Henry Miller wrote, “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” I find that even a quick road trip can help you rediscover things that you thought were familiar. This weekend, I went to San Jose to check out a few exhibitions featuring artists I know either personally, or from working at di Rosa.

Di Rosa just lent two collection paintings by Joan Brown to the San Jose Museum of Art for the retrospective of Brown’s work titled This Kind of Bird Flies Backward. Joan Brown was a notable member of the Bay Area Figurative Movement and had an intriguing personal life. I had known about her marriage to sculptor Manuel Neri, but I had no idea that she was a competitive swimmer and a disciple of Sai Baba. It was exciting to see her Self-Portrait in Fur Hat (1972), which has always hung in the living room of Rene di Rosa’s home, now grouped on a wall of other self portraits--in a turban, a swim cap, sipping coffee--all with her bright almond shaped eyes peering out at me. It was like visiting an old college roommate in her new life.

Also at the SJMA is a show called Renegade Humor, grouping together many artists who also happen to be in the di Rosa collection: Roy de Forest, William Wiley, Robert Arneson, David Gilhooly, Richard Shaw, Enrique Chagoya, Viola Frey, Bruce Nauman. Most of these artists where students or instructors at UC Davis where Rene di Rosa met them while studying viticulture. The show celebrates humor in art, whether its poking fun at politicians or popular culture.

Finally, I made my way out of the museum (stopped to photograph some skaters) and found Anno Domini, an alternative space that focuses on street artists. Its hard to miss their mural-coated building on First Street where they’ve been camped out for over 10 years. What began as a monthly get-together in a warehouse, has become a nationally recognized gallery where emerging art forms flourish.

Napa artists Porous Walker and David Hopp, with friends Kristin Farr, Able Brown and Isaac McKay-Randozzi are currently showing there as the N’TENCE Collective. Unfortunately I missed the epic opening party with music by Comfort Slacks (also Napa-based), where the artists installed several orange tents amidst artwork they created from past hallucinations. BUT I did have the feeling of déjà vu they were hoping to elicit as I sat in front of Kristin’s vibrating bright mandalas. I’m happy to say that I’m now the proud owner of a Porous Walker drawing of a woman pouring a bottle of wine down her pants which I got for the low low price of $5!

I got “out of Dodge” for the day to reconnect with artists I thought I knew…and was happily surprised. Where next?