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SAN DIEGO—The San Diego Museum of Art is presenting the very first comprehensive exhibition of Latin American portraiture ever to tour the United States. Opening April 16, Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits reveals the richness of Latin America's portrait tradition, from Pre-Columbian times to the present day, featuring examples by such modern masters as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, and Fernando Botero. It will be supplemented by SDMA's biennial exhibition of student (K-12) art, Young Art 2005: Portraits/Retratos, which will focus on the art of portraiture.

The month also features the San Diego Ballet in three performances of "Eternally Bad" from April 1 to 3. This hilarious, no-holds-barred dance extravaganza takes a sultry, sexy, and laugh-out-loud look at some of the most notorious goddesses and sirens of ancient lore.

And lastly, SDMA is complementing the Retratos exhibition with the next installment of its popular sundown series, Culture & Cocktails, on April 28. Guest can view the many faces of Latin America in a vibrant DJ-spun setting.

For more information on the Museum's performances and lectures, call (619) 696-1966. To purchase tickets, please call Ticketmaster at (619) 220-8497. Museum members receive the discounted price for each of the events listed. Programs and artists are subject to change.

Museum hours
Tuesday-Wednesday, Friday-Sunday: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.;
Thursday: 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.

Admission to the galleries
Adults, $9; seniors (65+), young adults (18-24), military and students with ID, $7; children (6-17), $4; 5 and under free.

Gallery tours
The Museum's docents offer free public tours of the galleries on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., and on Fridays and Sundays at 1:00 and 2:00 p.m.

SDMA offers free admission for school groups and youth organizations with advance reservations. Call the education department at (619) 231-1996 for more information.

Water's Café @ SDMA
Open Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Reservations are not required. For more information, call the café at (619) 237-0675.

EXHIBITIONS

Opening

Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits
April 16-June 12, 2005
Retratos marks the very first time a comprehensive exhibition of Latin American portraiture has ever been assembled for a U.S. tour. The exhibition demonstrates the depth and breadth of this important tradition across a variety of cultures from North, Central, and South America as well as the Caribbean. Comprised of 114 works in different media, the exhibition explores the meaning of this art form for the many societies represented, featuring examples by the ancient Moche of Peru, the Maya of Mexico, artists working under Spanish rule during Mexico's Viceregal period, and artists of the modern era like Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Fernando Botero.

Young Art 2005: Portraits/Retratos
April 23-June 5, 2005
Budding artists from all over San Diego will have a chance to display their talents in the San Diego Museum of Art's biennial exhibition of K-12 student artwork. Drawn from San Diego City and County public and private schools, the works chosen for this exhibition will focus on the art of portraiture in all media. This year's Young Art exhibition is presented in conjunction with Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits.

Continuing

Origins of Mughal Painting
March 26-August 28, 2005
Mughal painting is one of the most celebrated of all Indian painting styles. At its height between 1556 and 1658, artists of the Mughal court workshop created pictures that are unique in their combined attributes of naturalism, stylization, and internal vigor. The depth and breadth of the San Diego Museum of Art's renowned Binney Collection makes possible this new installation of approximately 20 images that examines one of the lingering mysteries in the history of Indian art: how such a distinctive and sophisticated style as that of the imperial Mughals arose so quickly.

Human Presence: Works from the Museum's Collection
December 4, 2004-July 17, 2005
This two-part exhibition of the Museum's contemporary collection examines the role of the human body in art, both as subject matter and as an instrument of perception, to express shifting notions of the self. Part I: The Singular Body joins a selection of three-dimensional sculptures of the human body and animal forms in the galleries with works on view in SDMA's sculpture garden and court. In Part II: Through the Geometry of Color, the geometric paintings and works on paper displayed draw visitors' awareness to their own physiological reactions to pure form and color.

Tastes in Asian Art
November 6, 2004-November 6, 2005 (NOTE NEW DATE)
Some of the most significant works in SDMA's extensive Asian collection, including many visitor favorites, form part of this new exhibition in the Museum's Asian Court. Bringing back well-known works, while introducing new and rarely exhibited objects, this fresh concept for displaying the Asian collection highlights the diverse tastes of different social groups—the imperial ruling class, scholars, warriors, and common people—and features a separate section dedicated to religious art.

Line and Color in European Painting
October 23, 2004-September 4, 2005
The newest installation of the Museum's collection of 19th through early 20th-century European art explores the two predominant approaches to pictorial representation that guided, and often divided, artists throughout the century: one that focused on color and another that relied upon line. The exhibition surveys the major European trends of the era including academic art, Romanticism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, and German Expressionism.

