advice “to use it for her dreams.” Artists’ books have been Torri’s passion for many years prior and it seemed a natural fit for the Athenaeum. She purchased Harry Sternberg’s limited edition A Life in Woodcuts, published by Brighton Press, and thus the collection was launched. The mission of the collection was established with a focus on regional artists and presses and on artists who emphasized art and/or music in their works. The collection has grown enormously through purchases, sponsored acquisitions, and generous donations—now numbering close to 2,200 books—and so has its reputation. It is sought out by artists, researchers and collectors and can be viewed by making an appointment with library staff.
The exhibition can be viewed in the Max & Melissa Elliott North Reading Room at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library (1008 Wall Street, La Jolla, CA 92037) during open hours, Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Appointments are not required.
Catherine & Robert Palmer Gallery
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Winter Faculty & Staff Exhibition
Exhibition Dates/Fechas de exposición: November 9, 2024–January 3, 2025/9 de noviembre de 2024–3 de enero de 2025
Opening Reception/Recepción de apertura: Saturday, November 9, 5–8 PM/sábado, 9 de noviembre, de 5 a 8 PM
We are pleased to announce a Faculty & Staff Exhibition at the AAC Gallery. Athenaeum School of the Arts faculty and Athenaeum Music & Arts Library staff will submit a piece to display. The heart of the Athenaeum’s School of the Arts is our faculty, whose knowledge and expertise embrace all aspects of fine art. In this exhibition of current work, viewers will enjoy the broad range of mediums and techniques that characterize our faculty’s versatility, from painting to book arts, printmaking, ceramics, illustration, and beyond. Their dedication to lifelong learning and exploration continues to inspire students who take classes in both our Logan Heights and La Jolla studios.
Nos complace anunciar una exposición de profesores y personal en la Galería AAC. Los profesores de la Escuela de Artes de Athenaeum y el personal de la Biblioteca de Música y Artes de Athenaeum enviarán una pieza para exhibir. El corazón de la Escuela de Artes del Athenaeum es nuestra facultad, cuyo conocimiento y experiencia abarcan todos los aspectos de las bellas artes. En esta exposición de trabajos actuales, los espectadores disfrutarán de la amplia gama de medios y técnicas que caracterizan la versatilidad de nuestra facultad, desde pintura hasta artes literarias, grabado, cerámica, ilustración y más. Su dedicación al aprendizaje y la exploración permanente continúa inspirando a los estudiantes que toman clases en nuestros estudios de Logan Heights y La Jolla.
The exhibition can be viewed in the Catherine and Robert Palmer Gallery at the Athenaeum Art Center (1955 Julian Avenue, San Diego, CA 92113) during open gallery hours, Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and every second Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m., during the Barrio Art Crawl, and by appointment.
La exposición se puede ver en la Galería Catherine y Robert Palmer en el Centro de Arte Athenaeum (1955 Julian Avenue, San Diego, CA 92113) durante el horario de atención de la galería, de martes a sábado, de 11 a. m. a 4 p. m., y cada segundo sábado de 5 a 8 p.m., durante el Barrio Art Crawl, y con cita previa.