Torrance Museum of Art – Closing Reception – The Studio System – All photos by Jack Burke
For a long time, the South Bay – those beach-close communities just south of LAX – were regarded as a place where art events were few and far between. No longer.
The Torrance Art Museum, which is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary with an anniversary fundraiser on September 12th, is one strong part of the South Bay’s emergence into the Los Angeles art culture zeitgeist. On the 12th, guests attending the free event can purchase artworks from artists who’ve exhibited at the museum throughout the decade – each selling for a bargain price of $100.00. Funds raised are for museum arts and education programs and future renovations.
No better example of TAM’s stewardship of the arts – and a commitment to the cutting edge – can be shown than the museum’s August month- long main gallery exhibit, Studio System. The show featured eleven local working artists in a month-long experimental residency which was designed to bridge the gap between artists and the public. This intimate experiment ran from August 1 to 29. The artists were there to create; last Saturday, a closing reception displayed their works.
A lively, fun evening, the ability to interact with the artists and study their work offered an insider view of the creation process. Participating artists were: Sydney Croskery, Elizabeth Dorbad, Nancy Evans, Josh Hagler, Seth Kaufman, Hung Viet Nguyen, Don Porcella, Dickson Schneider, Mariangeles Soto-Diaz, Vincent Tomczyk, and Valerie Wilcox.
Over the course of the month, artist Dickson Schneider made his art even more accessible, distributing his work to viewers for free. Artists were committed to discussing the ideas and processes behind their art as well as their concrete materials and artistic vision with museum visitors. That dialog was on-going throughout the crowded reception.
Also on display Saturday were large-scale works by sculptor and artist Kay Whitney. Her evocative, industrial felt-based pieces were both supple and sinewy, creating sensual shapes of depth and breadth. The exhibit, titled, “A Deceit,” deceived only in the material’s transforming capabilities: the pieces are not cast in bronze, after all, and Whitney is more than willing to tweak and rearrange them, altering perception and meaning.
With shows like these, TAM is well worth celebrating – don’t forget their 10th anniversary fundraiser on September 12th.
- Genie Davis, all photos by Jack Burke