“[The exhibition is like] pilots testing the sound barrier of Mach 1 […] pushing into the unknown,” says artist Jason Clay Lewis. The show is a feast of sensory engagement, featuring sculptures that inspire touch fantasies, paintings that creep into the third dimension, and fabric pieces that wrap the viewer’s experience in silk and netting. Within every work, details anticipate their moment of reveal. 

Although it is a large group show, artists do not have to fight for their limelight. Each piece feels perfectly positioned, the space curated into zones of understanding and energy that create room for thoughtful and purposeful experience.

The show is, in many ways, similar to the gallery that hosts it. Techne Art Center is quickly making a name for itself in the contemporary art world. The space expands inwardly, offering art like Mary Poppins pulling magic out of her capacious bag. It includes many smaller rooms, which offer artists the opportunity to install expansive work and create a treasure-hunt experience for viewers. Around every turn, new art greets you and pulls you in.

In one of those rooms, an installation piece by Tim Murdoch turns the space into a surreal echo of local ecology; it is quiet, mysterious, and meditative. Murdoch’s work not only transforms the room, it also showcases his masterful ability to transform the materials he is using. A simple but powerful color palette and attention to balance and shadows transfigure familiar wood into something entirely new. “I really like spaces like this because there’s freedom to explore new things and show work that is challenging,” Murdoch says.

Prominent San Diego ceramic artist Sasha Koozel Reibstein has taken up the same call. Her work Antivenom stands tall in the main space, drawing attention with offshooting, open-mouthed snake heads; anthropomorphic petals; unexpected textures; and loud colors. 

Murdoch and Reibstein’s pieces resonate so strongly at Techne because it is surrounded by work from artists who are all pushing towards their own version of Mach 1. As a whole, the show boldly requests the viewer set aside everything they know and expect from certain materials. In exchange, it offers radioactive painted ceramics, massive circuit boards woven from fabric, and paintings that deal purely in deception and distortion.

Artist and Techne founder Charles Thomas says his goal for opening his space was to “show work that is so good, people have to come out.”

In Afterburner, he has succeeded. His careful curatorial approach has produced an imperative body of work. 

Afterburner opens at Techne Art Center (1609 Ord Way, Oceanside, CA 92056) on Saturday, April 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. 

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San Diego’s Best Art Galleries

Bread & Salt Gallery

Launched in a former Logan Heights bread factory in 2013, Bread & Salt has become one of San Diego County’s most active and important cultural hubs. In addition to showcasing contemporary art across mediums, the institution supports resident artists and hosts concerts, vendors, and other independent galleries (see below). Bread & Salt is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

1955 Julian Avenue, Logan Heights

Best Practice Art Gallery

Founded by Joe Yorty and Allie Mundt in 2016, Best Practice is located within Bread & Salt. Funky, boundary-pushing, and often highly conceptual, the gallery’s contemporary art exhibitions highlight local and international artists tackling major social issues through paintings, film, large-scale immersive installations, and more. Visit during Bread & Salt’s regular hours (Tuesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.).

1955 Julian Avenue, Logan Heights

Sparks Gallery

Located in the Gaslamp, Sparks Gallery has championed contemporary Southern California artists—including local luminaries like James Hubbell, Stefanie Bales, and Oriana Poindexter—working in a broad range of styles and mediums since 2013. Stop by Monday, Thursday, and Friday from 10 a.m to 6 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

530 Sixth Avenue, Gaslamp

The Studio Door

Gay-owned gallery The Studio Door is a fixture of Hillcrest’s monthly neighborhood art walk. Founder Patric Stillman hosts an annual themed, juried exhibition. Throughout the year, collectors can wander through the gallery’s network of small studios to explore a diverse array of works from partner artists. Open hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

3867 4th Avenue, Hillcrest

The San Diego Watercolor Society Gallery

The San Diego Watercolor Society Gallery serves as a vibrant hub for watercolor enthusiasts in Point Loma, offering exhibitions, workshops, and educational programs. Major annual shows include an exhibition of work by member artists and one showcasing paintings from international watercolorists. The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

2825 Dewey Road, Suite 105, Building 202, Point Loma 

Thumbprint Gallery

Many of the eclectic, playful works at Thumbprint Gallery draw from pop culture and digital-age aesthetics. The La Jolla space, launched in 2009 by Paul Ecdao and Johnny Tran, is a must-visit for collectors just starting out; Ecdao and Tran partner often with emerging artists to vend work at an approachable price point. Shop Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 4 p.m. 

