Marisol Rendón: 'En La Ribera del Rio Cauca'
Visual art
Bread & Salt's main gallery is opening a solo exhibition of new works by artist Marisol Rendón.
Rendón has many talents and a big range — some highlight works span from the giant, interactive play installation, "Wobbleland" at the New Children's Museum to a hyperrealistic, large-scale, charcoal rendering of a chair cushion at Cannon Gallery's "Four Visions: A Celebration of the Year of the Woman" exhibition in early 2021. Rendón and her spouse Ingram Ober were also part of Park Social, the site-specific sculptural interventions peppered along Otay Valley Regional Park's trail system.
In her new exhibition, "En La Ribera del Rio Cauca," Rendón draws on her childhood along the banks of the Rio Cauca in the Colombian Andes and the place's indigenous history. The Quimbayas made beautiful, sacred objects, jewelry and vessels inspired by the natural environment. Rendón's work in this exhibition interprets this history and these objects with drawings and installations — including a vessel created entirely from folded lottery tickets from the region.
The opening reception is part of a big Barrio Art Crawl stop at Bread & Salt. In addition to Rendón's work, you'll find Francisco Eme at Best Practice, Sybil Rubottom at the Athenaeum Art Center and the APA San Diego "Untitled 2022" exhibition in the Brick Room — all with openings Saturday evening.
Elsewhere in Barrio Logan, catch a pop-up group show (including work by Panca) at the former Memo's Barrio Bike Shop (2190 National Ave.), and plenty to see along Logan Ave.
Details: Marisol Rendón's "En La Ribera del Rio Cauca" opens Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022 with a reception from 5-8 p.m. Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. Free.
‘Balanchine to Martins’
Dance
City Ballet of San Diego is presenting the work of two iconic American choreographers: George Balanchine and Peter Martins. They'll perform Balanchine's 1967 piece "Rubies," from his "Jewels" series. "Rubies" is set to music by Igor Stravinsky. Another Balanchine-Stravinsky work is "Le Baiser De La Fée," which translates to "the fairy's kiss." City Ballet will perform the Divertimento. Peter Martins' high-octane "Ash" is also in the production.
Performances this weekend are at Balboa Theatre downtown. An additional performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
Details: 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12-13, 2022. Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., downtown. $29-$99.
Cate Kennan, Surcarilita
Music
Los Angeles-based experimental composer Cate Kennan will tour through San Diego this weekend, with a Friday evening performance at The Brown Building, a City Heights community space. Kennan's music is synthy, hazy and moody without feeling overloaded or overstimulating. Her latest album came out in late October, "The Arbitrary Dimension of Dreams," which plays with nighttime mysteries using subtle but vast instrumentation — it feels like you could listen close enough and hear almost any sound in the landscapes she creates.
Also performing is Tijuana-based folk musician Surcarilita. The Brown Building is also collecting donated items for food and practical necessities for the City Heights community.
Details: 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. The Brown Building, 4133 Poplar St., City Heights. $10.
Hamilton
Theater, Music
The touring production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's “Hamilton" is in town through Nov. 20. The hip-hop musical opened on Broadway in 2015 and released a filmed version of the stage production on Disney+ on July 3, 2020 — just in time for Independence Day and to soothe the country's theatergoers while shows were still shut down. In person, the show is vibrant, engaging and energizing. Plot-wise, one weak point is the final number, though it's hard not to be moved by it (no spoilers, but it sounds like they could have made a whole musical about Eliza). The Aaron Burr point of view is the show's most compelling thread, with his palpable yearning, frustration and envy.
Memorable tunes, diverse actors and modern punchlines mean that characters who were barely a blip in our history books (or, sometimes, huge blips in our history books) are suddenly a lot more interesting. Are we raising generations of young people where everything they know about the Revolutionary War and the Federalist Papers comes from a couple of show tunes? Does it matter? A solid choice for election week.
Watch Broadway San Diego's Instagram for day-of-show ticket releases, or $10 lottery tickets may be available one week in advance using the Hamilton App.
Details: This weekend's shows are 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. On stage through Nov. 20. San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown. $52.50+.
San Diego Civic Youth Ballet: Excerpts from 'The Nutcracker'
Ballet, Music
Get a free, outdoor glimpse of the San Diego Civic Youth Ballet's "The Nutcracker" production at Spreckels Organ Pavilion. This is a family-friendly, low-stakes way to kick-start your festive cheer with some talented young people. San Diego Civic Organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez will provide accompaniment.
Details: 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. Spreckels Organ Pavilion, 2125 Pan American Road., Balboa Park. Free.
'Pop Smoke: A Veteran Art Exhibition'
Visual art, Veteran’s Day
This exhibition of contemporary art from Veteran artists at Oceanside Museum of Art has been open for a few months already, but if you haven't seen it yet, Veteran's Day weekend is the perfect time.
Curated by Amber Zora, it features 27 veteran artists, including Duke Windsor, Gina Herrera, Iana Quesnell and more. It's a collection of works that play with vivid colors, repetition, common objects or simplicity in their work, and the exhibition is inspired by the Pop Movement artists who served in the armed forces, including Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein.
Details: On view through Jan. 15, 2023. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Friday. 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside.
More weekend arts events we’re covering
For more visual art to check out this weekend, read my roundup of 5 visual artists with new exhibitions. Francisco Eme at Best Practice and Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio open at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library this weekend.
For more arts events or to submit your own, visit the KPBS/Arts Calendar. Sign up for the weekly KPBS/Arts newsletter here.
