Saturday, August 31, 2013

Coming Exhibition: Lorraine Bubar, Katie Crown, Pam Douglas

Opening Reception:
Saturday, September 7, 2013, 5-8 p.m.

Artist Talk:
Saturday, September 21, 2013, 3-4 p.m.

Lorraine Bubar, My Lovely Planet
Lorraine Bubar, No Turning Back, Papercut, 27 x 47 in., 2013
Artist Lorraine Bubar's current exhibition celebrates the beauty of the planet’s various ecosystems. From Antarctic landscapes filled with penguins and whales to the snakes and tortoises of the red rocky desert, Bubar’s papercuts are kaleidoscopes of bold color, texture, and depth. Bubar captures the diverse taxonomy of flora and fauna that make each natural environment unique. Other scenes convey the chaos of the modern world as freeway interchanges and construction spread across the Los Angeles and Santa Monica landscapes, transforming the natural world. Her intricate lacework of layered papers illustrates both the fragility and the strength of the paper medium, as well as the fragility and strength of these environments. Bubar develops the historic tradition of papercutting into an artistic one. The artist’s interest in papercutting developed out of a love of traveling the world, hiking in its mountains, and a desire to honor its diverse cultures through an art form that crosses the boundaries of culture, art, and craft.

Katie Crown, Audiences and Waiting Rooms
Katie Crown, Shades, Ceramic, wood, steel wool, 66 x 53 x 6", 2013
In her latest exhibition, artist Katie Crown fuses her art with commonly shared social experiences. Her current subjects - audiences and waiting rooms - are fueled by the feelings of both anticipation and humor that can arise from these environments. "My sculptures are like concrete cartoons that depict different moods," says Katie Crown. "I love to make people laugh." Fanciful faces sing and laugh in unison in Crown's colorful ceramic sculptures as comedy is embedded within their forms. Others portray the alienation of individuals within the crowd. "There's something intrinsically engaging about depicting groups," says Crown. "The question arises as to who is watching whom. The viewer is in the hot seat." According to Crown, her audience series was inspired by her visit to the archaeological museum in Athens, Greece, where she encountered rows of tiny marble and ceramic busts. Her waiting room series grew from the many doctor visits during her experience with cancer, and morphed into surrealistic fantasies. Both experiences allowed for intense social observation, providing a new perspective on the sculptural medium.

Pam Douglas, The Life of Air
Pam Douglas, The Tree Stood Through It All, Inks and Mixed Media on Silk, 30 x 45", 2013
After exhibiting widely this year at the African American Museum, the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, Gallery 417, and now TAG Gallery, artist Pam Douglas’ current show, The Life of Air: Paintings on Silk completes her series exploring Earth’s primal energies of water, fire, and air. Painting on silk panels, Douglas maneuvers inks and water-based media to seep through multiple layers. Unlike using traditional canvas, this technique creates a visual dimensionality that is simultaneously delicate and deep. “These new works experiment with transparencies where the motion of air flows through abstracted imagery. I chose air to explore the subtle power within an invisible energy,” says Douglas. “I also wanted to evoke the transparencies of our time where so much of life is permeable and fleeting.” These ethereal landscapes and abstractions explore the ways experimental materials transform the painting experience in a meditation on the veil between seen and unseen.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

TAG California Open Selections p10

Enjoy some selections from the eighth annual TAG California Open, which runs through August 30th.

Jane Szabo, Eich
digital photograph, 19 x 25"
Jerry Weems, We are sorry about your car Mr. Charlie! The tow truck is on the way!!
oil on wood, 24 x 34.5"
Jerry Weems, Summertime and the Living Is Easy
oil on wood, 24 x 34.5"
Mimi Williams, Dad Conjures Sandy Koufax and Jackson Pollock
lino cut block print, 20 x 24"
Mimi Williams, Vivaldi's Women
lino cut block print, 22 x 26"

Monday, August 26, 2013

TAG California Open Selections p9

Enjoy some selections from the eighth annual TAG California Open, which runs through August 30th.

Catherine Ruane, Invocation
charcoal and graphite, 30 x 40"
Sam Shokati, Protect
acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16"
Stephen Spiller, This Is Me 01
digital text, photography, 18 x 36"
Stephen Spiller, This Is Me 02
digital text, photography, 14 x 36"

Sunday, August 25, 2013

TAG California Open Selections p8

Enjoy some selections from the eighth annual TAG California Open, which runs through August 30th.

