"Saints & Sinners" exhibit to open at the Folk Tree in March

SAINTS & SINNERS XXI, The Folk Tree's annual Easter season exhibition, is on view March 7 - April 11, 2009. Latin American religious folk art and artifacts, primarily from Mexico, are displayed alongside pieces by area artists that more generally deal with issues concerning "the sacred and the profane" and "good v. evil." Approximately thirty-five artists are included, represented by painting, printmaking, assemblage, paper mache, drawing, mixed media, jewelry and more. The public is invited to a reception on Saturday, March 7, from 2 - 6 P.M.
Easter is the most important holiday of the festival calendar for many Mexican Catholics. The abundance of Easter and Lenten season rituals, such as processions, dances, and other observances are evidence of its significance.

To commemorate this season, The Folk Tree's offers: old religious medals and vintage prayer cards from Mexico; a wide variety of crosses; Our Lady of Guadalupe pieces; santos (painted and unpainted wood carvings of saints) from Mexico and New Mexico; and milagros (miracle offerings).

Many local artists are represented. On view are pieces by paper mache artist
Ulla Anobile; paintings by Joe Alvarez, Matt de Haven, Patricia Krebs, and Joel Nakamura; assemblage by Janice Lowry, Cynthia Cook and BJ Christofferson. Cook explains her use of recycled materials to create intimately scaled "icons" with the goal of "inspiring a renewed sense of the sacred within the oft-overlooked mundane debris of contemporary life." Jewelers Alba Heredia, Sean Hill, Stephanie Schroeter-Frymyer, and Lisa Rocha offer crosses, sacred hearts and other religiously themed pieces.

The Saints & Sinners exhibition highlights traditional devotional objects as well as contemporary pieces with symbols of Christianity and related themes in both worldly and spiritual contexts. Theists and secularists alike will appreciate the variety of work on view.

The Folk Tree is located at 217 S. Fair Oaks Ave. just three blocks south of Old Town Pasadena and minutes walking distance from the Del Mar Gold Line light rail station. Hours are: M-W, 11-6; Th-Sat, 10-6; Sun, 12-5. For more information, contact The Folk Tree at (626) 795-8733 or Gail Mishkin at (626) 793-4828.