With a new exhibition set to open this Saturday, bG Gallery at Bergamont Station is always a hot spot for culturally as well as visually interesting exhibitions.
One of our favorites this year was “Island Girls,” a collection of fascinating art by female artists exploring the idea of solitude as either – or both – paradise and isolation. “No man may be an island but in the art world, a woman often is,” according to the exhibition’s notes.
The exhibit included works curated by Shaye Nelson and Nancy Larrew. The awesomely diverse group of artists represented include: Wangechi Mutu, Sue Wong, Madam X, Cathy Weiss, Linda Vallejo, Megan Whitmarsh, Kristine Schomaker, Sarah Stieber, Linda Smith, Erin Reiter, Courtney Reid, Gay Summer Rick, Allie Pohl, Trinity Martin, Nancy Larrew, Michelle Lilly, Mia Loucks, Kate Jackson, Brenda Jamrus, Simone Gad, Carol Friedman, MK Decca, Wini Brewer, Terri Berman, Nora Berman, Sofia Arreguin.
Thematically the exhibit addressed an important topic: the isolation women artists can feel, alone among male peers when emerging from studio, forced to choose between family and career. The works in this exhibit detailed a wide emotional range of reactions to this situation, from amusement to introspection, from anger to contentment, from defiance to self-reflection.
Award winning Southern Californian Simone Gad creates stunning paintings and assemblages – and rescues cats. There’s a sinuous grace to her work that may be feline-induced. Note the fluid lines and dynamics of pieces such as “Club Jazz,” a mix of acrylic and glitter.
Mixed media artist and painter Wini Brewer creates delicate works that are poetic and poignant, colors a pastel fusion.
Artist Kristine Schomaker notes that the gallery owners selected her project “A Comfortable Skin” as her contribution to the show. “This project involves Avatars from the virtual world of “Second Life” who have my paintings as their skins. They have diverse body types ranging from my real life, overweight, curvy self to my thin ‘ideal’ body type I use within “Second Life.” I am showing ‘cut-out’ digital printed Avatars, video and a painting that represents the skin.”
Courtney Reid is a Southern California native whose lyrical paintings pay true homage to a statement made by her father that “what matters is the paint.” Her oil on canvas works convey an ethereal beauty, both impressionistic and abstract. Her triptych “Shepherdess” reveals women is a variety of guises, clothed and unclothed, against a background of wilderness beauty.
Gay Summer Rick hails from New York, but depicts California scenes that reveal what drew her west in the first place. Using only a palette knife, she paints a delicate, layered beauty filled with optimism and energy. From ocean views to highways, the light and colors that are Southern California compel viewers to step inside Rick’s vision, often inspired by drives along PCH.
Explore these “Island Girls” – you’ll be seeing them move from an island to a full-on nation soon enough.
- Genie Davis