“Manifest Destiny”

Opens Saturday, January 28th 2012, 6pm -9 pm with a reception for the artists.

It is open to the public. Music provided by Ethnomusicologist Marlon Fuentes.

The exhibition will be open from January 28, through March 17th at The Analog Salon at Samitaur Constructs, 3535 Hayden Avenue, Culver City, California. Gallery hours are 9am through 5pm, Monday through Friday.

Participating artists: Randi Berez, Claudio Cambon, Larry S. Clark, Nicholas Alan Cope, Amanda Friedman, Michael Kelley, Lisa Romerein and Todd Weaver

Manifest Destiny

“We came west for a multitude of reasons: for adventure, for economic gain. Our quest over the last 200 years led to the discovery of a great expansive and rugged geography, of rich forests, and bountiful rivers to the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. Photographers by their nature are inquisitive beings, seeking or creating worlds in which to tell or repeat a visual story. The eight artists in the “Manifest Destiny” exhibition, Randi Berez, Claudio Cambon, Larry S. Clark, Nicholas Alan Cope, Amanda Friedman, Michael Kelley, Lisa Romerein and Todd Weaver, share interests not that dissimilar from explorers of the past. The romance of the West lingers still, fascinating us with its wildness, its opportunity, its modernism, light, water, open mindedness, creative ingenuity as well as with its depleted assets. “

-Kathleen Clark, Guest Curator

The Analog Salon is a fine art photographic exhibition space housed at Samitaur Constructs, the noted architectural firm, in partnership with Digital Fusion, a premiere digital photographic rental and post-production facility and produced by Edgar Varela (EVFA). Located in Culver City, California, The Analog Salon highlights the exceptional talent of new, emerging and established photographers with an emphasis on Los Angeles based artists. Supporting the arts by providing not only a space but a full production and marketing effort to showcase talent and support artist projects, The Analog Salon will contribute to the art dialogue integrating its associated artists and partners as an important part of the cultural life of Los Angeles.

The Analog Salon at Samitaur Constructs, 3535 Hayden Avenue, Culver City, California http://www.analogsalon.com/ http://gallery-store.digitalfusion.net/The-Analog-Salon/

Friend Level Ticket to Premiere Party

Ticket Purchase includes:

Hosted by David Arquette

Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012
Opening Night Ceremony: 5:45 PM
Patron Reception: 6-7 PM
Opening Night Premiere Party: 7-10 PM

Be the first to preview art from 100 top galleries!
Enjoy culinary delights and specialty beverages courtesy of LA’s finest restaurants.

Ticket proceeds help bring the experience of art to special children in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Art Show
Los Angeles Convention Center West Hall A, 1201 South Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA 90015

The LA Art Show: Modern & Contemporary features bold and exciting work from today’s great artists and influential visionaries. Bringing together respected galleries from around the world, the show creates a vibrant atmosphere that examines the present while formulating the future and is committed to showing the highest quality works ranging from Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, Henry Moore, Sebastião Salgado, David Hockney, Judy Chicago, Roy Lichtenstein, Arshile Gorky, Jim Dine, Andy Warhol, Fernando Botero and others. Once an encyclopedic show, the new LA Art Show is focused on the immediate past as well as today’s and tomorrow’s contemporary trends, honed and edited to showcase top caliber galleries featuring modern and contemporary works by established and emerging artists.  For more inforamtion on the Los Angeles Fine Art Show please go to the website!

GENERAL SHOW DATES
Thursday, January 19, 2012, 11am – 7pm
Friday, January 20, 2012, 11am – 7pm
Saturday, January 21, 2012, 11am – 7pm
Sunday, January 22, 2012, 11am – 5pm

OPENING NIGHT PREMIERE PARTY
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Benefit and Vernissage – Be the first to preview art from 130 top galleries and enjoy culinary delights and specialty beverages courtesy of L.A.’s finest restaurants. Ticket proceeds help bring the experience of art to special children in Los Angeles.

