New Business: New Shores art gallery showcases local underwater life

Above the Neighbor Savor Food Market on the western end of Avenida de la Playa in La Jolla Shores, the team behind SD Expedition diving tours will open Upwelling Underwater Art Gallery, at 2148 Avenida de la Playa, Suite E

They will have an opening celebration Sunday, May 17. RSVP is required to schedule a time for a personal preview, at (858) 480-7505 or concierge@upwellingfineart.com

The small gallery will showcase and sell the work of Kyle McBurnie, winner of the National Geographic 2013 Best Underwater Picture contest (amateur division) and SD Expedition co-owner.

“There is a lot of really nice underwater fine art and there is a lot of really good cold- water (non-tropical) photography, but we don’t see it around,” McBurnie said, pointing out that his work focuses on capturing images of life found in Southern California waters. “We thought it would be a cool venture to bring what we see out on dives to the surface. We want to show people what we see every day and why we live and breathe the ocean out here. People don’t give this area a chance as a diving or beach community, so we hope this will show them just how beautiful it is out there.”

SD Expedition co-owner Nick LeBeouf said of the more than 40 fine art galleries in La Jolla, “six sell photography, and of the six, two display underwater images, but none are strictly local underwater art. We wanted to introduce them to what they can see out in the ocean right here.”

The gallery will be open daily during the summer, likely from noon into the evening, with hours to be determined during the less- busy winter months. A phone number will also be posted, so if the gallery is closed, those interested can call and have someone come by to open it up.

Pieces will be available for purchase, starting with small eight-by-eight-inch prints all the way up to wall-sized panoramas.

Also on the horizon, Galaxy Taco

On the other side of Avenida de la Playa, Galaxy Tacos is on track to open at the end of June in the Kellogg Building at La Jolla Shores Drive. Galaxy Tacos restaurateur George Hauer, also of George’s at the Cove restaurant, said the plan is to offer inexpensive tacos in a casual, beach-friendly environment. Galaxy Tacos will have indoor and outdoor seating. Hauer said alcohol would be served until 10 p.m. on the outside patio and 11 p.m. at the inside bar.