This weekend in the arts: Sreshta Rit Premnath at ICA San Diego; Teros Gallery hosts The Space Lady; Irving Flores plays Eydie Gormé; Jean Lowe at Quint; Verdi's "Requiem" at the Shell; Ingram Ober and Marisol Rendón's Park Social bike tour; and Nathan Englander at The Old Globe
Sreshta Rit Premnath: 'Grave/Grove'
Visual art
In the latest exhibition to take over the Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego's Balboa Park space, India-born and Brooklyn-based artist Sreshta Rit Premnath uses sculptural, botanical installations of weeds or other suppressed plants to explore the idea of societal outsiders, refugees or cast outs. The plant installations are coupled with curving, white, landscape-like sculptural backdrops, sparsely dotting the gallery space. Premnath worked with South Bay's Pixca Farm in growing the plants used in the exhibition.
Details: Opens with a reception from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. On view through Feb. 23, 2023. Museum hours are noon to 5 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. ICA San Diego - Central, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. Free.
Payare Leads Verdi's 'Requiem'
Music, Classical, Outdoor concerts
Possibly one of the closest times I've felt to being "metal" (as the kids say) was playing the second movement of Verdi's "Requiem" in an orchestra. The movement — and the entire composition — has an intensity and power that's nearly unmatched in the classical repertoire. And it's a musical setting of a funeral mass, which is also pretty metal.
Verdi wrote "Requiem" in 1874, just a few years after the opera "Aida." He is largely regarded as an opera composer, having penned more than two dozen operatic works over the course of his life. While "Requiem" is a detour from his operas, it's still plenty theatrical and dramatic. The San Diego Symphony will perform two concerts with the San Diego Master Chorale and soloists.
Details: 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1-2, 2022. The Shell, 222 Marina Park Way, downtown. $25-$108.
Park Social bike tour: 'In Collaboration with the Passerby'
Visual art, Outdoors
Artists Ingram Ober and Marisol Rendón will present the culminating event for their Park Social installations at Otay Valley Regional Park in a weekend bike tour and an accessible walking tour. The pair installed a series of sculptures throughout the trail system, and each of their installations is situated at "entry points" for the trails, reflecting the various users and inhabitants of the natural spaces. I profiled Ober and Rendón's work in the early stages of Park Social, and you can read more about their plans here.
Details: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Otay Valley Regional Park Ranger Station, 2156 Beyer Blvd., Otay Mesa. Free.
The Space Lady: Final Tour
Music, Electronic music
Dubbed a "living outsider music legend," The Space Lady is Susan Dietrich Schneider, and this is her final tour after performing since the 1970s. Her music is, yes, "spacy," but also pared down, lo-fi and honest — often otherworldly, curious renditions of pop songs.
Also performing in this Teros Gallery showcase is experimental LA-based harpist and composer Nailah Hunter. In true Teros fashion, they're also bringing in lots of arts community friends. Visual artist Avia Rose will create visuals for the performances, Burn All Books will be on hand, plus more.
Details: 8 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. Tango Del Rey, 3567 Del Rey St., Pacific Beach. $25-$50.
Jean Lowe: 'Swank'
Visual art
Artist Jean Lowe's latest full-gallery installation is a surreally life-size, cardboard and papier mache rendering of a car dealership, complete with a massive "Swank Tank," the Hummer EV.
Lowe's signature is the space between convincing realism and cartoonish parody, and the application of this style onto exorbitant or excessive indulgences like Hummers feels just right. Apparently, the Quint Gallery staff will be on hand acting as car salespeople and will also include work by Lowe's husband, artist Kim MacConnel.
Details: Opens with a reception from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1. On view through Nov. 26, 2022. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Quint Gallery, 7655 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Free.
Irving Flores presents a Tribute to Eydie Gormé
Music, Jazz, Latin
At Dizzy's on Saturday, local Latin jazz pianist Irving Flores will perform a set to honor the often overlooked yet enduring and impactful singer Eydie Gormé. Kaylee Daugherty will perform vocals, along with Sean Hicke on bass, drummer Fernando Gomez and Cuban percussionist Eugenio Arango.
In a remembrance on NPR following her death in 2013, jazz critic Will Friedwald credited Gormé's magic to her emotional range. "Eydie Gormé certainly deserves respect. She's one of the greatest interpreters of the American songbook," Friedwald told NPR. Listen to "Sabor a Mí" here.
Details: 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. Dizzy's, 1717 Morena Blvd., Morena/Linda Vista. $20.
'What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank'
Theater
Pulitzer Prize finalist Nathan Englander's new play, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank," is now on stage at The Old Globe, directed by Barry Edelstein. The story follows two childhood friends who drift apart as adults and lead very different lives. In the show program, Edelstein said that this play not only touches on friendship and the Jewish experience, but at its heart, it speaks to the terrifying uncertainty in our current reality. "That anxiety is Nathan's subject here," Edelstein writes.
Details: On stage through Oct. 23, 2022. This weekend's performances are 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m Saturday, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday. The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. $30-$106.
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