Shipyard Open Studios: October 21st & 22nd

Please join me and over 130 Shipyard Artists as we open our studios on Saturday, October 21st and Sunday, October 22nd from 11AM to 6PM for Shipyard Open Studios, the Bay Area’s largest event of its kind.

Beyond exploring the artists’ studios, attendees can also sample delicacies from emerging Bayview chefs, sip the latest from SFmade Enterprise Brewing in our new Biergarten, and listen to live jazz and classical music performances. Younger guests can enjoy art activities by the Museum of Craft & Design and Art Rocks Clubhouse in Building 101. And if you are curious about the Shipyard’s history, be sure to join Shipyard Historian & Artist Stacey Carter for a guided tour. (This is a separate, ticketed event.)

On Saturday, October 21st, my neighbors in Building 115 and I will be keeping our studios open to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Lorna Kollmeyer Ornamental Plaster. We are having a party at 6pm – just as Open Studios closes for the day. If you’d like to check out the other artists that day, come out in the afternoon, and plan on ending up with us in my studio and the plaster shop that evening. We will have light fare, libations, and live music. And hopefully you to celebrate with us!

As always, there is no admission fee for Shipyard Open Studios and there's plenty of free parking. The event is family and pet friendly.

Please be sure to reserve a free ticket as this helps us tremendously with planning as well as notify you of any last minute changes.

If you have any questions or would like to see the catalogue, check out our online guide. My studio is in Building 115 (by the parking lot next to the water) – click here for directions.

Hope to see you next weekend!

Nikki

Spring Art Events

Shipyard Open Studios - Spring Addition

Things Remembered ･ 50x62”･ Acrylic on canvas ･ 2023

Can’t believe the Spring Open Studios weekend at Hunters Point Shipyard is already here! In addition to the 120+ artists opening their studios this weekend, there will be a party in my studio in Building 115 on Saturday, April 29th from 5PM-8PM with music by DJ BeatsMe, as well as free drop in art classes for kids, a Shipyard history tour led by artist Stacey Carter on Saturday, musical entertainment, food and beverages by En2action's Ujamaa Kitchen Program that trains emerging Bayview chefs, and much more. Be sure to check out the new exhibition at The Shipyard Gallery in Building 101 featuring work by participating Spring Open Studios artists.

Click here for a complete list of events.

Spring Open Studios at the Shipyard is Saturday, April 29th and Sunday, April 30th from 11AM-6PM. As always, the event is free (including free, ample parking) and family and dog friendly. I will be in my studio in Building 115, Studio 7 from 11AM-8PM on Saturday and 11AM-6PM on Sunday.

Demeter and Persephone･ 10”H x 18”W･ Mixed Media･ Available through Secession Art & Design

And I’m thrilled to announce I will be kicking off the month of May with artwork in Secession Art & Design’s San Francisco Spring Pop Up at 307 Courtland Avenue from May 4th through May 7th. The opening reception will be on Friday, May 5th from 6PM-8PM. Be sure to check out Secession’s website for a complete list of artists & artwork available, as well as gallery hours for this one weekend only show.

Hope to see everyone this Spring.

Thank you all for your support!

Shipyard Gallery Fundraiser on Feb 2nd

Shipyard Gallery Fundraiser - Thursday, February 2nd: 6PM-8:30PM

Please join me on Thursday, February 2nd at 6PM for The Bow and the Brush, a solo violin performance by Dan Flanagan featuring artwork by five Shipyard artists. This one night only art exhibition and concert is a fundraiser benefitting the new Shipyard Gallery at Hunters Point Shipyard.

Tickets: https://thebowandthebrush.eventbrite.com/

During the pandemic, violinist, concertmaster, composer, and art collector Dan Flanagan started to play violin concerts online inspired by his extensive collection of local and international art. He then commissioned composers to select a work of art from his collection and write a piece of music inspired by the painting that he could perform. The Bow and the Brush is the result of “art inspiring music inspiring art”, and his performance tomorrow evening will be an unforgettable evening highlighting the five Shipyard Artists in his collection.

