Sparks Gallery Showcases Art Inspired by James Hubbell’s Ilan-Lael

Sparks Gallery is now showing Power of Place: Inspirations from Ilan-Lael, an exhibition featuring work from local artists who spent time at the home and studio of the late James Hubbell.

If you’re familiar with San Diego, you already know Hubbell’s touch – his work shows up in houses of worship, nature trails, parks, and private homes throughout the region. Now you can see what happens when other artists immerse themselves in the environment where he lived and created for decades.

The Visiting Artist Program

Ilan-Lael launched its Visiting Artist program in 2024, inviting local painters, photographers, and poets to experience the property and create work around the theme “The Power of Place.”

The 2025 fellows included a mix of Ilan-Lael artisans who practiced their craft with James and new artists experiencing the property for the first time. Some had never been there, others were rekindling a relationship with James’ genius.

The program’s liaison described a consistent theme emerging from conversations with the artists: they felt inspired to push boundaries and play. Some experimented with new techniques, others created their own paints from flora harvested at Ilan-Lael.

Plein Air painter Toni Williams reflected: “The living legacy of James and Anne Hubbell has opened creative channels of interpretation for my two-dimensional world of Plein Air painting of San Diego County. The experience of painting at Ilan-Lael was one of experiencing freedom in my paint strokes, imagination, and creativity.”

What Makes Ilan-Lael Different

The Hubbell home at Ilan-Lael isn’t just a beautiful property – it’s a philosophy made physical. James’s approach united art and function at every turn. Why shouldn’t every room, even the bathroom, transport you into a world of imagination?

That intentionality creates an environment where artists naturally feel permission to experiment and take risks.

Mati Moon, Ilan-Lael Arts Program Coordinator and Visiting Artist Fellow, put it well: “This time spent in deep observation and reverence has been a gift, one that I will carry with me in my own ceaseless pursuit to better understand the beauty of this world.”

The Exhibition and What It Represents

Since James’ passing, Ilan-Lael has continued growing with his philosophy and spirit as the foundation. The Visiting Artist Program creates a web of relationships sharing a common thread – the place itself – while honoring James’s spirit of uniting new friends and old friends with beauty as the glue.

Artists enthusiastically shared processes, offered critiques on each other’s work, pushed creative boundaries, and experimented playfully.

The exhibition at Sparks Gallery showcases the results of that creative environment. A portion of all artwork sales supports future art programs at the Ilan-Lael Foundation, which means buying a piece directly contributes to continuing this program for future artists.

Why This Matters

The Visiting Artist Program offers something increasingly rare – dedicated time and space for artists to engage deeply with a place and create work in dialogue with it.

The exhibition gives you access to what emerged from that experience. You’re not just looking at paintings or photographs – you’re seeing what happens when artists spend time in an environment designed to inspire imagination at every turn.