Now through December 1st, visitors have one more reason to explore Catalina Island and the beautifully exhibited Catalina Art and History Museum. Ann Weber’s 26 Miles, a solo exhibition featuring Weber’s always mysterious and magical large-scale cardboard sculptures encourages a rethinking of the island – and the journey from the mainland to it – itself.
The massive sculptural works recall images of nature, transformed into new and shapes and identities through the shifting of time, the sea, and ourselves. They speak to the resilency of nature, the way in which it impacts human creativity, and also to the transformative vibes of island life itself.
Have you ever watched bits of broken glass shift into the soft, colorful translucence into the sea glass we treasure when washed to shore? That softening and perfection is a facet of all Weber’s work, which repurposes the crude rough-edged material of cardboard into something graceful. Pieces here resemble stones and shells and sea creatures, every memory of the ocean and every small bit of beauty we find along her shoreline.
Her art recycles, and reimagines surfaces and shapes – not unlike the rhythm of the sea on a jagged shoreline. On Catalina Island, these works have found a perfect home, speaking to the joys and vicissitudes of nature, manmade worlds, and the longing for paradise.
Additionally on view through September 8th: Philadelphia-based illustrator and designer Sarah Kaizar’s delicious original gouache and ink artwork from the book RARE AIR: Endangered Birds, Bats, Butterflies, and Bees. The two exhibitions create a lovely pairing along with permanent displays depicting island history.
Catalina Museum for Art and History is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with extended hours until 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, June – Labor Day weekend. Closed Mondays: September (after Labor Day) through May; open 7 Days: June – Labor Day.
- Genie Davis, photos provided by the artist and museum