920 Kline Street, La Jolla

Quint Art Gallery

Founded in 1981, La Jolla’s Quint has long been one of San Diego’s foremost commercial art spaces, mounting forward-thinking works from an esteemed list of contemporary artists, such as local stars Taylor Chapin, Robert Irwin, and Einar and Jamex De La Torre. Visit Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

7722 Girard Avenue, La Jolla

Joseph Bellows Gallery

Located just upstairs from Quint, Joseph Bellows Gallery focuses exclusively on photography, housing a nostalgia-inducing collection of black-and-white photographs depicting American life, as well as a robust library of photographic books. Explore the gallery on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

7661 Girard Avenue, La Jolla

Art Produce Gallery

City-supported nonprofit Art Produce moved into the renovated space that once housed North Park Produce in 1999. Part gallery and part venue for public art, the organization offers bold, often interactive showcases visible from the sidewalk through massive glass walls. The gallery is open Thursday and Friday from 2 to 5 p.m., though you may be able to visit Art Produce at additional times for performances, workshops, and other events.

3139 University Avenue, North Park

Trash Lamb Gallery

Lovers of the odd and macabre (and of affordable original art) will meet their match at Trash Lamb, a tiny, quirky gallery-slash-gift-shop in South Park. Founded in 2020, the space shows conversation-starting works from emerging and established artists, including Jason Sherry and Jon Bok. Trash Lamb is open Thursday through Saturday from 12 to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m.

2365 30th Street, South Park

Meyer Fine Art

Founded in 1978, Meyer Fine Art is located in Little Italy’s Art & Design District. The gallery has shown work from artists like Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Francisco Zuniga, José Luis Cuevas, and Andy Warhol, among others. Mayer Fine Art is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 pm.

2400 Kettner Boulevard, Suite 104, Little Italy

Distinction Gallery

Distinction Gallery has hosted more than 100 exhibitions since its 2004 founding. The gallery runs a free art program for teens, and while certainly not a children’s gallery in any traditional sense, kids and kids-at-heart might find themselves especially drawn to the space’s technicolor, strange, sometimes spooky tastes. Distinction is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 12 to 5 p.m.

317 East Grand Avenue, Suite A, Escondido

Oolong Gallery

Perched in an airy former warehouse in Encinitas and led by knowledgeable owner Eric Laine, Oolong Gallery mounts exhibitions of 2D and 3D art from around the globe, often pairing two or more artists to draw powerful thematic and visual connections between their work. Explore Oolong’s shows Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

687 Second Street, Encinitas

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McNairy plays Cliff, a traveling salesman struggling to provide for his family, who is lured into the world of arms and drugs trafficking by an old colleague (Harington). The indie shoot-’em-up drags the viewer into a brutal underworld, forcing them to confront the limits of the so-called American dream. We sat down with producer Noah Lang to chat about the inspiration behind the film ahead of its limited release and digital release on April 19.

First off, congratulations on the win. What made you want to tell this story?

I produced a movie in my 20s with Rod Blackhurst called Here Alone. We premiered at Tribeca and won the audience award, and along the way became best friends and eventually business partners in our production company. Straight away, we started developing this rough story based on the idea of a traveling salesman who’s drowning under the weight of trying to provide. We had this [loose] outline and we kept tinkering with it and tweaking it. It took us six years to get to make the film.

Finally, it all fell into place very fast. Josh Lucas, Kit Harington, and Scoot McNairy all wanted to do it, and it all happened within the span of five months. What drew me to it is that [in the industry] right now [there’s not] a lot of emphasis being placed [on] class warfare—the haves and the have-nots. So this is a way to talk about things that are important to all of us—the writer, myself, the director—and a means to comment on something we care about under the guise of a thriller. 

