The Art Alliance of Idyllwild continues its mission of keeping art vitally alive in Idyllwild with its annual judged art show from Friday, May 20, to Sunday, May 22. Appropriately titled “Front and Center,” the show features adjudicated art in four categories — 2D, Wearable Art, Photography and Digital Art, and 3D.
Judging the show is Canton, China, native Zimou Tan, art program director at Olivet University in Anza. Internationally acknowledged as a master artist and by the Chinese government as one of the top 50 contemporary Chinese artists, Tan has exhibited widely in the United States. He is skilled in oil, etching, sculpture, print making, bronze jewelry, charcoal and watercolor. Tan said, “Judging [art] is like teaching. Learning is like teaching. They are mutually interacting and no one can know everything about all mediums.”
Continuing AAI’s partnership with Melody and Chris Johnston’s Middle Ridge Winery Tasting Gallery, the “Front and Center” exhibition begins at noon Friday, May 20, and runs until 6 p.m. Saturday. The show is open from noon to 8 p.m. with a reception open to all from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. On closing day, Sunday, May 22, doors are open at the gallery at 54301 North Circle Drive (across from the Rustic) from noon to 6 p.m. The Saturday reception features light appetizers and a no-host bar with Middle Ridge wines. There is no charge for admission to the exhibition and reception, and all displayed art is available for purchase.
On Saturday, AAI promotes Idyllwild’s expanding art venue scene with a Gallery and Art Hot Spot tour. Maps leading to 13 unique galleries and art “hot spots” will be available at a kiosk in front of the Middle Ridge host venue from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
As part of the three-day show, there is a second-floor display of “Hidden Gems” of AAI-member art priced between $100 and $150, on the gallery’s second floor.