Journal:
R
Blitzer
Gallery
It started with a fountain. Rob Blitzer, owner of R. Blitzer Gallery located in the Westside Wrigley Building, hadn’t planned on opening an art gallery. He was commissioned to build a fountain for a gardening show and needed a space to build. Enter Wrigley Building. Rob’s first location in the Wrigley building wasn’t his last, nor his second or third. Starting off in what is now the Aerial Arts Santa Cruz Location, moving to the now Santa Cruz Bicycles Space, Rob moved one more time before settling in his current location in the building. Given all his hopping around, Rob has gotten to know the building and has had the unique opportunity to watch the community of businesses that now reside there grow. “The future of this building looks bright. I’ve seen the building just grow. It is the coolest place”, say Blitzer. And he has praises for Santa Cruz as well.
I really like the direction of Santa Cruz right now, the type of economy we are growing here: the tech stuff, the foodies stuff, the beer stuff. Everything here is lifting the whole economy.
Blitzer, an artist himself, has been apart of the art community for decades as a painter and sculptor, and has been able to see the growth of Santa Cruz and the growth of the Art Community.
“it’s a beautiful community and it’s a very artful community, and the art here has been great – I am going to use vigorous- [the art community] has been vigorous here for a long long time. It’s a good time to be in the fine arts in Santa Cruz. It is getting better and better.”
Certainly in the middle of this vigorous art community is the R. Blitzer Gallery, which is a space that gives artists the ability to showcase their works in a museum-quality professional setting. And for Blitzer, it has allowed him to meet a ton of artists, to show some really cool pieces art, and to promote-for the most part-art in Santa Cruz (although you will occasionally see artists from the region as well as international artists). From paintings to sculptures to photographs to handmade guitars, the art at this gallery is different and equally compelling each month.
Upcoming Shows:
JUNE: Rob Blitzer
JULY & AUGUST: Gary Hughes & Howard Kaneg
SEPTEMBER: Group from Monterey Peninsula College
OCTOBER: Open Studios Preview
NOVEMBER: Watercolor Society
DECEMBER/JANUARY Rydel Fellowship