LOCATION
Los Angeles Convention Center
West Hall A, 1201 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015

This ticket will also admit you to the Los Angeles Fine Art Show and the IFPDA Fine Print Fair

January 14- February 11, 2012

Opening Reception Saturday, January 14, 7-10 pm

Best known for his legendary poster for the 1964 blockbuster surf film The Endless Summer and his album covers for the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour, The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street, and The Grateful Dead Skeletons in the Closet among others, John Van Hamersveld has built up a wide-ranging body of work over a career verging on its sixth decade. The iconography of his oeuvre runs deep.

Primarily know as an illustrator and designer, Van Hamersveld has been photographing for many years: “The concept of the camera as not just a piece of technology, but as a tool for visual poetry proved inspirational.” Beginning in 1974, there were a series of shows of Van Hamersveld’s photography, the second of which, entitled the Interval, occurred in Venice, California. In 1975, Van Hamersveld exhibited T.V.LIFE. at the Fisher Gallery at USC. Then in 1976, another set of photos were exhibited at Long Beach Museum’s Bicentennial show So Cal 76.

T.V.LIFE brings together this photography collection covering an important 15 year period of Van Hamersveld’s Los Angeles experiences, including photographs taken of some of his http://edgarvarela.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=postfamous friends, as well as a selection of his iconic posters and graphic art work. But it is the broader sweep of reflection that is revealed through these images that serves as a mirror of the social revolution in his life as an artist and of the times they capture.

T.V. LIFE is part of Pacific Standard Time. Pacific Standard Time is an unprecedented collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions across Southern California, coming together to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene. Initiated through grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time will take place for six months beginning October 2011. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.

Ansel Adams Los Angeles

Edgar Varela Fine Arts / DRKRM.gallery @ 727 S. Spring Street, LA 90014

February 18 -March 17, 2012

Opening Reception Saturday, February 18, 2012 7-10pm

In 1939, Ansel Adams was commissioned by Fortune Magazine to photograph a series of images for an article covering the aviation history of the Los Angeles area. For the project, Adams took over 200 black & white photographs showing everyday life, businesses, street scenes and a variety of other subjects, but when the article, City of the Angels, appeared in the March 1941 issue, only a few of the images were included.

In the early 1960s Adams rediscovered the photographs among papers at his home in Carmel and donated the photographs to the Los Angeles Public Library. He wrote in a letter: “The weather was bad over a rather long period and none of the pictures were very good… I would imagine that they represent about $100.00 minimum value… At any event, I do not want them back.”

drkrm, in association with EVFA (Edgar Varela Fine Arts), with the cooperation of the Los Angeles Public Library, present these rarely seen and some never before exhibited photographs that reveal the lost landscape and lifestyle of a prewar Los Angeles.

Edgar Varela Fine Arts (EVFA) presents

Some Time With You.
http://www.stephanievovas.com/

This solo exhibition will run November 5th to December 3rd
Special closing event to be announced.

Saturday November 5th, 2011 (7-10pm)
EVFA @ 727 S. Spring Street, LA 90014

Stephanie Vovas

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, based in Los Angeles, CA, Stephanie Vovas is a winner of a bronze PX3 2011, and a PDN Faces Contest Winner, 2011. She has been in numerous group shows in the past few years, including MOPLA/Smashbox, and is also in private collections.

She graduated from the University of Maine/Maine Photographic Workshops, in 1993. It is there she discovered her photo idols: Helmut Newton, Larry Sultan, Gary Winogrand, Stephen Shore, and learned to express herself through her photography. She was heavily drawn to experimenting with photo processes, rather than formal studio work. She has an extensive body of Polaroid work in addition to her recent digital work.

Stephanie makes photographs of people that tell stories, and show a side of the person no one has ever seen, be it real or made-up. Private moments, transformation, beauty, sensuality, and uncertainty are what she is interested in photographically. She lives in Los Angeles with her boyfriend Tom.

