A Night of Pop and Art: The 9th Annual Art Party at Sparks Gallery
This year’s theme was Pop Art. The exhibition filled the gallery with bold color, graphic forms, and playful references to popular culture. Guests explored Pop Culture Remix, a national group exhibition that examined the influence of advertising, celebrity culture, comics, nostalgia, consumerism, and everyday life. Featured artists included:
Jason Acton, Grace Ainsworth, Andrea Arroyo, Neal Bociek, Tiffany Bociek, Anne Brown, Wendy Brozic, Patricia Cannon, Jenna Cooper, Susan Coppock, Matt Forderer, Kenda Francis, Steve Girard, Steve Harlow, Kevin Jacobs, Daniel Jaimes, Tommy Knudson, Susan Magine, Ty Metcalfe, Carrie Miller, Maidy Morhous, MaryElizabeth Olsen, Roshni Patel, Natasha Reboot, Jon Savage, Kari Souders, Cheryl Tall, and ShiXiang Wang.
The night’s decor included front window signs by My Marquee SD, lounges with colorful rugs, lava lamps, and melting candy lollipop sculptures.
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Beginning with the Curator’s Tour
The evening began with a VIP Tour with curator and gallery owner Sonya Sparks. Ticket holders arrived early for an exclusive walkthrough of the exhibition.
During the tour, guests moved through the Pop Art exhibit and chief curator Sonya Sparks discussed the ideas behind the work. Several of the artists from all over the nation attended, and shared their approach to popular culture, humor, memory, and visual language in their work on view.
Each brought a distinct point of view to a movement that continues to shape the way we see images, products, media, and daily life. Some works leaned into the bright, playful side of Pop Art. Others used familiar references to ask more pointed questions about the culture around us.
Artist Jon Savage
Artist Jason Acton
Two Exhibitions Creating a Visual Conversation
The Pop Art exhibition shared the gallery with Sugar Rush, the Oceanside Museum of Art Artist Alliance exhibition.
Sugar Rush brought together vibrant and imaginative work from professional contemporary artists who are members of the Oceanside Museum of Art Artist Alliance. The exhibition explored sweetness, nostalgia, humor, bold color, and the energetic spirit of popular culture. The playful focus created a strong visual conversation with the Pop Art presentation.
Showing the two exhibitions side by side gave guests more than one way into the evening’s theme. The Pop Art exhibition looked at the continued influence of a major art movement, while Sugar Rush offered another view of color, memory, humor, and visual pleasure in contemporary art.
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Pop-Inspired Food and Drinks
The San Diego Wine & Culinary Center created a menu that carried the Pop Art theme into the food and drinks.
Guests enjoyed:
- Grilled cheese with Campbell’s soup shots
- Beet and tuna tartare with crudité “paint” palettes
- Braised short rib with purple cauliflower purée and broccolini
- Neon pop cupcakes
The menu paired familiar comfort food with an elegant presentation that felt both refined and inviting. The grilled cheese and soup pairing offered a playful reference to a classic combination and a homage to renowned Pop Artist Andy Warhol.
The crudité “paint” palettes brought a thoughtful composition of color and texture to the table.The neon pop cupcakes closed out the menu with a bright dessert that matched the spirit of the exhibition, placed strategically next to a painting depicting a “zebra-rooster” contemplating a cupcake.
The San Diego Wine & Culinary Center also provided themed cocktails and beverages for the evening.
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Art Match
The Art Match icebreaker gave guests an easy way to start a conversation with other guests.
Guests were given a card with half of an artwork on it. At the party, they showed their half to other guests. When two people found a complete art match, they were able to claim a gift from several local sponsors.
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Secret Black-Light Messages with Michael Carini
Artist Michael Carini led the evening’s interactive activation, Pop Yourself Open.
Guests collaborated on a giant canvas by writing secret messages with black-light pens. The messages remained hidden until the canvas was placed under black light, when the full piece came into view.
The activation also connected to Carini’s artistic process. Inspired by the Japanese aesthetics of wabi-sabi and shibui, his Beautiful Accidents series developed from the excess paint he wiped from his palette knife while bringing his visions to life. The process took place over years.The works served as tactile road maps of Carini’s artistic journey, with layers created from the excess paint wiped from his palette knife, each piece representing years of accumulated energy and hundreds of stories.
The giant collaborative canvas offered a shared version of that process. Guests added their own marks and messages, then waited for the black-light reveal. The experience gave visitors a way to think about the visible and hidden parts of making art, as well as the role of chance in a finished work.
Carini’s work is centered around mental health support, and this activation was also created to allow others to “pop themselves open” to share a thought, struggle, or goal and let it out into the world in a therapeutic release.
Artist Michael Carini
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Supporting San Diego’s Arts Community
Five percent of every ticket supported San Diego Art Directory, a local arts nonprofit. This contribution was an important part of the evening because the Art Party was not only about gathering at the gallery. It also helped direct support toward the wider San Diego arts community.
Events like this depend on many hands. Artists shared their work and ideas. Guests brought curiosity and a willingness to take part. Our food and beverage partners created a menu that fit the theme. Sponsors contributed prizes that extended the experience beyond the night itself.
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Art Prize Sponsors and Partners
The Oceanside Museum of Art provided museum tickets for Art Match, and continued its connection with Sparks Gallery through the Sugar Rush exhibition.
The San Diego Museum of Art provided museum tickets as well. Its collection and programs have made it an important part of the region’s cultural life.
Ceramic artist Ron Carlson contributed two of his handmade plates. Carlson directed the UCSD Crafts Center for 38 years and created porcelain vessels meant to be picked up, opened, and explored by hand.
The GO Deck contributed card decks with a set of 52 outdoor experiences. Each card offered a starting point for planning time outside in and around San Diego and North County.
Sparks Gallery also contributed two curation prizes:
- A private curation appointment with Natalie Gonzalez
- A private curation appointment with Sonya Sparks
These appointments reflected one of the gallery’s core values: helping people find artwork that fits their space, interests, and personal connection to art.
The 9th Annual Art Party gave us a chance to celebrate the many ways art brings people together. Thank you, every artist who shared work or participated in the program, every sponsor and partner who helped make the evening possible, and every member of the Sparks Gallery team who shaped the experience from start to finish.
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