For the July 4th weekend, a mini art tour of exhibitions by Javier Arreguin Villegas, Kim Sweeney, Andrew Alcasid, and the group show 'And We Will Sing In The Tall Grass Again'
For the 4th of July weekend, we brought in cultural strategist and arts professional Andrea "Angie" Chandler to help us put together a mini, local art tour. Four exhibitions of visual art each suggest a wider view of who we consider American and what it means to have a connection with the land.
The picks feature new works on view now by Javier Arreguin Villegas, Kim Sweeney, Andrew Alcasid, and the group exhibition "And We Will Sing In The Tall Grass Again."
Javier Arreguin Villegas: 'Anticuado'
Visual Art
Javier Arreguin Villegas' "Protegiendo La Infancia (2021), a xylography relief print, is on view at the Hill Street Country Club now through Aug. 20, 2021.
"We're looking — with this exhibit and a few others — at the many ways that Americans from different backgrounds connect to the actual physical land here and what that complicated feeling is like," Chandler said.
"And that feeling really comes across in Javier's work. He's using organic materials like wood and very normal objects to tell these stories about how he's exploring masculinity, how he's connecting to the women in his life, and he's using colors and lines that would look really simple on a fast glance. But as you look into the story he's telling, you're really, really taken in by the work."
The exhibition is on view at The Hill Street Country Club, featuring a variety of new works, much of it created this year. Arreguin Villegas works with woodcut prints, textiles and other mixed media formats to create bold images that dig into his identity and relationships.
"It's pretty gorgeous to see in person. And his relationship to America and its values is really tested as an artist creating work. It's very 2021, very much the experience we're all having," Chandler said.
Details: On view now through Aug. 20, 2021 by appointment, Tuesdays through Saturdays. 530 S Coast Hwy, Oceanside. Free.