I am honored that my painting in Dan’s collection (pictured below) was chosen by one of America’s most performed living composers, Libby Larsen, whose many accolades include a Grammy Award, former holder of the Papamarkou Chair at John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress, co-founder of the American Composer’s Forum, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Proceeds from tickets and a percentage of all art sales support the Shipyard Gallery’s purchase of equipment & furniture and future programs.

6-7PM - Reception for the Artists

  • See new work by the Shipyard artists whose work inspired the compositions, commissioned by Dan Flanagan, based on art in his private collection.

  • Mingle with the artists

  • Refreshments will be served

7-8PM - Violin performance: The Bow and the Brush

Tickets: https://thebowandthebrush.eventbrite.com/

SFHP (IV) 30x40” ･ Acrylic on canvas ･ 2019 ･ Photograph by Russ Gold

Cube Art Fair: New York City, May 4-May 9 2021

tempImageP12r4B.png

I am thrilled to be participating in the NYC edition of Cube Art Fair, the World’s Largest Public Art Fair, from May 5-9, 2021. This unique event transforms the skies and streets of New York City into a gallery by displaying artwork on over 100 billboards, kiosks, newsstands, and bus stops, including the 12,000 sq/ft digital billboard located in the heart of Times Square.

Additional billboard locations include Central Park, Madison Avenue, 57th & Fifth Avenue, Herald Square (in front of the Macy’s), Union Square, 66th & Columbus, 67th & Broadway, Grand & Mott Street, and Broadway & 13th.

Cube Art Fair is a contemporary art fair that in normal times promotes emerging and established American artists with editions in both Brussels and New York. When the world stopped in 2020 and the pandemic canceled the fair’s traditional in-person event, many artists and galleries shifted to online shows. But the team behind Cube Art Fair found a new way to keep art, hope and inspiration alive. The campaign’s hashtag #staycreative encourages everyone to not only stay safe, but also stay creative.

I’m honored to be part of this special, once in a lifetime event. I especially like how this version of the Cube Art Fair brings the art to the people and removes the invisible barriers separating the art world from general public. This is also a very small way for us artists to contribute to the collective healing and recovery as the world reopens.

One of my paintings that will be shown this week, Beautiful Days, was done during the pandemic and is comprised of many textured, small brushstrokes. This time-consuming technique reflects the additional hours spent in my studio during lockdown, as well as the indistinguishable distortion of time. The repetition of the textured strokes in different colors signifies the collective experience of how the world was confronted with the same problem but not the same resources. In the painting’s gradation of colors, the light is at the top and prevails over the darkness. This relates to how the pandemic taught me to appreciate all of the positive things I have in my life instead of focusing on the things I did not have.

de Young Open & Upcoming Shows

The Only Way Through Is Slow, 60x72” Acrylic on Canvas, 2020

The Only Way Through Is Slow, 60x72” Acrylic on Canvas, 2020

I am excited to announce that my painting, The Only Way Through Is Slow, has been selected for the upcoming de Young Open featuring Bay Area Artists at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. My work will be featured with 800 other Bay Area artists and was selected out of 11,000 applicants. The exhibition date is tentatively scheduled for Spring or Summer 2021

Until then I am excited to announce that my painting, All The Best, was selected for the Marin Society of Artist’s nationally juried exhibition “Celebration of Art 2020”. The exhibition will run online from August 18 - October 14th with an artist reception on Zoom on Thursday, August 27th at 6:30 pm. The link to the Zoom Artist Reception is here. There is no password and no waiting room. Please remember to mute your microphone/audio when signing in.

Nikki Vismara_All The Best_58x62%22_Acrylic on canvas_2018_.jpg
marin front.jpg

And finally, I will be participating in ArtSpan’s Open Studios in conjunction with Hunter's Point Shipyard Open Studios September 25-27th. I will be able to receive guests for private studio viewings by appointment only. Masks and social distancing will be required and no one will be admitted without an appointment. Masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer will be provided. I have recently installed a medical grade air purification system in my studio and welcome any additional suggestions to ensure the safety of all guests.

