Doug Wright Gallery - SHARKBYTE ART

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SharkByte Art
2001-2002
San Jose, California
After the huge success of "Cows on Parade" in Chicago and NewYork, Joel Wyrick, a local businessman, decided to adopt the concept for San Jose appropriately using sharks instead of Cows. He then asked Brian Eder and Cherri Lakey of Two Fish Design Group to climb on board as the project's artistic directors. The San Jose Downtown Association was then brought in to manage the sponsorship, marketing and logistical aspects of the project. With all of the team members in place, it was time to breathe life into SharkByte Art. The goal was to create San Jose's largest free outdoor art exhibit and to raise money for non-profit organizations, while generating additional exposure for Downtown San Jose.

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Sharkushi
Artist: Doug Wright
Sponsor: JBA & San Jose Redevelopment Agency
Beneficiary: Japantown Business Association

Leon•Art•O da Sharki
Artist: Doug Wright
Sponsor: Levitt Properties
Beneficiary: San Jose Public Library Foundation

Posted on Mon, Mar. 04, 2002
By Maya Suryaraman
San Jose Mercury News
Where do 6-foot sharks hide? Sculptures head to back yards

Add a new entry to the list of shark species around the world: poolside shark. With Saturday's (March 2, 2002) SharkByte live charity auction concluded, it appears that is the No. 1 use buyers plan for their 6-foot-long, 4-foot-high, reassuringly tame fiberglass fish. ``It is the cutest thing,'' gushed Norwita Powell of ``YS2,'' a ``Yellow Submarine'' shark with pictures of the Beatles on its flanks. ``We're going to put it poolside. I envision it just being part of the garden so you can see it from the pool with trees and flowers around it.'' Powell, a group president for telecommunications reseller PNS, bid $5,500 to win YS2. She and 95 other buyers bid a total of nearly $258,000 on 96 sharks that were on display downtown and at other locations last summer. The San Jose Downtown Association sponsored both the exhibition and the auction at San Jose McEnery Convention Center. About 70 percent of the proceeds are expected to be donated to local charities and non-profit organizations, with the remainder covering auction expenses. Bids ranged from the required minimum of $1,000 to the $20,000 top bid for ``Megabyte'' by artist Peter Winter, submitted fittingly by a member of the San Jose Sharks' new ownership group. The rest of the sharks went for $6,500 or less. Like Powell, many other buyers also intend to keep their gargantuan sculptures close to water. ``It's a fish and it fits the water theme,'' explained Kathryn Schlepphorst, a San Jose family law attorney. Schlepphorst went to Saturday's auction with the intention of buying a shark for display near her backyard pool in Los Gatos but was outbid. So instead, she plunked down $2,200 for a shark for her office's lobby. It's named ``Shark With a Heart,'' and was created by Martha Stephens.
At least some of the sharks will swim their way back into public view. San Jose attorney Don Gagliardi, president of the Northside Neighborhood Association, bought three sculptures that he plans to donate. He intends ``School of Neighbors'' for his neighborhood branch library, ``Sharkushi'' for Japantown's streets, and ``Boarder Shark'' for a skateboard park being planned by the city of San Jose. ``I bought very specific sharks for very specific purposes, to ensure that they would be available to others in the community,'' Gagliardi said.

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