Presents

Mesopotamia Art and Artists in Diaspora

Artists reception will be on Oct 22 at 6.00 PM.
Exhibition Opens Thursday Oct.13 thru Oct. 31, 2011

Featuring work from Artists:

Paul Batou
Qais Al Sindy
Odette Tomik
John Hajjar
Ramsin Yefima

The Art show will feature Mesopotamian artists from Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey.

Mesopotamians are the remaining Christian minorities (also known as the Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac) in the region. Through out the history, they were forced to leave their land and migrate to various regions around the world, due to horrors of Ethnic-cleansing massacres and wars, in search of democracy and freedom.

Mesopotamian artists representing their passion for freedom, peace, beauty of nature and different aspects from the region through a variety of cultural subjects and mediums, believe that the whole world is a mixture of colors that forms a harmony with love and peace which should be preserved for all humanity.

The event is sponsored by Assyrian Aid Society of America which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, dedicated to helping people with their basic needs such as food, shelter, healthcare in the Ninveh region. This event is to promote Mesopotamian Art, culture and values. All proceeds are dedicated for building schools, promoting education

Please Join us this coming Sunday October 23rd from Noon-2:30pm for a Sunday picnic and discussion panel on the lawn of the Stealth building (across the street from Analog Salon)

We will provide great Organic wine from Frey Vinyards in Mendocino County, chairs and stimulating conversation.

We encourage you to go bring a picnic and a blanket and enjoy the unique architectural lawn of the Stealth Building, an amazing structure created by Architect Eric Owen Moss.

The panel will discuss Architecture and its relation with art, the new art fair season in Los Angeles and Pacific Standard Time.

Guest panelists include Craig Krull (Graig Krull Gallery), Shana Nys Dambrot (LA Canvas/LA Weekly/Whitehot) and Bill Bush (ArtWeek.LA)

Proudly sponsored Digital Fusion & Samitaur Contructs as part of the ongoing Analog Salon series of art exhibitions and discussions.

New works by artists Tasya Van Ree
http://tasyavanree.com/photography

This solo exhibition will run September 17th to October 22nd

Saturday September 17th, 2011 (7-10pm)
EVFA @ 727 S. Spring Street, LA 90014

Special event also during Art Weekend LA (Sept. 30-Oct. 1st) in Conjunction with Art Platform & Pulse Art Fairs.

Tasya Van Ree

Tasya van Ree has always been intrigued by the everyday wonders of the visual world. The sense of expansive awareness that for van Ree is a prerequisite to photography enables her to capture the small everyday flashes of insight that come when we are open to them and often go before we can fully grasp or appreciate them. Her extraordinarily vivid images are also a testimony to her eye for form and composition. Her photographs are infused with romanticism, darkness, intimacy, and a certain lyrical quality. They also capture the essence of the people, the landscape, and the intricacies of both the animate and inanimate worlds, and are a sort of meditation in seeing the powerful testaments between the relationship of human presence and transitory nature.

Van Ree’s works are both formally vigorous and eternally evocative. Van Ree has consistently produced a highly compelling body of work on varied subjects. Her photographs have been exhibited widely (in solo exhibitions as well as along side David Lynch, Jessica Lange, Gus van Sant, and Amy Arbus), and are included in numerous private collections.

Thomas Alleman, J. Wesley Brown, Siri Kaur, Gordon Magnin, Gray Malin, Claire Mallett, Brend Reinhardt, April Rocha, Ryan Schude/Lauren Randolph, Emily Shur, Aline Smithson, Lacey Terrell

Saturday August 27th from 7pm-10pm
Sound provided by Dublab & KCRW’s Anthony Valadez, Suzanne Kraft & Take.

