A long-standing arts program is featuring a slew of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara artists, allowing the public to view their studios and highlighting local art.
Put on by the nonprofit Silicon Valley Visual Arts, Silicon Valley Open Studio is now in its 39th year. The behind-the-scenes art show takes place across the Bay Area, the first three weekends in May.
Roughly 340 artists across 105 locations across the Bay Area will display art in studios open to the public. Because not all artists have studios that are easily accessible to the public, many are hosting other artists. Three preview locations are already featuring 50 to 60 artists’ work.
In 2022, Mariya Vladymyrova fled the war in Ukraine, settling with her two children in Santa Clara. It wasn’t until she came to the Bay Area that she started displaying and selling her work. She predominantly works in watercolor, doing Zentangles — an easy-to-learn technique designed to promote mindfulness.
“I love patterns. I love their potential. I love how they tangle and how they force people to focus on them,” Vladymyrova said.
Much of the themes in her work reflect her interest in women’s rights. Her art is an outlet for her to sort through her emotions. Since being forced from her homeland, Vladymyrova said, it has been even more meditative.
“I was kind of paralyzed for four or five months. I was just trying to keep my kids safe. I started to draw. It was kind of dark, at first,” Vladymyrova said. “My art, for me, is kind of therapy … You can give your feelings this shape, so you can keep going.”
Pragati Sharma, a Sunnyvale acrylic painter, said with its rich history as a tech hub, the Bay Area art scene is distinct from Connecticut’s where she transplanted from. Open Studio fosters a different dynamic between artists and art lovers, Sharma said.
“You don’t expect the art scene [here] to be so rich until you actually get into it,” she said. “It is a more intimate setting, getting to see the artist and their process.”
Her work aims to catalog the Indian epic, the Ramayana story, with what she called a “minimalist maximalist” style. Starting during the pandemic, she has completed 75 paintings in the past five years.
An increased social media presence has seen the show boom in recent years, she said. Not only do efforts like Open Studio enrich the community, Sharma said they give artists a chance to rub elbows with fellow artists.
“It helps a lot when you look at other people’s work; you do evolve,” she said. “It is a both-way transaction. You have to look at what other people are doing and appreciate it.”
Now in her tenth year participating in Open Studio, Sharma will host 10 other artists.
Another Indian artist, Sarabjit Singh, whose home studio is in Santa Clara, is participating for the first time, hosting two other artists. Her work aims to demystify other cultures, Singh said.
“When we know each other’s cultures, we have a better understanding of who they are. That fear-factor can be cleared once we get to know people better,” Singh said. “We cannot be different islands. We are all connected.”
Linda Nystrom, president Silicon Valley Visual Arts (SVVA), said Open Studio’s goal is to feature the “entire gamut” of local artists, highlighting as many demographics as possible. One challenge has been how to get three-dimensional art — such as pottery, jewelry and woodworking — into the preview spaces.
As more artists become involved, Nystrom said, SVVA is working on long-term strategies to emphasize local artists.
“We want to have a space where we can have exhibit space for our artists to display their art year-round,” Nystrom said.
The South Bay weekend, featuring Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, is 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 17 and 18. Find the map of locations at svos.org.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
