Please join us for a reception from 5-7pm for Raquel Baldocchi, our spectacular September 2016 artist!
Artist’s Statement Raquel Baldocchi
Visual art has the capability to move an observer to tears. I had this experience years ago when attending a retrospective of Pierre Bonnard’s work in New York. Making artwork can have a similar transcendent affect on me as the maker, when all of the elements and materials finally meld into a finished piece. I paint with acrylic mixed media on panel, incorporating layers of pigment, glue, paper and drawing material. Working with a variety of materials allows me to create pieces with rich contrasts and subtleties. I refer to the human figure and animal forms as a source of endless visual interest.
My current work seeks to present characters from potentially distant eras and locales, set into a modern, abstract construct. I draw inspiration from historical portraits, vintage photographs, family memorabilia. My great aunt made numerous scrapbooks filled with charming images of flora, fauna and illustrations of all types of human interaction, which often influence the contents of my paintings. I am continually drawn to stories and images of incidents both real and imagined, and I aim to recreate some sense of their wonder in my work.
About the Artist Raquel Baldocchi
A native of San Francisco, Raquel Baldocchi was raised in the city and her upbringing included life on her family’s ranch in San Benito County. She earned a BFA in Printmaking in 1980 from the Academy of Art College, and from 1984 to 1994, she was an instructor in the arts at San Francisco University High School. Over the past several years, in a studio at the ICB building in Sausalito, she has revived an art practice, devoting herself full- time to the development of her craft. To learn more please visit Raquel Baldocchi’s website.
