Current Exhibition: Dan Janotta, Alison Lowe Platt, Linda Sue Price

Tuesday, April 19th – Saturday, May 14th, 2016

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 23rd, 2016 from 5 – 8PM
Artist Panel Discussion: Saturday, May 7th, 2016 at 3PM

Dan Janotta – Back To The Beach

Dan Janotta, Burning Sunset, Oil on canvas, 20 x 60"

As an accomplished Los Angeles architect, Dan Janotta’s work is often detailed and technical, with a strong focus on realistically capturing the straight lines of structural subject matter. After 12 years of developing his painting style,  Janotta returns to the scene of his favorite muse; the coast and its serene energy.

Capturing impressions of the Southern California lifestyle that he has experienced for the last 30 years, Janotta’s “extreme coastal” images reflect the beauty of the sun, sand and the modern day influences of urban beach culture. While contemplative scenes of sunsets and breaking waves contrast with the gritty personal expression of tattoos and surf culture, this exhibition fully encompasses coastal living. Through the use of strong color, distinctive figurative silhouettes, and the play of sunlight off the shore, Janotta beautifully portrays his love for the beach and its inspirational and calming environment.

Alison Lowe Platt – Instinct

Alison Lowe Platt, One Cool Cat, Acrylic on canvas, 14.5 x 12.5"

In her exhibition entitled Instinct, Alison Lowe Platt presents a series of small figurative drawings and paintings created during single session live studies. With a strong interest in shape, composition, and value, Platt finds the relationship between these elements essential to each of these small works.

Fascinated by the human body and the energetic fields within each of us, Platt works with live models to capture this sense of life force. Working quickly and furiously, Platt follows her “instincts”, forcing her to stay spontaneously present. Creating both tension and abstraction with her use of light and shadow, Platt illustrates that powerful human essence through the unrefined brushwork of her compositions.

Linda Sue Price – Hitting the Pause Button

Linda Sue Price, Assume Nothing, Neon, 15 x 15 x 10"

Nothing Is Black and White. Question, Listen, Think. Linda Sue Price’s new series Hitting the Pause Button reacts to current events and proposes life lessons. She mixes words and abstract neon shapes to facilitate a dialogue, creating unexpected relationships between the two. Words are powerful expressions of thought. Price focuses on words that resonate, then develops the neon forms to colors and shapes that reflect the energy of the words.

There is an expectation that neon has a certain shape—as in letters and signs. Price subverts these assumptions: working primarily with abstract shapes is to challenge the expectation of what neon is. Deciding to add words to the work, a conscious decision was made to not make the words out of neon. Price combines the physical transformation of the medium (the bending of neon tubes) with the challenges of the imagery (the curving, abstract forms). The process that connects these relationships represents the mental process Price is interested in, a visual manifestation of a system of thought. While inspired by artists Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Laddie John Dill and Judy Chicago, Price also is influenced by elements of historic neon signs, abstract expressionism, pop art and graphic design.