artist profile: valerie jenkins

wood birds pillowValerie Jenkins is a native San Franciscan who joined the Creativity Explored studios in 2001.

When she talks, it’s as if she’s speaking in the form of a poem. So it’s not surprising that the lines in her beautiful visuals seem to be drawn from her innate lyrical quality.

Valerie works predominately with watercolors, ink and colored pencil on paper and her subject matter is varied—usually inspired by photographs—and sometimes letters, words, or numbers are incorporated in the final piece.

To spend one minute with Valerie Jenkins in the Creativity Explored studio, go here.

rafael soriano exhibit: miami

photo by: Milosz1What: Rafael Soriano: Some Thoughts on His Painting
When: Friday, January 28, 7-10pm
Where: The Storer Auditorium, Universtiy of Miami School of Business
There is a $10 fee but the lecture is free to Lowe members.

What: Rafael Soriano: Other Worlds Within, a Sixty Year Retrospective
When: January 29 thru March 27, 2011
Where: Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami

Miami resident Rafael Soriano is one of the most recognized painters of not only Cuba, but also of Latin American modernists. His abstract works poetically combine light and shadows, form and space, to spark the curiosity of our unconscious minds.

Born in 1920 in Cidra, Cuba, Soriano expressed an early inclination for painting and completed his studies at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, San Alejandro.

His resume includes a degree in 1943 as Professor of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture and as a visual arts teacher for almost 20 years near his home town. He was one of the founders, and later Director, of the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Matanzas, with a reputation as the most important art school in Cuba outside of Havana.

Exhibits of Soriano’s work began in Cuba as early as 1947 and didn’t seem to skip a beat when he went into exile with his family in 1962 and settled in Miami. This latest is a broad retrospective as the former U of M teacher exhibits 60 years worth of his life’s work.

a second look: matthew lew

Last May we featured a profile of artist Matthew Lew—but almost a year ago did we have any idea of the quantity and the diversity of the projects we’d collaborate on?

To get the very latest on Matthew, see his profile in the CS Interiors, Winter 2011 issue and check out these new pillows and rugs on cb2.com.

todd selby exhibit: atlanta

What: Photographs by Todd Selby
When: January 21 thru March 25, 2011
Where: Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta

Opening reception with the artist, this Friday, January 21st, from 6-8pm.

There will also be an informal artist talk, Saturday, January 22nd, at 11am.

Call ahead!

finding vivian maier: chicago

photo courtesy of: tetuWhat: Finding Vivian Maier: Chicago Street Photographer
When: thru April 3, 2011
Where: Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, Chicago

Born in 1926, Vivan Maier came to the northern shores of Chicago to work as a nanny. In her free time, she would venture into the city armed with a Rolleiflex camera to document everyday people living their everyday lives.

While her work spans decades after WWII, only recently have tens of thousands of negatives been rediscovered—and never have they been exhibited so close to home.

Don’t miss this first American curated exhibit of her compelling work—just 80 pieces—which will surely leave us wanting more.