Shingo Francis Adds His Own Glow to the Casa del Mar

Shingo Francis adds color to the Casa del Mar

Things are hotting up for GLOW, the all night art-on-the-beach-happening that was so successful two years ago, it is returning to Santa Monica this year on Saturday, September 25^th.

The event will feature 20 installations by artists and architects coupled with an intended greater focus on that art  while avoiding the  rave-type atmosphere that developed last time (the city has done away with DJs and opted for a 4:00AM finish instead of 7:00AM ). KCRW is a big supporter of GLOW so watch this space for more details, and make sure to attend.

In the meantime if you’d like a quiet prelude to the event, stop by the Casa del Mar hotel, on the beach at the end of Pico Boulevard by its sister hotel, Shutters.  Casa del Mar has invited artist Shingo Francis to reimagine its lobby as part of its Live Well Again Art and Events series.

Francis, son of the late Santa Monica artist, Sam Francis, was undeterred by the muted shades and traditional styling of the hotel and has produced a series of colorful interventions: large dots applied at top of the window panes with the leftovers from the cutouts reused in an abstract composition on a large mirror; large painted paper lanterns and a temporary sculpture made of hula hoops, on view tonight on the beach in front of Casa del Mar.

Francis says his pieces were inspired by his own sunny beachside childhood in Santa Monica Canyon as well as a memory of the hotel serving, in a prior incarnation, as a place of sanctuary and healing for drug addicts. The installation is up until November 30. See more about him and his work on this Shingo Francis at Casa del Mar.