Lynsey Nelson, Dr. Watson
relief print, 22 x 18"
Lynsey Nelson, Heidi
relief print, 22 x 18"
Iriet Peshkess, Quiet Thought
digital and acrylic on canvas, 20 x 26"
Candace Primack, Simply
acrylic, 28 x 24"

Rohitash Rao, Can You Hear Them
gouache and spray paint on found fast food cup, 5 x 3"
Rohitash Rao, Cookie Monster on Caffeine
gouache and spray paint on found fast food cup, 4 x 3"
Rohitash Rao, Rooster
gouache and spray paint on found fast food cup, 5 x 3"

Saturday, August 24, 2013

TAG California Open Selections p7

Enjoy some selections from the eighth annual TAG California Open, which runs through August 30th.

Laurie McCormick, Cuban Cool
digital photograph, 18 x 24"
Laurie McCormick, ZOOM
digital photograph, 16 x 21"
Beverly Mills, Vos Reves, Vos Cauchemars 15
collage, 25.25 x 19.25 x 1"
Beverly Mills, Vos Reves, Vos Cauchemars 24
collage, 17.25 x 21.25 x 1"
Hal Myers, Self Portrait, Chinati
photograph, 17 x 24"

Friday, August 23, 2013

TAG California Open Selections p6

Enjoy some selections from the eighth annual TAG California Open, which runs through August 30th.

Mario Laplante, St. Jean No. 2
monoprint: lithography, digital media, gold leaf, 17 x 17"
Robert Lebsack, Liberty is Dying
mixed media, 34 x 28"
Mark Leysen, Raquel
mixed media on wood panel, 16 x 28"
Dorothy Magallon, Out From the Shadows
assemblage, 19 x 9 x 12"
Dorothy Magallon, Tradition's Ghost
assemblage, 17 x 20 x 3"
Melissa Mahoney, Tangerine Dance
acrylic on canvas, 36 x 18"


Thursday, August 22, 2013

TAG California Open Selections p5

Enjoy some selections from the eighth annual TAG California Open, which runs through August 30th.

Michael Kelly, Another Grand Bargain
graphite on paper, 31 x 37"
Michael Kelly, The Speaker Has The Floor
graphite on paper, 24 x 28"
June Kim, Knots, Red Thread Sculpture I
thread and plexiglas, 17 x 14 x 25"
Janos Lanyi, In Memoriam
acrylic on paper and canvas, 48 x 36"
Janos Lanyi, Industrial Revolution
acrylic on paper and canvas, 48 x 36"
Janos Lanyi, In The Garden of Entropy I
acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36"

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

TAG California Open Selections p4

Enjoy some selections from the eighth annual TAG California Open, which runs through August 30th.

Kathryn Hansen, A Song of Africa
graphite pencil, 10 x 26"
Kathryn Hansen, Obama the Elephant
graphite pencil, 16 x 20"
Richard Herd, Noir
oil, 48 x 36"
Ron Hutton, Dancing My Way Back to Me
ceramic, 17 x 17 x 3"
Kaija Keel, Mayan Scribe
glazed stoneware, 26 x 18 x 15"

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

TAG California Open Selections p3

Enjoy some selections from the eighth annual TAG California Open, which runs through August 30th.

Zel Brook, Barn Roof Collage
photographic collage, 25 x 25"
Charles Christopher, The Message
photograph, 20 x 30"
Irina Daylene, Sumo on Vacation
stainless steel, 25 x 15 x 10"
Shannon Duffy, Untitled (Donkey)
acrylic on wood, 10 x 10"
Nicholas Fedak II, Dissolving Dreamgirl
positive kodalith transparency, 14 x 11"
Nicholas Gagliardi, Happy
mixed media, 10 x 8"

Monday, August 19, 2013

TAG California Open Selections p2

Enjoy some selections from the eighth annual TAG California Open, which runs through August 30th.

Ginny Barrett, Fragile Divergence
porcelain clay, 27 x 6 x 6"
Reiko Niwa Berg, Entangled Vase #6
clay, 10.5 x 9.5 x 7"
Dawn Bowery, Umbrella Friends
photograph, 24 x 28"
Frederick Brashear Jr, The Forgotten Route 66
digital inkjet print, 23 x 31"
Cynthia Brinich-Langlois, Fort Houses
screenprint, copper leaf, 20 x 15"