A Confluence of Distinct Stories and Individual Practice, the 2025 Left Coast Annual at Sanchez Art Center
The 2025 Left Coast Annual Exhibition, on view April 11 through May 11 at Sanchez Art Center, will open with an evening reception Friday, April 11 from 7 – 9 pm. Juror Carin Adams, Senior Curator of Art, Oakland Museum of California, selected just over 50 pieces from more than 800 entries by artists on the left coast (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington) for this long running show.
Adams notes that, “Art is an essential human activity that can’t be defined in fixed terms. For many of us it is a portal to understanding the past, present and future, personally and collectively. Reflecting the diversity of the Left Coast was the guiding principle for jurying this exhibition. The result is the confluence of distinct stories and individual practices with artworks representing varying degrees of abstraction and representation in a multitude of media.”
There is so much to see, think and feel with these artworks. Discover the sublime wonder of reflective light in Michele Foyer’s sculptural painting Outerwest, that floats off the wall surrounded by a glimpse of glowing color. With a longstanding interest in biological boundaries, brace yourself for what may bring about corporeal or psychological horror with Erin Grant’s
Bees in Your Teeth. The Oregon based artists works challenge the barriers between the human body (self) and the natural world (other). Made of reclaimed fabric, Vicky Knoop’s The Moment the Memory Was Lost, explores the fragility of memory. The piecework hints at a fragmented mind, and the broken thread a thought, memory or piece of self that is suddenly gone. Memories are also evoked through Patricia Ludovici’s Hiraeth, providing a visual definition for the word that means an earnest longing for a home that no longer exists or never was, in the creation a black glass cuckoo clock, remembering one that was left behind in Berlin. Do you know Paul Fappiano’s Night Club Patron? His work depicts a female form in night club attire with bars of music woven into the tapestry. What reality do you find in Tom Colcord’s Intimate Astrology? And does that reality shift each time you view the work, discovering new layers and dimensions?
Within this rich variety, each work stands alone without a singular thematic through line. The Left Coast remains a complex and every-changing space.
Don’t miss the Juror’s Virtual Talk and Artists Gallery Walk on Zoom at 3:00 pm on Sunday, April 27. Juror Carin Adams will share about her work, experience jurying the show and her selections, with the artists in the show speaking to their selected works. A link to the talk will be available on the Sanchez Art Center Facebook page and via email from the center.
In the East Gallery, the 2024 LCA Exhibition Awards Show will present the works of Kimiko Kogure, Kayley Jane Dykman and Sally K Smith. These three women artists, chosen by 2024 Left Coast Annual juror Janna Keegan, Associate Curator, contemporary art and programming, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, reflect their personal histories and passions through their work.
Kimiko Kogure chose silk — delicate, yet incredibly strong — in creating the body of work for her exhibition award show. She notes, “The strength that arises from the materials flexibility reflects my inner feelings. Each pod or square I create from raw silk symbolizes a life that is both similar and diverse. Every life is unique and valuable, echoing my history and that of others. I have great respect for small lives that are often overlooked. Each life on this earth holds value, as everyone is filled with the potential for something extraordinary.”
A profound awe of nature forms a common thread for Kogure, who grew up in Japan, about 60 miles outside of Tokyo. Working with her hands has always been a passion. Spending time with a variety of materials (Kogure has experimented with glass, wood, fibers, paper, tile and more) she seeks the harmony in their character and lets them determine the process and results. Kogure earned her BFA in 1980 and her MFA in 1990 from the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) in Oakland, California. She then served on the art faculty at CCAC.
Kayley Jane Dykman is an accomplished representational artist, working primarily in oil. Her current body of work celebrates the rich and diverse heritage of Pacific Islanders, aiming to authentically educate and honor these vibrant cultures. This series marks Dykman’s first exploration into capturing culture and environment holistically—encompassing music, dance, crafts, fashion, traditions, and materials—through a collection of still images. By depicting authentic lived experiences, expanding on and sharing the depth and beauty of the culture, she hopes to increase the representation of Pacific Islander communities in the art world, while also finding space to celebrate and share it with pride.
Asked at the start of her journey, “What would you like your art to say?” the common refrain in Hawaiian songs came to mind: Ha’ina ‘ia mai ana ka puana, Let the story be told.
Kayley Jane is a recent (2023) graduate of the Laguna College of Art + Design, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting with a minor in Art History. She celebrates her Filipino-American through her work that bridges contemporary aesthetics with traditional techniques. She is working as a tutor and instructor at her alma mater, where she hopes to extend her knowledge to other students as she continues her studio practice at home.
Sally K Smith is sharing work from two distinctly different mediums: charcoal that she creates from unique materials such as money, food, documents and plants, and, oil on canvas. The unconventional charcoal pieces — that she has developed methods for applying to the surface — are minimalist and conceptual. Some revolve only around pattern or gesture. Smith shares that the materials become a partner in her artistic process; these pieces are unique and rich in exploration.
Train stations and places of travel often appear in her oil paintings, juxtaposing the romance of travel with the melancholy of separation. Explaining her process, Smith states: “I paint wet into wet and often mix colors on the canvas to blur the boundaries between objects and place. I paint in many layers, leaving parts of each layer exposed. My intent is to create a feeling of interconnectedness and ambiguity so that we can experience the world a little differently.”
Smith has a BA in music and biology from Stanford University. She also studied in Berlin, before receiving her law degree from the University of Utah, the state she grew up in. She discovered art after practicing law in Boston and San Francisco for a few years. Her art study, focused on oil painting, was received at the Cambridge Studio School in Boston, followed by courses in printmaking at City College in San Francisco. Sally works out of her studio in Berkeley, California where she also lives.
Both the 2025 Left Coast Annual and the LCA Exhibition Awards Show open Friday, April 11, with an evening reception from 7 – 9 pm, with live music by the Blue on Green with Rob Wullenjohn. Following opening night, gallery hours are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 1–5 pm, through Sunday, May 11, with exceptions during special events (SVOS and Art x Nature x Art). Also following opening night, the artworks selected for the 2024 Left Coast Annual will be available online in the Sanchez Art Center virtual gallery accessible through the website.
Art x Nature x Art, Sanchez Art Center’s spring fundraiser, pairs natural floral creations inspired by art in the 2025 Left Coast Annual. The inspirations are created specifically for this event by talented local floral designers who collaborate with us with thanks to Nancy Victoria Davis, Shelldance Gardens. This annual event will be held the final weekend of the Left Coast Annual exhibits, Fri, May 9 – Sat. 10. Tickets, by timed entry, will be available on Eventbrite, $25.00 in advance, and includes live music, floral mocktails, and more. On Sunday, May 11, the last day of the exhibitions, entry will be $10.00, with the natural floral creations still available to view, as we continue the celebration of spring, art and Moms! Funds raised will provide ongoing opportunities for the community to view outstanding exhibitions and participate in community creative engagement activities.
Sanchez Art Center is located at 1220 Linda Mar Boulevard in Pacifica, about a mile east of Highway 1. For more information, visit www.SanchezArtCenter.org or email [email protected].
