Art Exhibition: Celebrated Surfboard Shaper Teams Up With Local Artist for Special Collaboration

SAN DIEGO, CA. Tim Bessell is pleased to announce the exhibition Synthesizing Form and Color: New Work by Anne Varick at his gallery in La Jolla, CA, from May 26 through July 1, 2025 (Private view: May 24, 4-8 pm).

The exhibition features around thirty works by Anne Varick, 84, a sculptor, painter and draughtsman who now creates exclusively in digital. Essentially self-taught, she honed her skills in the medium during the pandemic.

The occasion marks Anne Varick’s first solo exhibition in La Jolla since 1977, when she displayed her cast-bronze, marble and pewter sculpture at Quenzler Art Studio (formerly next to the Athenaeum on Girard). In his review of the show Richard Reilly, art critic for The San Diego Union, wrote:

“[Anne] Varick’s figures combine naturalism with a certain degree of primitivism and remind one of Henry Moore’s characteristic human forms . . . some artists register only deformities, Varick registers beauty . . . one hopes it will be the beginning of a distinguished career.” (The San Diego Union, February 20, 1977)

Despite a hiatus from the exhibition circuit, Anne Varick continues to produce work, now entirely digital, that is fresh, vibrant and alluring. Her approach comes from her background in sculpture: she digitally carves (takes away), then models (adds to) using Photoshop. She often uses one of her previous works as a starting point—be it a pen sketch, pastel drawing or photograph—and with her digital tools either expands or retracts the image, taking the relatively simple form to new heights.