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| Artist contrasts nature, everyday life By Stacy Trevenon [ stacy@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 4:41 PM PST Pop culture, everyday life and the world of nature — and the interactions, contradictions and occasional humor to be found if you look at all three together — is the subject of “Flora and Fauxna.” That is the multimedia exhibit by San Francisco artist Pax de la Calzada, scheduled for the Enso gallery in Half Moon Bay through the month of March. De la Calzada, a native of Madrid who studied art there and received her master of fine arts degree in Mexico City, draws on juxtapositions of her San Francisco surroundings with the natural world nearby. “I’m inspired by the complexity of cities and by the complexity of nature,” said the artist in her soft, gently accented voice. “That is a source of my work.” Her exhibit, of 11 or 12 art works, will bring together three kinds of media. Some works will be mixed-media prints overlaid by drawings in ink. Other works will be drawings in acrylic or charcoal similarly overlaid onto a base of Victorian-style wallpaper with patterns of vines or trees. The third example of artwork is a floor-to-ceiling, monochromatic mural with a charcoal drawing, in one corner in the gallery. The theme of the exhibit, said de la Calzada, is how the natural world is present in daily life — in both obvious and hidden ways. “I like to present daily life objects with an appearance that is not the usual,” said de la Calzada. Another influence is the relationship between women and fabric, with which she had worked throughout life. Hence, she uses wallpaper, and what it implies. “You can cover (something) with fabric and change the appearance of objects,” she said. “You can use wallpaper to cover walls” too and create new dimensions in the process. An artist’s reception for de la Calzada is scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 13, at Enso, located at 131 Kelly Ave. in Half Moon Bay. For information, call the gallery at 726-1409. |