ENCINITAS, CA — (January 14, 2009) — Art lovers and their families are invited to Lux Art Institute’s “Free Saturday” on January 31. From 1 – 4 p.m. guests will enjoy an open house with free admission, studio tours, refreshments and live music. Admission will be free all day on Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The afternoon will give visitors a chance to meet Lux resident artist Jolynn Krystosek. A mixed media sculptor and painter from New York City, Krystosek will create a large-scale, 8’ by 10’ paper collage in the Lux studio during her residency. The piece will begin with drawings, which will be projected on and cut from various layers of thin rice paper. The cut papers will then be layered over one another and be adhered to the wall. This process creates a rich, layered installation with shadow and texture.

Lux Liaisons will guide tours through the studio and Krystosek’s exhibition of large-scale, sculptural paper cut-outs, wax floral relief carvings, and watercolors of exotic birds adorned with real feathers.

Lux, San Diego’s interactive art destination, is dedicated to encouraging children’s artistic curiosity through Luxcursion (classroom fieldtrips to Lux,) the Valise Project, (portable museums presented to schools throughout San Diego,) Summer Camp, and Family Day.

Lux Art Institute is located at 1550 South El Camino Real in Encinitas. Parking for “Free Saturday” is in the Sanderling-Waldorf School parking lot and in posted parking zones along El Camino Real.

Lux hours are Thursday and Friday, 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; cost is $10 for two visits.

For more information visit www.luxartinstitute.org or call 760.436.6611.

About Jolynn Krystosek Krystosek’s work with wax floral relief carvings and large-scale, site-specific paper cut-outs denote a reverence for traditional craftsmanship and make reference to Dutch still life painting, botanicals, and Victorian cameos. Both media demonstrate Krystosek’s mastery of materials and her ability to evoke beauty and delicacy from her compositions. Simultaneously, due to the vulnerability of the media and temporal nature of the subject matter, the images that are produced also hint at impending decay and the fragility of life.

Krystosek was born in California and earned her BA from San Francisco State University and her MFA from Hunter College in New York. The 26-year-old now lives and works in New York City.

Krystosek has exhibited at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, Lucas Schoormans Gallery, the Horticultural Society of New York, Broadway Gallery, 3rd Ward, and Hunter Times Square Gallery, all in New York City.

Krystosek is in-studio Jan. 10 – Jan. 31. Her completed work will be on view at Lux through March 18.