SAN JOSE, Calif. (Sept. 14, 2009) -- Art@Axis, a collaboration between local artists and Axis, Downtown San Jose’s award-winning luxury high-rise condominiums, is providing access to art for many this fall.
Orchestrated by award-winning San Jose photographer and graphic artist Deborah Mills Thackrey of Willow Glen Productions, a gallery of more than 80 works by more than a dozen Bay Area artists will fill the dramatic lobby, 12th floor and penthouses at Axis, 38 N. Almaden Blvd. (next to Hotel De Anza), through early December. The art featured includes sculpture, paintings, photography, ceramics, and textile arts (both digital and traditional). The public is invited for viewing daily from noon to 5 p.m. and admission is free.
The gallery will debut during a benefit showing 5:30-7:30 p.m., Thurs., Sept. 24, at Axis. The preview reception will feature a wearable art fashion show, wine tastings, and refreshments, as well as tours of model homes decorated with contemporary fine art, all to benefit the Silicon Valley Artists Collaborative. Tours of Axis and several well-appointed model homes will be available all evening. The debut event is free and open to the public: RSVP to info@art-at-axis.com
“We are thrilled to be able to showcase the area’s outstanding artists amidst such a beautiful venue as Axis,” said Thackrey, founder of the Silicon Valley Artists’ Collaborative. “These works of art offer a visual treat for new and future neighborhood residents, downtown workers and visitors and anymore interested in the product of local art scene.”
Art@Axis was formed when Axis reached out to local artists to lend space in their beautiful new building as a showplace for original artwork. Thackrey answered the call for artists offering her company, Willow Glen Productions, to help curate the space in order to provide exposure for the many talented local artists she knows. Thirteen years ago, she and her husband Tom founded Willow Glen Productions. The couple design Web sites for artists and galleries, teach photography classes, and do fine art, as well as some commercial photography. They also do branding and marketing design, as well as book design.
Last year, Thackrey’s vision for artists in Silicon Valley spurred her to help found the Silicon Valley Artists’ Collaborative to seek out opportunities for the under-represented, but talented, artists in all media throughout the South Bay. The group currently consists of over forty artists whose practices include photography, mixed-media, sculpture, digital art, painting, poetry, glass, fabric, film-making and installations.
“Silicon Valley’s emphasis on high tech tends to overwhelm and ignore the creative arts, as does having to live in the shadow of San Francisco’s notoriety as an arts mecca,” said Thackrey. “While the reputation of the local arts scene has suffered, the quantity and quality of artists is very good.
“Art@Axis will help showcase this talent to a greater audience,” added Thackrey. “And if visitors like what they see, they can buy the individual works of art -- a great way to decorate their new condo at Axis.”
Among the local artists contributing to Art@Axis, are:
Lisa Amato - photography
Laura Callen Bennett - drawing
Manli Chao - paintings
Ellen Brook - paintings on silk
Syd Dunton - fine woodworking
Kathleen Elliot - glass and metal arts
Stefani Esta - sculpture, prints
Carol Koffel - ceramics
Lori Krein - acrylic paintings
Alyssa Lichtenstein - digital textile arts
Lucy Liew - paintings
Deborah Mills Thackrey - photography
Inna Razmahova - ceramics, photography
Nadia Vinogradova - oil paintings
“This is a great organization and we’re pleased to support its fundraising efforts -- and show off Axis at the same time,” said Sandra Eaton, community sales manager at Axis. “This collaboration has resulted in the best of both worlds, our dramatic, museum-like lobby and spacious model homes showcasing all sorts of original art, while creating a stunning diversion for art lovers and condo curious, alike.”
For more information about the Sept. 24 event and ongoing gallery, visit: www.art-at-axis.com
About Silicon Valley Artists’ Collaborative
The Silicon Valley Artists’ Collaborative is a newly formed group dedicated to increasing the visibility of artists working in the South Bay. The group promotes opportunities for artists working in all media to show their work to the public, continue educational pursuits, and share their skills. The group consists of 40 artists from varied backgrounds and experience levels who met at a class called the Business of Art. The class was sponsored by the Creative Entrepreneur Project, a joint initiative of the San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs and the Center for Cultural Innovation, with the goal of assisting individual artists in gaining financial independence and the tools to operate in a business-like and successful manner. For more information, visit: www.svartists.org
About Axis
Axis is downtown San Jose’s award-winning luxury high-rise condominium development, which welcomed its first residents in fall 2008. Neighbor to historic Hotel De Anza at the apex of majestic Almaden Boulevard, Axis commands downtown San Jose’s premier location, offering all the advantages of urban living, including access to sunny streetside cafes and popular nightspots at nearby San Pedro Square. The dramatic 22-story, 228-ft. tall glass and granite high-rise designed by noted architects Ankrom Moisan features 329 spacious homes with luxury services and amenities, including floor-to-ceiling windows that provide breathtaking views of Silicon Valley. Axis was named “Residential Development of the Year” for Structures 2007 by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. For more information about Axis, marketed exclusively by Pacific Marketing Associates, visit the sales center, open daily 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at 38 N. Almaden Blvd. in San Jose; call (408) 297-9888; or, visit online at www.axissanjose.com
|
