Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Fine Art PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

Spirit In The Arts At California Institute Of Integral Studies Presents Metamorphisis: New Works By Abba Yahudah

The paintings of renowned Jamaican-born artist, Abba Yahuda, will be on display at the California Institute of Integral Studies’ (CIIS) Minna Street Center from November 6 through December 18, 2009. A reception party will take place on Friday, November 20 from 7pm-11pm.

Presented by CIIS’ Spirit in the Arts program, Abba Yahudah’s latest body of work continues to explore figurative abstraction through color, or what he calls “Third Eye Color Therapy.” Having lived, taught, and exhibited in Ethiopia, Yahudah seamlessly melds Ethiopian iconography, dynamic geometric designs, abstraction, and stunning color to create canvases of magical engagement and electrifying power. His newer paintings incorporate collage elements from popular culture and history, giving the work additional political depth. This exhibition is Yahudah’s first Bay Area solo show.

Born in St. Catherine, Jamaica, to a family of artists and builders, Abba Yahudah vowed early in life to dedicate himself to art. By age ten, he had developed remarkable skills for drawing. He soon explored many creative outlets, including pottery, carving, and writing. A serious commitment to painting – some watercolor, but mostly oils – followed at age thirteen. In 1981, at age fifteen, Abba Yahudah migrated to the United States. Here he took up sign painting and won first place in several poster contests. While living in New York in 1985, he attended Parson’s School of Design and the School of Visual Arts, studying graphic design and layout and illustration. In 1996, he opened the first Rastafarian gallery in Park Slope, Brooklyn, named Lalibela, after the monolithic churches of Ethiopia’s New Jerusalem. Yahudah’s art has traveled internationally to Ethiopia, exhibiting at the Habesha and Lela Art Galleries, to the University of West Indies, Jamaica, and to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.

Event Details:

Metamorphosis: New Works by Abba Yahudah November 6-December 18 CIIS Minna Street Center, Second Floor 695 Minna Street (at 8th Street) San Francisco, CA 94103 Gallery Hours: M-F 9:00AM-6:00PM (except holidays)

Reception Party Friday, November 20, 2009 7:00PM-11:00PM CIIS Minna Street Center Live Music and Refreshments

Spirit in the Arts at California Institute of Integral Studies celebrates creativity and affirms the power of art as an agent of social change. Through art exhibits and events, Spirit in the Arts offers contemporary perspectives that integrate the spiritual, psychological, and aesthetic dimensions of life. www.ciis.edu/arts

The California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is an institution of higher education offering interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and applied studies in psychology, counseling, philosophy, religion, cultural anthropology, transformative studies and leadership, integrative health, women’s spirituality, community mental health, and the arts. The Institute offers master and doctoral degrees, as well as a Bachelor of Arts completion degree and advanced certificates. For more information, visit www.ciis.edu.

Contact: James David Martin 415-575-6165

California Institute of Integral Studies 1453 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103