The Warmth of the Sun
The Warmth of the Sun: A Recent Survey of Tierra del Sol Artists
August 25 – October 15, 2025
Exhibition Reception: Thursday, September 11 from 5:00 to 7:30pm
Southern California produces melodies as sweet as the fruit that comes from its farms. Its traffic causes people to slow down and soak in the surrounding sights that shimmer in the sun’s light and the sounds that whip in the wind’s delight, unlike anywhere else on this planet. The smog settles and creates dusks and dawns that feel like real-life film all year round.
The artists in Tierra del Sol's two studio programs – one based in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sunland, where the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys meet, and one based in Upland, out in San Bernardino County – are adventure seekers, poets and preachers, and bestowers and believers; they’re full of funk and spunk and know how to balance beauty with the muck. Observation is a real skill that requires patience and criticality. And in order to understand what the “Southland” is truly about, one must actually be willing and able to be patient and be perceptive. Tierra del Sol's artists are incredibly patient, incredibly perceptive, and they’re also incredibly productive. It’s this reciprocal relationship between the studio and the outside world that hits a special sweet spot that is so rare in art and the art world.
The works selected for this exhibition are representative of both the artists in the program and of the Greater Los Angeles area, within which they reside. The artists all certainly thrive when they’re in their specific art studios with their given inspirations and chosen materials, but their work truly comes alive once it exits Sunland or Upland and enters a gallery or a museum. Each of the artists are keenly connected to the world around them, and so is their work. Most of what comes out of these studios deeply and directly embraces both empirical and emotional experiences, and it does so without undue anxieties or insecurities. It is so uniquely emblematic of particular personal perspectives.
Exhibition Artists: Douglas Allen, Marlena Arthur, Tony Barnes, Alexis Cortez, Angelica Grande, Jessica Guevara, Carissa Hackman, Sarit Halo, Herb Herod, Kyle Johnson, Mason Kinsella, Ericka Lopez, Muluh Ningo, Emily Nguyen, Daniel Padilla, Angel Rodriguez, David Romero, Ivan Saucedo, Arianna Sanchez, Joe Zaldivar.
Tierra del Sol Foundation champions inclusion and value for all people with disabilities through creative pathways to employment, education, and the arts. At Tierra del Sol’s Career in the Arts programs, individuals discover career opportunities, advance their skills, and craft their own professional career path in the arts. The Tierra del Sol Gallery also offers professional representation for the artists from all of Tierra’s studio programs.
This exhibition was curated by Keith J. Varadi, Gallery Manager, Tierra del Sol Gallery. The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication and an Anonymous Donor. Additional support provided by the Instructionally Related Activities Committee and Arts Council for CSUN.
Image: Douglas Allen, Wheelchairs Accepted, 2022. Marker on paper, 12 x 18 inches. Courtesy of Tierra del Sol Gallery.