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Although Santana Row isn’t all that unusual, providing the same upscale shopping one can find in any major city anywhere, Gallery 85 is quite distinctive. It was great to hear a bunch of left-brain businessfolk actually applaud such a concept. I didn’t ask if it was intentional grounding.Īll in all, everyone appeared sincere in their applause for a worthy cause, acknowledging that the state of California must do something to get music and arts education back into elementary schools. One piece, a vase, even went crashing to the floor, after someone bumped its pedestal. When I won the scholarship, everyone was like, ‘Whoa, you can actually do something now.'”Īs the evening wore on, hardly anyone crammed into the space seemed to pay that much attention to the art. I did it in high school nobody understood it.
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I did it when I was younger, and nobody understood it. “When I started doing art, it was a new thing, and I was even doubting myself about doing it. “I come from a family where all my relatives played football,” he said. I used to Google myself and nothing would show up.”Ĭontinuing, Cummings recalled that, initially, all his friends thought he was crazy for wanting to be an artist.
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“I never would have thought he would like my artwork. Vernon Davis would be a painter,” said Cummings. He declared that winning the scholarship has given him a new sense of confidence, direction and self-esteem, things he never had before. Wearing a rumpled pair of Dockers, I had to audible my way through $1,000 dresses, bespoke masterpieces and wedding rings seemingly as big as golf balls.Ĭummings eventually took the podium, speaking along with city officials, arts leaders and Davis himself. Photographers pointed their cameras and snapped shots every which direction, nonstop. The room was elbow-to-elbow for the duration. Quarterback Alex Smith showed up, along with other teammates, as well as Niners owner Jed York. The evening was a star-studded affair seemingly every news crew from the Bay Area was there for the red carpet, while the line for the mere mortals stretched almost all the way to Winchester. In the gallery, Cummings’ mixed-media minisculptures of wire and found materials were on display right next to the other works. That is, he’s not bankrolling athletic scholarships he’s helping artists instead.Įach year, a scholarship is awarded to provide tuition support for pursuing a university arts education, with this year’s award going to Niyjale Cummings, originally from East Palo Alto. I wouldn’t quite say Davis’ painting talent equals his athletic ability, but during college he majored in studio art, and he currently heads the Vernon Davis Foundation for the Arts, an effort to help disadvantaged youth realize their artistic potential via grants and good old-fashioned mentorship. Other participating artists included Bruni Sablan, Mark Gray, William Rhodes, Lorraine Lawson and others. Davis’ own works in the auction included several still-life pieces, abstract figurative works and portraits of friends, family and sports stars. Located on Olsen, a few blocks in from Winchester, the former bank space will now be a full-blown art gallery showcasing work from Davis’ own collection as well as that of local artists.įor the opening celebration, nearly 40 pieces eventually went up for auction, mostly paintings and a few sculptures.
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This week, San Francisco 49ers tight-end Vernon Davis opened Gallery 85 in Santana Row to an overcapacity crowd of athletes, businessmen, city officials and VIPs. MAN OF THE HOUR: Vernon Davis, resplendent in pink, drew everyone’s eye at the opening of his Gallery 85 on Monday.