Arts Alive San Antonio

The San Antonio Museum of Art has a summer treat for y’all!

Its new exhibit, “America’s Impressionism: Echoes of a Revolution” introduces and showcases American painters who adopted the French “revolutionary” style, known as Impressionism, the first serious break with traditional formalism and precision. The French Impressionists chose to paint outdoors, “en plein air” rather than in studios, depicting landscapes, street scenes and ordinary people in a more relaxed, diffuse way, with few sharp lines, and lots of short, uneven brush strokes. Effects of light on objects and people are captured on their canvases in a way never seen before. In other words, the painting became more of an impression of reality rather than its precise representation.

The impressionist movement started in Paris in the 1870s and produced world famous artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camile Pissarro, and others.  To this day, people love their style and their way of looking at the world.

SAMA’s exhibit – which originated at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania- looks at the American version of Impressionism through the work of artists from all over the land, from the East Coast to California, including Southwestern and Texas artists, Julian Onderdonk, Dawson Dawson-Watson, and Jose Arpa y Perea. Other artists in the show are Cecilia Beaux, William Merritt Chase, Willard Metcalf, Emma Richardson Cherry, Jane Peterson, Mary Cassatt, and quite a few others. At SAMA, the exhibit was curated by Yinshi Lerman-Tan, acting associate curator of American and European Art.

The show also includes one painting by Claude Monet, the man, who according to the curator, was a great influence on the Americans, many of whom made “a pilgrimage” to his home in Giverny, near Paris, to learn from the master. The exhibit will be on view until Sept. 5. Don’t miss it! (San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave., 210-978-8140; www.samuseum.org) A feature story will follow.

The other big visual arts news comes from Ruby City, the art center that most San Antonians didn’t yet have a chance to visit because the pandemic forced it to close soon after opening. The geometrically-interesting red building on Camp St. downtown, is an attraction in its own right, designed by prominent British architect, David Adjaye. Inside, is an impressive contemporary art exhibit featuring art from Linda Pace’s huge collection. For those new to San Antonio, Pace was an extraordinary collector, artist and philanthropist, who enriched the San Antonio art scene in multiple ways before losing her battle with cancer. Ruby City will reopen June 17. Access is free. (www.rubycity.org)

If you have always wanted to see the famous Sistine Chapel but flying to Rome is not an option right now, the chapel has come to you. Well, sort of. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibit is an innovative exhibit that reproduces the frescos that the Italian master painted on the ceiling and walls of the chapel. The chapel is installed at Lambermont Events on Grayson St! This is probably one of those Only-in-America! things, but we admit to being curious, so we’ll probably visit it. It looks pretty authentic in photos. (950 E. Grayson; open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; tickets $10-$23; www.sistinechapelexhibit.com/san-antonio.)

For something a little closer to home in spirit and in reality, visit the quilt exhibit, “From Under Our Needle” at the Carver Community Cultural Center. On view are 47 examples designed and created by the members of the African-American Quilt Circle of San Antonio. The exhibit closes June 25; access is free.

Global Water Dances is an internationally recognized day of dance performances aiming at highlighting the need to value and preserve water all around the globe. (The 2021 festivities have been extended to several days.) According to the organization’s website, 180 groups will be taking part in the festivities this Saturday, June 12, including one from San Antonio: URBAN-15. In fact, URBAN-15 is the only participating group from the entire state of Texas. Choreographed by artistic director Catherine Cisneros to music by her husband, George Cisneros, their contribution was filmed by Ray Santisteban at the San Pedro Creek Culture Park, and according to the website mentioned above will be seen at 9:30 p.m. However, you can watch it on YouTube: https://wwwyoutube.com/watch?v=T-nniZeNv­­_c.

The Jump-Start Performance Co.’s INKubator artist, Giovan Lugo’s project titled “To Whom It May Concern” will be performed this Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Titled “To Whom It May Concern,” the presentation consists of brief videos written and performed by company members on the subject of “healing by letting go of circumstances that hold us back.” Cast members are Sara and Lilith Tijerina, guests Paige Rodriguez & Rachel Ditzig, and Lugo himself. As is often the case with Jump-Start productions, they let you pay what you choose to pay between 0 and $20. The Zoom link will be sent to those who get tickets. For info, call Jump-Start at 210-227-Jump, or go to www.jump-start.org

The Classical Music Institute Chamber Orchestra will perform the “Symmetry of Time” concert June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. On the program:  works by Francesco Geminiani, Arnold Schoenberg and Mark Richter. The first in a series, the concert will be played live on stage but you can also watch online. (For information contact 210-364-3884 or info@cmi-sa.org.)

Musical Offerings is presenting two Jazz Meets Classical concerts at the Botanical Garden featuring Clarice Assad, a talented Brazilian-American composer, pianist, arranger and singer. “Clarice floats freely across musical idioms, capturing the attention of international audiences with her stunning talent,” says the concerts’ promo description. Other featured composers include Villa-Lobos, James Balentine, Carlos Jobim and Milton Nascimento. Sounds like a must-see! (7:30 p.m. June 14-15; San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston Place; $15-$25, www.sabot.org)

Literary types may be interested in a writing workshop to be led by James Adair, the editor of Voices de la Luna literary magazine, the only independent literary journal in this area. His topic: Ghazals. Your eyebrows probably shot up when you read that word, but it is an interesting and a bit challenging poetry form. It’s an old style going back to the seventh century Arab poets but contemporary poets have explored the format as well. (June 17, 6-8 p.m.; for info voicesdelaluna@outlook.com)

The Public Theater of San Antonio, which recently announced its new season, is now issuing an audition call, asking interested parties to submit videos, between now and June 30. For instructions on how to do it, go to https://www.thepublicsa.org/auditions. You can find the lineup of upcoming shows on this site, Monday, June 7.

Meanwhile, the folks at the Overtime Theater have come up with an original idea: they want to find at least ten theater lovers who would be willing to pay $1,000 for a lifetime ticket. For that one grand, you get unlimited access to any show produced by the Overtime for as long as you wish. The current show, “Tricksters: A dark Comedy of Godly Proportions” by Scott McDowell, sounds amusing enough to get a regular ticket to see it. (Overtime Theater, 5409 Bandera Rd., Ste 205, 78238) www.theovertimetheater.org.

Final note: San Antonio’s poet laureate, Andrea Vocab Anderson, has been named a Poet Laureate Fellow and received a $50,000 grant from the Academy of American Poets to lead public poetry programs in the community. In addition, the Academy will provide $100,000 for local nonprofits that support her efforts. Twenty two other city and state poets laureate across the country have been equally honored.