The Vernon Davis Foundation and Gallery 85 at Santana Row hosts its bimonthly exhibition featuring local artists on June 27 with guest speaker Barbara Goldstein, former public art director for San Jose.

In addition to the talk by Goldstein, the event will showcase local artists Javier Martinez, Danielle Dufayet, Michael Mastre, Champagne Designz, Nicholas Motley, Lorraine Lawson and more.

Goldstein, as an artist herself as well as the former public art director, will speak about gathering places for art and galleries as a social place for engagement in art within the community.

Event curator Christopher Sicat says he hopes the event will open conversations about art and social identity.

“A lot of times youth are first introduced to art through public artworks, like street art,” Sicat says. 

He added that youth are not necessarily introduced to artwork through galleries, but “Huddle Up” will feature “artists, painters, sculptors and even jewelry makers dealing with the idea of gathering as team members to introduce and help engage youth to art who may not necessarily have those opportunities.” 

Featured sculptor Javier Martinez uses animals for the subjects of his work. Sicat said Martinez falls into the huddle up theme in that animals are often in groupings.

“We look at animals; we see groupings such as a mother duck leading her ducklings,” he says.

Martinez said he is presently working on a series of sculptures that explore the cross synthesis between animal spirits, his local environment and lowrider culture.

 

 

 

“I love the idea of hybrids, mutants and cross pollination,” Martinez stated in an email.

For Gallery 85, Martinez said he will show two pieces:“Galactic 5,” a five legged dog with scrub jay wings, and “Small Kine Cougar Cloud” a cumulus cloud made of cougar heads.

“The idea of the huddle, the group or the cluster is interesting because it becomes about strength in numbers and group consciousness,” Martinez added. “It’s about something bigger that yourself.” 

The Vernon Davis foundation, created by 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, an avid painter, was started as a way to reach out to disadvantaged youth artistically.

Sicat said Davis started this foundation because he had interests in the arts in high school but never pursued it until college when he became an art studio major.

Those who attend the event are asked to donate $20 at the door to further the mission of the foundation.