“Seeking Beauty: Selected Works from the Archive” will feature never-before-seen private artworks and ephemera that focus on the pivotal experiences in Hubbell’s youth. Discover how they shaped his unique philosophy and lifelong dedication to seeking and creating beauty. Select artworks will be available for purchase.
Join us for a reception for the artist on Saturday Sept. 9th at 4pm.
Santa Ysabel Art Gallery is located at the intersection of Highway 78 at Highway 79 in Santa Ysabel, just thirteen miles east of Ramona, and seven miles below Julian.
For information call 760.765.1676
For the first time, James Hubbell opens his archival collection to exhibit never before seen artworks and ephemera that identify pivotal experiences in his childhood, his time at art school, and his explorations of the wider world in the years before he settled in Santa Ysabel. These experiences collectively mold a young man with ideas which he revisits throughout his career, expressing his love of nature, architecture, mythology, and the joy and pathos of being human. Curated by Ilan-Lael Archivist Laurel Costa, and based on the book “Seeking Beauty: Jim’s Gift” by Angie Brenner with Sarah Jamieson, the exhibit runs through October 30th.
Artist Statement:
Few of us, near the end of a life, get the opportunity to reflect back and try to understand it. To think about the gates walked through or maybe even the gates pushed through. Life is completely a mystery, or better yet, magic. For me, it comes down to trusting life and acting as if that trust was real, and believing if we approach each day without fear and just listen, seemingly insignificant things can change everything. The different threads that make up our lives – the good and the not as good – can weave a beautiful tapestry if we trust them.
Plan your tour of Ilan-Lael and a gallery visit around these special events and speakers featured at the Santa Ysabel Art Gallery on select Saturdays.
James Hubbell LECTURE SERIES at the Santa Ysabel Art Gallery
Saturday, Sept 23rd at 4pm
For The Love of Nature: Richard Louv and Peter Jensen on James Hubbell
Richard Louv is a journalist and author of ten books, including Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder; The Nature Principle; Vitamin N; and most recently, Our Wild Calling: How Connecting With Animals Can Transform Our Lives — and Save Theirs. Translated in 24 languages, his books have helped launch an international movement to connect families and communities to nature. In 2008, he was awarded the Audubon Medal, presented by the National Audubon Society. Prior recipients included Rachel Carson, E. O. Wilson and President Jimmy Carter. Among other awards, Louv is also the recipient of the Cox Award for 2007, Clemson University’s highest honor, for “sustained achievement in public service.” He speaks frequently around the world, including keynote addresses at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference, the first White House Summit on Environmental Education, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Friends of Nature Conference in Beijing, China. He is a co-founder of the nonprofit Children & Nature Network, which supports the international movement.
Peter Jensen is a former magazine editor, travel writer, and architecture/design writer who has worked, on staff or freelance, with numerous national and regional magazines, including Sunset, This Old House, Old House Journal, San Diego Home/Garden, Coastal Living and many more. He is also the author of nine travel books and a contributor for numerous guidebooks. Other clients include international health resorts, art institutes, museums, real estate developers, and non-profit organizations (pro bono), including Ilan-Lael Foundation (current) and Torrey Pines Conservancy (current). He lives in Del Mar, California.
Saturday, Oct 7th at 4pm
Dave Hampton on Seeds of Art: James Hubbell & the Mid-Century Art Community
Dave Hampton is an independent curator and collector based in San Diego. His research is focused on mid-twentieth century craft, design and visual art in California and the Southwest, particularly within the San Diego art and architecture community. His essay “Art From the End of the Line” appeared in the 2007 Hubbell Press publication Seeds of Art and was followed by a series of articles about San Diego’s postwar art scene for the KPBS Culture Lust blog.
Since contributing to the landmark Pacific Standard Time initiative, sponsored by the Getty in 2011, Dave has curated exhibitions which illuminate San Diego’s mid-20th century creative culture, from furniture and craft, painting and sculpture, to graphic design, independent publishing and early conceptual art. He and Gayle Kauihou share a historically designated home designed in 1967 by Kendrick Bangs Kellogg.
Saturday, October 21st at 4pm
Drew Hubbell on Building Hubbell – From Childhood to Today
Drew Hubbell’s diverse background ranges from historic restoration and adaptive reuse of existing commercial structures, to custom residences and remodels. He especially enjoys working on cultural and nature centers for non-profits and municipalities.
He leads the firm Hubbell & Hubbell Architects, and collaborates with his father—renowned artist James T. Hubbell—merging art and architecture in ecologically and aesthetically mindful ways. His firm specializes in sustainable architecture, green building materials and the use of alternative building materials such as straw bales, insulated concrete forms, adobe, and sprayed concrete construction.
Locally, Drew helped pioneer the use of alternative building materials, and has been a key figure in educating public agencies about their benefits, in order to gain acceptance and permits for these materials. Drew designed the first permitted straw bale structure in San Diego County, and his firm designed the first permitted straw-bale commercial building in the City of San Diego.
Drew’s education includes the architectural program at the Danish Institute of Study, Copenhagen, Denmark, and an architecture degree from University of Arizona. His extensive travel throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States allowed for an architectural survey of historic material and building techniques, providing him with a rich design vocabulary.
Drew is a member of Citizens Coordinate for Century 3, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of informed citizens who are interested in local and regional planning issues. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA)-Committee on the Environment, the Newschool Arts Foundation Board, and the Ilan-Lael Foundation Board. He has been a member of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) since 2003, and the California Straw Bale Association (CASBA) since 1997. In 2010, he served as the sole juror for the San Diego Art Institute’s July/Aug Regional Show.