Art Beat

By Michael Benninger

2/7-7/5: Black Dolls
Mingei International Museum
1439 El Prado, Balboa Park
619.239.0003, mingei.org

Created between the 1850s and 1940s, most likely by African-Americans for family members and the white children in their lives, this collection includes 100 embroidered dolls made from a multitude of materials and ranging in appearance from austere to the exquisite.
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2/1-22: “Handmade” by Terry Matsuoka
The Glashaus
1815 Main St., Barrio Logan
theglashaus.com

As part of his album-funding Kickstarter campaign, local singer-songwriter Terry Matsuoka promised he’d create this set of 25 drawings, which he’ll mail out to backers soon after the event ends.
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2/11: “Cause & Effect” - A Love/Hate Group Art Show
West Coast Tavern
2895 University Ave., North Park
artbykami.com

Local creatives express their takes on love and hate in this one-night show where the artist who garners the most viewers’ votes will go home with all of the event’s proceeds.
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2/10-3/7: “Inflorescence” by Kari-Lise Alexander
ArtHatch
371 E Grand Ave., Escondido
760.781.5779, arthatch.org

Drawing influence from the Norwegian art of rosemaling, a form of decorative folk painting, this Scandinavian artist showcases her latest works, which infuse natural and fantastical elements to create innocent and alluring feminine figures.
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2/21-3/21: Joshua Miller
Athenaeum Music and Arts Library
1008 Wall St., La Jolla
858.454.5835, ljathenaeum.org

Using porcelain plates as his medium, this artist hangs his hand-carved creations alongside other found or forged antiques, with the finished works existing somewhere between the realms of painting and sculpture.
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2/21-3/21: Ernest Silva
Athenaeum Music and Arts Library
1008 Wall St., La Jolla
858.454.5835, ljathenaeum.org

This show features the works of local artist Ernest Silva, who passed away last year after a UCSD teaching career that spanned more than three decades.
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2/21-9/13: “7 Billion Others”
Museum of Photographic Arts
1649 El Prado, Balboa Park
619.238.7559, mopa.org

Making its U.S. premiere in San Diego, this multimedia spectacle comprises audiovisual vignettes of more than 6,000 individuals from 84 countries, giving viewers a glimpse into the lives of disparate people from around the globe.
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2/26: “By the Seashore, Valencia” by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida
The San Diego Museum of Art
1450 El Prado, Balboa Park
619.232.7931, sdmart.org

San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) is adding two new pieces to its permanent collection: Francisco de Zurbarán’s “St. Francis in Prayer in a Grotto” (1650-1655) and Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida’s “By the Seashore, Valencia” (1908). Sorolla y Bastida’s painting “Maria at La Granja” was the first work to enter the SDMA when the museum opened in 1925.