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Join CURA Contemporary on Saturday, March 1, from 4 to 6 pm for the opening reception of Backyard Dreams, a solo exhibition by Samantha Buller.
CURA Contemporary in Morgan Hill opened in the fall of 2024 as an art gallery and community space that hosts exhibitions, workshops, and art classes. The building, a work of art itself, was the brainchild of owners and longtime South County residents Dan and Kathy McCranie, who also own Colibri Art and Framing just across the street. The McCranies worked closely with Ellie Honl-Herman, the current Gallery Director, to develop CURA Contemporary’s design and offerings.
Growing up in the Midwest and coming from a long line of educators, CURA Contemporary’s Gallery Director Ellie Honl-Herman studied studio art and printmaking at St. Olaf College in Minnesota before earning an MFA in printmaking intermedia at the University of Iowa. As a student, Ellie worked at The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art and was a graduate teaching assistant before becoming a professor at multiple institutions, including Arizona State University, Indiana University, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Points, and the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. Ellie’s first time visiting California came when she was accepted for an artist residency at Kala Art Institute in Berkeley.
Ellie’s personal art practice includes printmaking, photography, and photogravure. Before pursuing art at university, she was interested in psychology and architecture, themes she would later explore in her artwork. Her works often feature precise geometric forms juxtaposed against unpredictable cyanotype backgrounds. The contrast of order and chaos in these prints explores human psychology, coping mechanisms, and situational emotional responses.
After her husband’s career brought Ellie back to California, they stayed in San Jose before settling down in Morgan Hill. At the time, Ellie was doing freelance photography and was seeking a more steady nine-to-five job. She found a job as a part-time framer at Colibri Art and Framing. Ellie’s background in art, combined with the fortuitous job posting, allowed her to get her foot in the door at the frame shop. This opened up the opportunity to start Colibri Gallery and eventually develop her role as a thought partner and gallery director of CURA Contemporary.
Since its opening, CURA Contemporary has hosted art exhibitions, workshops, and youth classes. The gallery’s goals are to be a welcoming and inclusive space for the community, provide educational opportunities that build an appreciation for the arts, be a hub for the local and regional arts community, and be a multifaceted arts destination with its unique combination of an art gallery, wine bar, restaurant, and event space.
In this conversation, we discuss Ellie’s art practice, her journey to becoming gallery director of CURA Contemporary, and her spirit of experimentation.
Follow CURA Contemporary on Instagram @CURA_contemporary.
Follow Ellie on Instagram @elliehonl and @elliehonlphoto.
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Trevor Jones is a family man, building designer, and co-owner of Minnow Arts Gallery in Santa Cruz, California. Trevor was born and raised in Cupertino before studying economics and international studies during his undergrad and earning a master’s in architecture from the University of Oregon. Trevor describes the 15 years he lived in Portland, Oregon, as the “cauldron of his life as a creative person.” Inspired by Portland’s DIY art, design, music, and skateboarding scene, he imbued collaborative and process-oriented principles into SpaceCamp Studio, his design-build practice where he works as principal designer and general contractor.
Trevor moved to Santa Cruz in the early 2010s to continue his work at SpaceCamp, raise his family, and, as a surfer, live a coastal lifestyle. He met Minnow Arts Co-Owner Christie Jarvis through a mutual friend and artist, Jeremy Borgeson. Christie, a landscape architect, ceramicist, and filmmaker, was looking for office space, and Trevor had an office in the barrel aging warehouse of Humble Sea Brewing. It didn’t work out for them there, but it led Trevor and Christie to look for an office together. They eventually found and leased the space that became the Minnow Arts Gallery.
Trevor and Christie began hosting exhibitions that featured work from friends and artists they were connected with. Since then, Minnow Arts has been working to create an inclusive and supportive gallery focused on supporting the local art scene in Santa Cruz and giving opportunities to local and regional artists. Rather than having a strict mission statement, Minnow Arts stays true to its DIY roots and takes a more flexible approach to exploring what the space can be through different shows and events. They also aim to make exhibiting art more approachable and demystified for artists. Trevor sees his role as a “companion” to artists.
In our conversation, Trevor shares his approach to building design, reflections on the journey that led him to co-owning a gallery, and advice for anyone hoping to ‘do it themselves.’
