An exchange of art An exchange of art (October 07, 2005)

Local painters travel to Beijing, and Chinese artists come to Palo Alto

by Marge Speidel

He was only the interpreter. But because of Li Guo Liang's visit to Palo Alto last spring, two local artists are in Beijing to show their paintings in a museum near Tiananmen Square in an unusual cultural exchange.

Susan Kraft, artist and owner of ART21 Gallery in downtown Palo Alto, and Jill Andre, who sells her work there, are the fortunate two. From Oct. 11 to Oct. 17, they'll be the featured artists at the Chaoyang Cultural Museum in the embassy section of Beijing. In return, the Palo Alto gallery will showcase paintings by Li and museum director Ma Lin in November.

The exchange was born when Li came to Palo Alto last spring with Yang Jiushen, a Beijing painter, sculptor and interior designer who was having an exhibition at ART21. Li, who has a degree from the University of Michigan and has lectured on art in the States, was serving as interpreter.

Both men liked what they saw on the walls at ART21.

"They said, 'You have to come to Beijing,'" Kraft said.

Next came the official invitation -- in Chinese. The two women, neither of whom had been to China, took it to the Chinese Embassy in San Francisco for translation when they got their visas.

Museum officials are making plenty of space available -- about 180 feet of wall length, amounting to one entire floor of the museum --when they feature Kraft's and Andre's work. Each artist brought about 20 pieces, many of them large. Each was removed from its boards and rolled up for shipping, then reassembled upon arrival.

Choosing a fellow artist to take part with her wasn't difficult for Kraft. "Jill Andre is one of the most popular artists in our gallery as well as the only one left of the original 16 charter members when we opened three years ago," Kraft said. "Her December solo show here was very successful."

In assembling her own paintings for the exhibit, Kraft included her "Chakra Series" from 2003: works devoted to the Hindu concept of seven energy centers in the body. Each abstract acrylic work, 2 by 3 feet, is done on canvas in muted colors. Some of her other paintings are 6 by 7 feet.

Kraft is both artist and entrepreneur. She started ART21 in 2002, envisioning a place where people could view and talk about art, listen to fine music, hear poetry, and have works of art framed. She's been exploring acrylic painting for five years, and has done portraits, landscapes and spiritually influenced abstracts.

A conversation over coffee brought Jill Andre to Kraft's attention when a mutual friend suggested that she take a look at Andre's work. The two have been associates ever since.

A Bay Area native, Andre studied art at California State University, Long Beach. She was in the commercial art field for 10 years, working as an illustrator/animator for educational products -- until the economic downturn hit and she was laid off.

"A few days later I found out I was pregnant," Andre said. "The wonderful job that I would have gone back to after my child was born wasn't there any longer."

When the shock wore off, she saw it as an opportunity to pursue her own drawing and painting, and tossed away her portfolio of commercial art.

The female form, often dancers, has become the focus of many of Andre's paintings, which she creates from sketches. She has studied dance with former ballerina Stephanie Herman of Menlo Park and has drawn and painted performing artists on the Stanford University campus.

For her Beijing exhibit, she's bringing works with something of California in them. "I'm thinking about certain light and colors that relate to California," Andre said.

And in the true sense of an exchange, she aspires to take away something of China, too: "While in China I hope to go out with my sketchbooks and small paints and get a sense of Beijing for some new ideas."

What: An exhibit of paintings on paper by Chinese artists Li Guo Liang and Ma Lin.

Where: ART21 Gallery, 539 Alma St. in Palo Alto.

When: The paintings will be shown as part of the First Friday Art Walk on Nov. 4, from 6 to 9:30 p.m.

Cost: Free.

Info: Call (650) 566-1381 or go to www.art21.us.

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