To create art is human, but to experience live art is not privilege. Last weekend, The Goodland in Goleta, CA gave crowds a rare chance to peek into the mind of an artist. The Goodland, a Kimpton Hotel just north of Santa Barbara, invited a quintet of artists to turn five poolside rooms into personal pop-up studios. Hotel guests and local art enthusiasts had the chance to interact with and watch each artist’s creation come to life. Among the artist’s featured was San Francisco’s Aaron De La Cruz whose signature style of fine art and contemporary design has graced several POW WOW art and culture events. De La Cruz also recently exhibited at the Known Gallery in Los Angeles.
Lea Sindija, Director of Programming at The Goodland, who hosted the project, said that it was important to showcase not just the artist, but the steps and inspiration it takes to create art. “I am very interested in the process to get to the finished piece and wanted to allow the rare opportunity (for people) to see how different each artist’s process is. I'm sure if I had commissioned these pieces and had them shipped to me they wouldn’t look the same.”
Among the other artists who participated were: Michael Andreson, JK5, Pixote, Erin D. Garcia. The event cumulated with a lively night at the poolside reception with music by DJ Neil Armstrong. The artists' work will hang in the hotel lobby so make the short trip up north. In addition, The Goodland also launched VNYL Record Shop inside the hotel lobby, which fits in perfectly with the hip, modern vibe as each room has its own record player.
Photos by Brandon Shigeta (@bshigeta)
Words by Marco Valadez (@marcovLBC)
