Visual Arts

Artist and life-long surfer Richard Gleaves has always been in the water, from Sunset Beach to San Diego - so it's no surprise that his newest exhibit, "Liquid," at the Oceanside Museum of Art, takes gallery-goers for a dive. Culture Lust contributor Meredith Hattam spoke with him about what's now and next (hint: it involves mingling in the dark).

San Diego photographer Tim Mantoani has photographed some of the world's most famous athletes. For the second year in a row, he shot the cover image for the popular Madden NFL video game featuring New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees.

The sixth annual Art of Photography Show opens this weekend, showcasing 111 winning images out of 14,000 entries from all over the world. Steven Churchill, director of the annual competition and exhibition talks to Culture Lust about photography and what makes a winning photograph.

Three weeks ago, street artist Shepard Fairey was in San Diego and completed a large mural in Hillcrest, commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Last night it was tagged with blue spray paint. Culture Lust documented the mural.

Culture Lust contributor Dave Hampton reveals just what is going on behind that mysterious sign on State Route 67 in Ramona.

Noticed the East Village's newest artsy addition yet? It's a professional home to 40 artists, who live, work and play in its 18,000-square-foot space. The kicker: they helped build it from scratch. Culture Lust contributor Meredith Hattam takes a peek at Space 4 Art.

The walls of San Diego have been known for Wyland's whales and Chicano murals. But as of this weekend, some of the world's most prolific street artists will be adding their work to our urban environment. It's all part of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego's new exhibit, "Viva la Revolución: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape." We'll talk with the show's curator, along with Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the Obama Hope poster and Obey Giant, and French street artist, JR.

Local artist Sheryl Oring has been inviting the public to write letters to the president since 2004. She types them up and then sends them to the White House. I joined her recently at the San Diego Museum of Art, where San Diegans dictated their letters. I brought back this audio postcard.

San Diego-based artist Michael Trigilio, whose Neighborhood Public Radio project was featured in the 2008 Whitney Biennial, has a new film on American Buddhism screening at MCASD. He'll also be at SDMA this Thursday creating a bold sound space. Culture Lust contributor Jen Paton explains.

Late last week, the San Diego Union-Tribune laid off its veteran visual arts critic, Robert Pincus. For a city with multiple museums, galleries, working artists and nationally respected university art programs, this marks a major loss for San Diegans and the visual arts community. We want to know what you think.