The Analog Salon (Grand Opening)
Samitaur Constructs Lobby Gallery
3535 Hayden Avenue, Culver City 90232
http://www.AnalogSalon.com/

Redefining Hollywood:

The idea of Hollywood has intrigued and inspired image-makers for the last century and it’s no different today. Photographers find themselves continually fascinated by not only the notion of Hollywood, but by the city and community of Hollywood. For some, it’s the feeling of noir and night, for others, it’s the reality of the streets and neighborhoods. Photographers are influenced by movie stars and the idea of celebrity, and by the movies themselves. There is a rich tapestry of photographic ideas and inspiration that emerge from the tangible and intangible idea of Hollywood, and with each unique photographic vision, these photographers are Redefining Hollywood.

About the Analog Salon

The Analog Salon is a project space donated by Samitaur. In a partnership with Digital Fusion, Analog Salon highlights exceptional talent in the world of fine art photography. By partnering with industry leaders, DF is helping showcase artists in a salon setting in Culver City by celebrating new, emerging and established photographers with an emphasis on Los Angeles based artists.

The new space represents a modern movement in supporting the arts by providing not only a space but a full production and marketing project to showcase talent and support artist efforts. The space will provide sponsored printing and framing, sponsored events based on the work and will include lectured, discussion panels and artist talks. All events will have a reception event and will be backed by local arts and entertainment media.

Along with Samitaur Constructs and under the guidance of architect Eric Owen Moss, Digital Fusion has provided a space to display and celebrate photography. Regular curated gallery exhibits will occur at the Culver City canvas setting. A dynamic partnership has been established with Contemporary Cultural led by cultural curator Edgar Varela as well as partnerships with local art world staples; Artweek LA, LA Canvas, Flavorpill LA, KCRW & Dublab..

The Analog Gallery will ad to the important dialogue taking place in the art world and will integrate the associated entities as an important part of the life of Los Angeles culture.

The Analog Salon (Grand Opening)
3535 Hayden Avenue, Culver City 90232
http://www.AnalogSalon.com​/

Redefining Hollywood:
An exhibition of selected works.

Thomas Alleman, J. Wesley Brown, Siri Kaur, Gordon Magnin, Gray Malin, Claire Mallett, Brend Reinhardt, April Rocha, Ryan Schude/Lauren Randolph, Emily Shur, Aline Smithson, Lacey Terrell

 
Redefining Hollywood:

The idea of Hollywood has intrigued and inspired image-makers for the last century and it’s no different today. Photographers find themselves continually fascinated by not only the notion of Hollywood, but by the city and community of Hollywood. For some, it’s the feeling of noir and night, for others, it’s the reality of the streets and neighborhoods. Photographers are influenced by movie stars and the idea of celebrity, and by the movies themselves. There is a rich tapestry of photographic ideas and inspiration that emerge from the tangible and intangible idea of Hollywood, and with each unique photographic vision, these photographers are Redefining Hollywood.

About the Analog Salon

The Analog Salon is a project by Digital Fusion that highlights exceptional talent in the world of fine art photography. By partnering with industry leaders, DF is showcasing artists in its salon setting in Culver City by celebrating new, emerging and established photographers with an emphasis on Los Angeles based artists.

The new space represents a modern movement in supporting the arts by providing not only a space but a full production and marketing project to showcase talent and support artist efforts. The space will provide sponsored printing and framing, sponsored events based on the work and will include lectured, discussion panels and artist talks. All events will have a reception event and will be backed by local arts and entertainment media.

Along with Samitaur Constructs and under the guidance of architect Eric Owen Moss, Digital Fusion has provided a space to display and celebrate photography. Regular curated gallery exhibits will occur at the Culver City canvas setting. A dynamic partnership has been established with Contemporary Cultural led by cultural curator Edgar Varela as well as partnerships with local art world staples; Artweek LA, LA Canvas, Flavorpill LA, KCRW & Dublab..

The Analog Gallery will ad to the important dialogue taking place in the art world and will integrate the associated entities as an important part of the life of Los Angeles culture.