What was it like working with such an impressive cast? 

Our cast was so fantastic. Scoot McNairy couldn’t be a cooler guy, so down-to-earth. He’s just as happy talking to someone as famous as Kit Harington as he is with a production assistant or an intern. 

We owe a ton of fealty to Kit Harington—he and Josh helped unlock so much of the money, and he reciprocated it by being a lovely guy and a family man, wildly talented, and super sweet. They all worked so hard. 

Josh is just a great dude. He was with us for a week, and he’s so smart. He brought a lot of gravitas to the character. The three of them made a lot of the process easy because of how talented they are. 

That certainly makes your job easier. I didn’t realize it was done in such a short span of time—what were some of the challenges in producing this film?

It’s a period movie. It’s [set in] the early ’90s, which is weird to think about as “period,” but that’s a long time ago now. Trying to avoid shooting stuff that is very contemporary is hard, especially without a very large VFX budget. So we went to this part of Montana called Billings, which is very much stuck in the ’90s. Identifying that place was key. 

Also, there’s action, there’s gunfights. We were proud we didn’t use any live ammunition or blanks—we just philosophically don’t agree with it. Even so, that stuff is hard. It’s choreography, it’s camera placement, it’s all these things that come together. And just the logistics of shooting in winter—it’s so cold there. Everybody was wearing 10 layers. 

But no one complained; everyone had a good time. It just shows that if you build a good set culture and you care about your people, they’ll show up for you. I think the film speaks to that. It’s been so well-received. I’m hopeful that wide audiences are really going to love it too. 

What do you hope the audience takes away from the film?

To me, it’s a movie that speaks to a wide cross section of people. I think anyone can get behind the idea that there are two sets of laws, two sets of rules: The rich get richer, while the poor are held to different standards. That infuriates people. That’s in this, but it’s between the lines. 

I think [viewers will be able] to relate to our lead—he’s a person we can see parts of ourselves in. He’s imperfect. He tries really hard, but he’s made enormous mistakes, but he does believe he can be a better man. I hope they take away a certain sense of entertainment and tension. We tried to make a movie that’s as much a drama as it is a thriller. 

How do you feel about the final product?

I couldn’t be happier. Spielberg says, “No movie’s finished, just abandoned.” Maybe I’ll watch it in three or four years and think, “Man, it would have been nice if we could have done x or y.” But we got to make the movie we wanted to make. 

I love the pace. I love how it feels. I’ve watched it in theaters so many times now, but I don’t get tired of it. I’m hopeful other people feel the same way. I’ve been really encouraged with how much critics have liked it, but it’s really about what audiences take away.

The director, Rod Blackhurst, said that the setting itself is a character in this movie. If San Diego were a character in one of your movies, what would that look like?

I mean, San Diego is so beautiful and has so much diversity to how it looks, so it does depend on where you would set the film. I do think there’s something to be said for trying to set something more in the genre world, horror or sci-fi, and embracing some of the more suburban places in San Diego and leaning in a little bit to this new wave of American culture, a lot of housing developments and things like that. What it says about gentrification or the American dream—is there a way to fold that into the artifice of a horror movie or sci-fi movie? I’d love to see something like that. And I’d love to make something in San Diego, because I could just stay with my in-laws and save that money out of the budget.

Always thinking like a producer. I didn’t realize you had family down here—what do you like to do when you’re in town?

We go out to eat a lot. What’s the place with the old, converted barracks and all the nice restaurants? Liberty Station. We love it there. We have two young kids, so it’s things like the Science Museum at Balboa Park, and the zoo, and going to the beach when it’s warm enough. Even just walking around La Jolla is so great. Standard stuff, frankly. 

Lastly, I have to ask—is your life anything like Entourage?

Absolutely not! I wish we had that kind of financial stability. It’s such a peculiar time to be making stuff and trying to be a producer or filmmaker at all. It’s so difficult out there. But what is the same is being able to rely on one another and know that we care about each other and want each other to succeed. And the want and love for making movies and being on set. If I didn’t like that then I wouldn’t want to do it, but I love that.

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