APRIL EVENTS CALENDAR

April 1, Friday
10:00 a.m.
LECTURE "Volcano Paintings of Jules Tavernier"
Jim Grebl, Ph.D., manager of the San Diego Museum of Art's library, discusses the highly dramatic and romantic volcano paintings of Jules Tavernier (1844-89), which were created in the Hawaiian Islands where the artist spent the last five years of his life.
$10, James S. Copley Auditorium

8:00 p.m.
DANCE San Diego Ballet: "Eternally Bad"
Combining song, dance, and spoken word, San Diego Ballet's choreographer and artistic director, Javier Velasco, premieres "Eternally Bad," a sultry, sexy, and laugh-out-loud look at some of the most notorious goddesses and sirens of ancient lore. Based on the texts of underground comedic writer Trina Robbins, the piece showcases legendary "bad girls" like Isis, Kali, and Osomatar and explores what makes them tick in a hilarious, no-holds-barred dance extravaganza.
$18/$20 ($10 students), James S. Copley Auditorium

April 2, Saturday
8:00 p.m.
DANCE San Diego Ballet: "Eternally Bad"
See description for April 1.
$18/$20 ($10 students), James S. Copley Auditorium

April 3, Sunday
7:00 p.m.
DANCE San Diego Ballet: "Eternally Bad"
See description for April 1.
$18/$20 ($10 students), James S. Copley Auditorium

April 6, Wednesday
5:30 p.m.
CONCERT Jazz in the Park: Road Work Ahead
This jazz quartet boasts four of San Diego's most popular musicians: pianist Bill Mays (now living in New York), guitarist Peter Sprague, bassist Bob Magnusson, and drummer Jim Plank. "When it comes to making eloquent musical statements and creating a stunning cornucopia of moods, textures and colors, Road Work Ahead has few peers." -George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune
$14/$17 ($14 students), James S. Copley Auditorium

April 7, Thursday
6:00 p.m.
GALLERY TALK "Figurative Sculpture"
Gwen Gomez, sculptor and SDMA community access coordinator, tours SDMA's Sculpture Court and Garden.
Free with museum admission, meet in rotunda

7:00 p.m.
CONCERT Jesus Ramon Araiza, piano
Jesus Ramon Araiza has performed concert and salon recitals to enthusiastic audience acclaim both nationally and internationally. His musical career began at the age of 10 when he learned to play the piano and write music by improvising and studying music theory. Performing a program of Rameau, Chopin, Liszt, and others, Araiza will explore the culture of fin-de-siècle Paris in conjunction with the exhibition Line and Color in European Painting.
$18/$20, James S. Copley Auditorium

April 8, Friday
10:00 a.m.
LECTURE "Emily Carr: Canada's Rebel Painter"
Susan Vreeland, noted best-selling author of the novel and TV drama The Girl in Hyacinth Blue, explores the intriguing life of Canadian nature painter Emily Carr (1871-1945), who is the topic of her latest novel The Forest Lover.
$10, James S. Copley Auditorium

April 13, Wednesday
7:00 p.m.
FILM The Short List: Highlights from the Showcase for International Short Film
Emmy award-winning producer and SDSU professor Jack Ofield returns to the Museum for an evening of outstanding international and domestic short films. Among the featured shorts are "Parenthèse," an animated film from France, "Heart Beat," a Swedish musical extravaganza, and "Gray Zone," a tragic sibling drama from Austria. The Short List is a co-production of The Production Center for Documentary and Drama at SDSU and Cox 4 San Diego. The Showcase is a Kodak sponsored program.
$6/$8, James S. Copley Auditorium

April 20, Wednesday
7:00 p.m.
FILM Not-So-Silent Film Festival: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
The Teeny-Tiny Pit Orchestra for Silent Films led by Scott Paulson provides the lively musical accompaniment and sound effects to the original film version of Gaston Leroux's novel. The classic movie features a disfigured phantom, played by Lon Chaney, who terrorizes a Paris opera house in order to get his beloved singer Christine. The main feature film is preceded by classic slapstick shorts of the silent film era beginning at 6:30 p.m.
$5/$7 ($4 students), James S. Copley Auditorium

April 21, Thursday
7:00 p.m.
CONCERT Camarada: Tango! Tango!
Camarada concludes their 2004/2005 concert series with an exciting, passionate night of tango. Teaming up with award-winning dancers Marizabel and Todd Arango, this performance highlights works by Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla and is presented in conjunction with Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits.
$12/$15 ($7.50 children), James S. Copley Auditorium

April 22, Friday
10:00 a.m.
LECTURE "The Romantic and Nature's Thread in Art"
James Hubbell, renowned local artist and architect, addresses art that celebrates nature and the unknown in a discussion of how his work in watercolor, sculpture, and architecture has led him to a vision of San Diego's role in the Pacific.
$10, James S. Copley Auditorium

April 26, Tuesday
11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
LECTURE Meet the Masters: Latin American Portraits
Presented by Marion Oettinger Jr. Dr. Oettinger is project director and co-curator for Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits. Currently serving as interim director of the San Antonio Museum of Art, he has lived and worked in various parts of Latin America and Spain for more than 25 years and has conducted research among groups in Mexico, Central and South America, Spain, and countries of the Caribbean.
$17/$20 ($10 students)
(Evening session is preceded by wine and light hors d'oeuvres at 5:30 p.m.) James S. Copley Auditorium

April 28, Thursday
6:00 p.m.
SPECIAL EVENT Culture & Cocktails
Complement your experience of viewing the many faces of Latin America in the current Retratos exhibition by meeting festive new faces at SDMA's popular sundown series. Nosh, chat, imbibe, and see art like never before in a vibrant DJ-spun setting.
$5 in advance at www.ticketmaster.com (all fees waived), $9 at the door

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