Carl Ramsey was an illustrator for many years. He has always considered himself fortunate to have spent his youth in the then still semi-rural environs of southern San Diego County. At nearby Southwestern College (1964-66) he came under the guidance of an excellent art
department faculty, including the conceptual artist John Baldessari, who suggested late nights at Barney’s Beanery and classes at Chouinard Art Institute as developmental next steps.

Four years later Ramsey began a career in illustration. Advertising agencies, Motor Trend
Magazine, album cover designers, and eventually motion picture studios supplied the
assignments and tight deadlines for the next two and a half decades.
One-sheet illustrations, including the final art for Quest for Fire, One Crazy Summer, Risky Business, Police Academy 4, Return of the Living Dead and Beetlejuice, among many others, along with innumerable drawings, sketches and other paintings were produced for film releases during the 1980s and early 1990s. Included within this time span is the creation of the original poster art for the long-running musical Dreamgirls.

Since then, oil paintings of a wide range of subjects, including landscapes and portraits, have been produced. Most recent work, spanning the last ten years, consists mainly of the
interpretation of the human and architectural elements in the Historic Core and Skid Row
areas of downtown Los Angeles, where the painter lived for several years. He now resides near MacArthur Park.

EVFA (Edgar Varela Fine Arts) presents:

“Cut Ups” an art exhibition by Michael Frost @ EVFA

Gallery Hours are Wed-Sat from 12pm-6pm
http://www.edgarvarela.com/
http://frostisdead.com/

These pieces evoke a time in my childhood when I lived in post-Franco Spain. In my hometown of Sevilla, the ancient walls would be covered with sheets of torn film posters. Rugged lead actors and glamorous women in suggestive poses peeked out from underneath years of layered announcements for neighborhood theaters like el cine Becquer, where I spent hours in the dark entranced by the same images displayed outside.

Here, using salvaged, vintage Italian movie posters of the 1960s and 70s, digital imagery, paints and inks, I’ve re-imagined that past and recast the characters in a violently brilliant narrative where the primal forces of femininity and masculinity clash and reassemble. The colors and textures of these pieces repeat the rich dynamic in kaleidoscopic illumination and tactile robustness.

The video work transforms that aesthetic into a more conventional, yet just as fractured narrative. Resurrecting familiar faces from the film and television screens of the 1960s and 70s, these cut-ups, much like the fine art pieces, are digitally manipulated and presented in a new context, where heroines become demons, men become anonymous, and children become scapegoats.

I hope to give the viewer the feeling that I get from creating these pieces, vibrant and exciting melodramas that played out as street art and in the movie palaces of my youth, yet imagined from the perspective of experience. For me, it is a total encounter of sight, sound, and memory.

Artist and filmmaker Michael Frost was born in Spain in 1971 and raised in Upstate New York. He took his BA in Cinema and Art History from Binghamton University and is the recipient of the 1997 Eastman Kodak Award for Film. He currently maintains a working studio in Los Angeles where he has resided since 1998.

Edgar Varela Fine Arts
727 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Works by visual artist and filmmaker Michael Frost

Opens Saturday June 4th from 7-10pm
Exhibit runs June 4th to July 2nd
Gallery Hours are Wed-Sat from 12pm-6pm

Spanish Born artist Michael Frost resides in Los Angeles where he maintains a working studio and works with mixed media on large pieces on canvas. Michael is also a visual artist constantly creating film art and evolving as an artist and a filmaker. His filmmaking background can be noted in many of his works. His film company is http://www.helsinkiproductions.com/

Edgar Varela Fine Arts
727 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014

(Show Extended, Reception May 21st from 6-9pm)

NO FLIP FLOPS PLEASE:

Artist Marc Valesella’s LEGS Series Exhibits At Edgar Varela Fine Arts

Spending most of his 20’s in the jet-setter, high-fashion circles of Paris while working for Guy Bourdin as a fashion photographer and designing custom shoes for the Parisian elite, it is no surprise artist Marc Valesella’s “LEGS” series has more to with shoes than legs.

