ray at night

In San Diego, they don't have First Fridays. What they DO have is an entire plethora of arts organizations at different times during the week, so basically it's like having First Fridays in different communities every week. Many of these I have yet to discover or attend, but the local one here is Ray at Night, which I guess started a few years ago. While it occupies a small amount of actual space, it seems to have a lot to offer.

Last night was my first night attending the Second Saturday event, and I didn't really know what to expect. I'd been into the Milo Shoes and Gallery before, but wanted to see some local galleries dedicated to younger artists or the contemporary movement. To be honest, the only one I really spent time in was 4 Walls with the Adapta Project, which was the work of Jorge Tellaeche.

This guy is the painter I want to be. Nature, color, free forms, and exploring the idea of using non-archival materials to achieve a sense of the immediate without an emphasis on longevity are all things that I've toyed with, but never mastered as he so obviously has. He works on wood, canvas (primed and unprimed), fabric (linen?) and he even had a shirt/dress that he had painted and embroidered. Just the layering work on his paintings were so intricate but maintained such spontaneity that my mind was blown. Really, after that, there was nothing worth looking at. We had some wine and left.

A promising first time.