ENCINITAS, CA — (November 24, 2009) — Lux Art Institute, San Diego's first LEED-certified interactive art destination, will open SPECIMEN: A Store Project by Mark Quint and Adam Belt on Friday, November 27 from 1 to 5 p.m. Commissioned by Lux, SPECIMEN is a unique retail experience devoted to the appreciation of science, art, nature and adventure. Museum visitors can view a mix of curious treasures and unique holiday gifts in the former Lux Library.

From rare botanicals to shells, maps, books and puzzles, SPECIMEN will display and sell products that intrigue and educate visitors while enhancing Lux's overall mission to "redefine the museum experience and make art more accessible and personally meaningful." The store installation will also echo the ecological, scientific and artistic focus of Lux, which, from its serene location alongside the San Elijo Lagoon, fosters an open relationship between its resident artists and the natural environment.

"Lux is thrilled to collaborate with a talented artist, Adam Belt, and San Diego's most adventurous art dealer, Mark Quint, for our first retail project," said Lux Director Reesey Shaw. "The day after Thanksgiving is such an iconic shopping day that we thought it was fitting to invite visitors to explore SPECIMEN for the first time this Friday and uncover some fascinating, one-of-a-kind items."

Additional objects of interest that will be available for purchase at SPECIMEN include: globes, minerals, perfumes, crystals, skeletons, bugs, figurines, artist-designed wind chimes, ceramic fragments, recorded bird sounds, science kits and wooden and stone sculpture. Items will range in price from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. The store project will be open to the public during Lux's regular open hours – Thursday and Friday, 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – as well as during special events, such as Lux@Night and Free Saturday.

About Mark Quint

Since 1981, Mark Quint has exhibited exceptional artwork and been a well-recognized figure in the San Diego arts scene. Quint received a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1976. After a five-year stint teaching art in Hawaii, he returned to La Jolla in 1981 and opened his first gallery. In 1990, he began an artist residency program with local collector Michael Krichman, called Quint Krichman Projects, which sponsored visual artists from around the world to visit, work and exhibit in studio spaces around San Diego. In 1992, with artist Ernest Silva, Quint originated inSITE, a bi-national installation art exhibition in San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. He also served as director of projects for inSITE in 1997. Quint is currently owner of Quint Contemporary Art in La Jolla, Calif. For more information, please visit the gallery Web site at http://www.quintgallery.com.

About Adam Belt

Adam Belt has explored the inherent properties of materials to show their potential and reveal the unseen forces that shape the physical world. His interest in the environment has led to unique art practices and explorations correlating with the sciences, from geology to astronomy. Belt received his BFA from the University of San Diego, completed his MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 2001, and is now working as an artist and a professor in San Diego. His work is included in many local collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and the La Jolla Athenaeum Music and Arts Library. He has also been published in Leonardo/ The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology magazine, and Belt's work has been reviewed in The San Diego Union-Tribune, Art Week, Riviera and various other publications. For more information, please see the artist's Web site at http://www.adambelt.com.

About Lux Art Institute

Lux Art Institute, located in Encinitas, Calif., is redefining the museum experience with the region's only artist-in-residence program that invites artists to live and work on site, while producing a commissioned work of art – start to finish. This one-of-a-kind institution invites visitors to not only "see art," but also to "see art happen."

Throughout each year, Lux invites several significant regional, national and international artists to participate in its residency. Visitors from across the country are able to participate in exclusive liaison-led tours, providing intimate access to the artist-in-residence, the artist's exhibition and the museum's permanent collection of indoor and outdoor art. Lux also offers a wide range of innovative programming for all ages.

The recipient of the San Diego Architectural Foundation's top design award, the Grand Orchid, and the first art museum in California awarded LEED certification for new construction, Lux is located alongside one of Southern California's few remaining coastal wetlands. The five-acre site also overlooks the San Elijo Lagoon and is surrounded by a wildlife preserve that stretches to the Pacific Ocean.

Through its Phase II Capital Campaign, Lux plans to add 25,000 square feet of galleries and classrooms. Once completed, the new building will also feature a hilltop plaza and a series of gardens climbing between the galleries and the Artist Pavilion.

Lux Art Institute is located at 1550 South El Camino Real in Encinitas, Calif. Hours are Thursday and Friday, 1 to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and cost is $10 for two visits. For more information about donations, memberships, volunteer opportunities and more, visit http://www.luxartinstitute.org or call 760-436-6611.