Big Time

By Patricia B. Dwyer

3/1-5/27: “Lifelike”
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla
mcasd.org

These artful replicas of everyday objects - the ugly cousins of pop art and photorealism - bring life’s mundane details into the spotlight. A marble statue of a full garbage bag, and an eight-and-a-half-foot-tall milk carton made of enamel and bronze, beg the question: Is bigger really better?

3/5: “That’s No Moon”
Bar Basic, East Village
barbasic.com

The force is strong with North Park’s Thumbprint Gallery, which is presenting “That’s No Moon,” a one-night-only Star Wars art show/party at Bar Basic. The event is one of Thumbprint’s bimonthly parties intended to foster art fans’ comingling with various crowds - in this case, pizza lovers.

3/9-4/6: “One Plus Six Equals Seven”
ArtHatch & Distinction Gallery, Escondido
distinctionart.com

“Rendering” is the act of painting images in which the artist’s hand (brushstrokes, globs of paint, etc.) is undetectable, creating graphic and realistic works. “One Plus Six Equals Seven” displays rendered paintings by students of master practitioner Chris Polentz, the local artist and art teacher who curates this showing.

3/14-5/18: James Chronister, artist residency
Lux Art Institute, Encinitas
luxartinstitute.org

James Chronister paints using a technique called “pointillism,” applying tiny white dots against a black surface to create images that look like soft, black-and-white photographs. Throughout March, the San Francisco artist will live and work at Lux Art Institute in conjunction with their artist residency program; his paintings will be displayed through April.

3/30-7/7: “Piranesi, Rome and the Arts of Design”
San Diego Museum of Art, Balboa Park
sdmart.org

Giovanni Battista Piranesi is considered the Michelangelo of the 18th Century (Michelangelo’s heyday was in the 15th and 16th Centuries). This exhibition - the only U.S. showing of Piranesi’s work - will feature a sizable selection of the artist’s sketches, as well as 3D renderings of his designs brought to life through video, photography and digital modeling.