'General Dynamics'

"General Dynamics" — Solo Exhibition by Weston Riffle Opens at Poway Center for the Performing Arts

A solo exhibition of new and selected works by California painter Weston Riffle, will open June 2, 2025 and run through July 1, 2025 at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts. Known for his vivid portrayals of rural California life and unflinching social commentary, Riffle brings a powerful and introspective body of work to North County San Diego.

Born in La Mesa in 1970 and raised on a farm in Ramona, Weston Riffle is a product of the land he paints. His academic roots lie at San Diego State University (B.A., 1993) and San Jose State University (M.A., 1996), but he is largely self-taught—an “anti-artist,” in his own words. His unique voice blends deeply personal memory with socio-political undertones, capturing the spirit of California’s agricultural and working-class landscapes.

"I wish to express simple purity in desire, action, and hope, of the people and places I have known," says Riffle. "Usually complex beginnings end in simple composition. A fatalistic view seems to be the result.”

The exhibition title, "General Dynamics," references the tension between individual identity and the overwhelming machinery of modern systems—economic, social, and existential. In these paintings, brightly rendered scenes of farm workers, fishermen, and rural settings unfold in layered narratives that hint at both celebration and critique. As art gallery director, Deborah M. Williams notes, “It is as if the farm workers in their anonymity are just so many interchangeable parts in a larger machine… The political makes itself known through the personal.”

Riffle’s work has been featured in galleries and museums across California for over 20 years, including the Oceanside Museum of Art, National Steinbeck Museum in Salinas, Borrego Art Institute and William D. Cannon Art Gallery. His pieces are held in both public and private collections and will also be the subject of an upcoming solo show at the Santa Paula Art Museum in 2028.

Weston maintains art studios in San Diego’s Liberty Station-Arts District and in Idyllwild, CA. and splits his time between the two locations. More of his work can be viewed at Carruth Cellars (Liberty Station location) for the month of June 2025, his Liberty Station studio in Barracks 19, Golden Pine Gallery in Idyllwild and during Idyllwild Open Studios in July 2025.

"General Dynamics" is more than a visual experience—it is an invitation to pause, reflect, and reawaken. Riffle’s canvases are memory, protest, and poetry wrapped in color.

Exhibition Details:

Title: "General Dynamics"

Artist: Weston Riffle

Location: Poway Center for the Performing Arts, 15498 Espola Road, Poway CA

Dates: June 2, 2025 - July 1, 2025

Admission: Free and open to the public

For more information, visit www.powaycenterarts.org or contact the box office at (858) 668-4793

The exhibit is open for viewing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, 15498 Espola Road.

Parking passes are required on weekdays and can be picked up in the Main Office of the PCPA lobby.

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