Join Christie and Trevor at Minnow Arts Gallery on Friday, January 5th, for First Friday Santa Cruz as they open a retrospective exhibition featuring artwork from Good Knife Studio Creative Director Juan Llorens, a Buenos Aires-based artist who designs and illustrates work for Humble Sea Brewing’s cans, bottles, and marketing materials. Frank Scott Krueger from Humble Sea Brewing is collaborating with Juan to curate the show.
IG: minnow.arts
Check out First Friday Santa Cruz for their entire lineup of participating galleries.
A series of locally owned shops line the sidewalk down Santa Clara Street in San Jose: a plant store, a record shop, and eateries. The latest addition to this neighborhood is a boutique art gallery called 1Culture. This gallery started as a traveling pop-up and moved into a storefront across the street from San Jose City Hall. The shop, as it’s referred to by the small team that runs it, is owned by local real estate agent and art supporter, Andrew Espino. He has a story to tell–just not his story.
Right before the pandemic lockdown in March 2020, Espino was driving his seven-year-old son to karate practice when his son posed a question: “Dad, what do you do to help people?” Baffled, and a little offended, Espino asked his son what he meant. “I know you sell real estate, but what do you do to help people? To help the world?” Espino recalls, “That really dug at me. It’s how your kids see you.”
Espino studied business at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, not entirely sure what he wanted to do with the degree. Sometime in college, he met and started helping a local real estate agent with administrative tasks. His very first real estate investment was a multi-family home located downtown on Reed Street. Espino collaborated with graffiti artist Scape Martinez to create a one-of-a-kind mural that would live on the building. The painting process and unveiling of the piece turned into a community event, coordinated by Espino. He learned that he loved creating a space for both local art and the community. While the building has been sold since then, the mural lives on today. It continues to read, “culture.”
Espino continued to work with local artists, helping them organize pop-up galleries. In the process, he learned the artists’ stories and promoted their art with folks who stopped by. “I wanted to understand the hustle that an artist goes through, from having to set up shop to selling their work. Some days we would leave with everything we came with, but to see an artist go right back out there the next weekend inspired me.” Espino’s time traveling to far off cities in search of art got his mind turning. He wondered, “How can we help change some of these artists’ lives? What tools do I have that can help? Giving them a platform? That’s when it hit me—that’s how we’re going to make change. We’re going to help artists.”
From then on, Espino started his arts-focused business. Once he knew the story or meaning behind a piece, he loved it even more. He wanted others to experience that same feeling. “I realized I wanted to find a way to continue sharing artists’ stories far and wide. The meaning behind a piece makes it much more important.”
After a year of coordinating pop-ups, Espino opened 1Culture as a permanent space to uplift artists and bring community together. The gallery’s name, 1Culture, is rooted in originality, creativity, and unity. “If you believe in those three things, then you are part of one culture. We are a Chicano-owned gallery, but we are open to everybody and want to uplift all artists and communities.”
“We like to ask each artist to tell a story—what is their art about? That’s a huge part of our mission. We encourage them to give us the full body, the details of what they’re trying to say.” – Andrew Espino
The gallery plans to rotate shows every six to eight weeks, curating a mixture of hand-selected artists and announcing calls for art. “Right now, there is a long list of artists we would like to highlight.” Espino runs 1Culture and coordinates art events around town while continuing his career in real estate. His first large event, KixCon, brought together sneaker heads, visual artists, musicians, and dancers at Eastridge Mall.
“We like to ask each artist to tell a story—what is their art about? That’s a huge part of our mission. We encourage them to give us the full body, the details of what they’re trying to say. We believe that behind the artwork is a mission, a purpose. We want to tell those stories.”
Espino has continued to incorporate art into his real estate career. He has procured a large art collection over the last 20 years. Occasionally, he will use his private collection to dress up the houses and apartments that he is selling, giving the space a local and welcoming feel. Today, Espino has an answer to his son’s questions. “When I opened the shop, I thought about what I wanted people to see or how they would feel—and with everything going on in the world, I really wanted people to feel present. When you walk in here, you can take a time out from the world and really get lost in these stories that haven’t been told, and you’ll be in a place where you can feel at home.”
shop1culture.com
136 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, Ca 95113
Instagram
shop1culture