Please check back soon for online appointment scheduling for Open Studios 2020.

Water Music at DZINE Gallery

Water Music at DZINE Gallery - Friday, May 3rd - 6PM-9PM

Click here to RSVP on Facebook

Please join us for the opening of Water Music, a group exhibition featuring top San Francisco Bay Area artists with works of art in various media inspired by the element and mystery of water: the sensual and emotional attraction we have to water; visual representations informed by leitmotifs from classic antiquity to contemporary abstractions; and works of art incorporating scientific inquiries into an element essential to life itself. ​​​​​​​Victoria Mara Heilweil and Phil Spitler are this exhibition's local makers, presenting Luminous Waveforms, illuminated seating made up of parametrically designed, sculpted wooden benches. San Francisco's RAWdance will perform throughout the evening, ending the company's six-month residency at DZINE.

Exhibiting artists in Water Music include: Sue Cretarolo, Diane DallasKidd, Paule Dubois Dupuis, Austin Forbord, Laura Hapka, Victoria Mara Heilweil, Howard Hersh, Gina Jacupke, Sasinun Kladpetch, Yoko Kubrick, Katy Kuhn, Heidi McDowell, Adia Millett, Lian Ng, Jenny Phillips, Carrie Ann Plank, Silvia Poloto, Lucky Rapp, Georgina Reskala, Christopher Stark and Nikki Vismara. 

56260447_10161689048830261_552997633728184320_n.jpg


March Events

I am thrilled to be included in several shows across the country this month. In San Francisco, you can see a collection of my Cuba Mirror Paintings at The Drawing Room through March 31st, as well as my mixed media work at X Materia at DZINE Gallery through April 26th. I have work in nationally juried exhibition “Divergent Evolution” at Studio Montclair in Montclair, New Jersey. Three paintings from my Voicemail Series are in the Chicago area at The Art Center Highland Park in Beyond the Selfie. And next month, I will be sending one painting to Key West, Florida for a juried small works show. Scroll down to see descriptions of each exhibit.

Trinidad (II) • 12x12” • Acrylic, mirror, & resin on panel

IMG_3574.jpg

The Art Center Highland Park (TACHP) presents a juried exhibition of work that reaches beyond the traditional concept of a self-portrait. With over 75 entries, our guest jurors, Judy Norris and Suzette Bross, chose art that reflects interpretations of the self-portrait theme . In today’s obsession with “Selfies,” we found that often artists push the boundaries of self-expression and  representation.  

Voicemail Paintings in Beyond the Selfie exhibition

Divergent Evolution not only demonstrates an extraordinary range of materials, styles, and subject matter, but also offers the intrigue of observing common threads and preoccupations within the works of individual artists. Says Curator Emma Wilcox, “As an artist and culture worker much of the dialogue I am part of revolves around where the attributes of a given artwork come from; the connection of that piece to the other works in a series an artist is creating; antecedents in prior antecedents in prior works or series; the influences of other artists. I love this kind of talk; we all do it all the time, publicly or privately. Divergent Evolution is an opportunity to share some of that talk.”

The exhibit, featuring artwork by diverse artists throughout the United States, includes one or more artworks from each artist that demonstrate the evolution of their creative process. There will be 44 pieces of work in a variety of visual media including sculpture, installations, photography, printmaking, painting, drawing, and mixed media.

Friday Jan 18th, 7-9PM: SNAP! Off-The-Wall Sale at Arc Gallery

“SNAP!” Bay Area Juried Exhibition & Off-The-Wall Sale

​I’m excited to kick off my birthday weekend with this fabulous show opening on Friday, January 18th at 7pm at Arc Gallery in San Francisco. This is a quick turnaround show featuring almost 100 works of art hung salon style. All of the art is priced at $199. Pick your piece & take it home!

WHEN: Friday, January 18th, 7-9PM 
WHERE: Arc Gallery 1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Click here to RSVP on Facebook

Screen Shot 2019-01-10 at 1.26.38 AM.png
Screen Shot 2019-01-10 at 1.26.51 AM.png