His approach to the “LEGS” series is much like Yves Saint Laurent’s view of fashion – “Fashion fades, style endures.”

Valesella explains, “Elegance is the manifestation of inner beauty. This work is an expression of my belief that elegance must be cultivated as it cannot be bought like the current fashion trend.”

As a part of the Month of Photography in Los Angeles (MOPLA), Valesella exhibits the LEGS series in a solo show at the EDGAR VARELA FINE ARTS Gallery, April 29, 2011 – May 28, 2011.

ABOUT MARC VALESELLA:

Marc Valesella (www.marcvalesella.com). His photographic endeavors start with the visualization of a beautiful print, even when taken out of the context of the series. He began his photographic career in Paris by assisting Guy Bourdin in the 1970’s. He learned black and white printing under the guidance of Jeanloup Sieff. In 1986, after Moving to Los Angeles, he started to work with large format cameras. From 1995 to present, Valesella has made extensive research on high definition printing with small and medium format cameras, using highly customized enlarging systems. Valesella’s work has been exhibited in solo shows and featured in private collections internationally. Recent photography project – photographing ancient cave drawings for the Werner Herzog film, “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”.

Marc Valesella
www.marcvalesella.com

EVFA (Edgar Varela Fine Arts) & MOPLA (Month of Photography LA)

“Legs” – a Photo Exhibition by Marc Valesella

RECEPTION Saturday May 21th from 6-9pm
Exhibit runs April 29th to May 28st
Gallery Hours are Wed-Sat from 12pm-6pm

Edgar Varela Fine Arts
727 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Edgar Varela Fine Arts is dedicated to exhibiting compelling work from exciting emerging and mid-career artists as well as  providing a platform  for interaction and conversation about the contemporary art world. EVFA also curates and produces relevant cultural happenings  that impact the perception on traditional art roles in society. For more info:  213-604-3634, e-mail at edgar@edgarvarela.com

Please join Edition One Hundred next Wednesday night for our pop-up event hosted by Edgar Varela Fine Arts & Cultural Events. This event will go through to Thursday night during Downtown LA Art Walk. Edition One Hundred will show and sell all prints to date in a pop-up event at Edgar Varela Fine Arts from Wednesday, April 13th, 7pm to 10pm through Thursday, April 14th, 6pm – 11pm.

Edition One Hundred will preview and pre-sell the… forthcoming 5th series curated by Yesenia Cardona, entitled The Door is Round and Open, inspired by poet Jelaluddin Rumi featuring the art and photography of Doze Green, Yuri Shimojo, Jose Mertz, Daria Tuminas and Peter Bohler.

All Edition One Hundred series prints will be available for purchase for $100.00.

About Edition One Hundred

Designed to provide beautifully produced art and photography at prices within reach, Edition One Hundred is a gallery without walls; open twenty-four hours a day in any time zone around the globe. Each artist’s work is printed in an exclusive edition of 100. With rare exceptions, each print sells for $100. All prints are signed by the artist and come with a certificate of authenticity. Edition One Hundred will contribute 10% from the sale of every print to the charity or cause of each artist’s choosing.

Based online at www.editiononehundred.com, this gallery uses innovations in technology to produce and distribute high quality fine art prints to a new generation of collectors.

Opens Friday April 29th from 6-10pm
…Exhibit runs April 29th to May 21st

Gallery Hours are Wed-Sat from 12pm-6pm
http://www.edgarvarela.com/
http://www.marcvalesella.com/

MARC VALESELLA

Most of my photographic endeavors start with the excitement of the visualization of a beautiful print, even when taken out of the context of the series. By that I mean that the political or social content of a given body of work should not be used as a palliative for a beautiful image, no matter how interesting the subject is.

While all the serious talk about a photographer motive is important, a fine print has a life of its own and should be an object of itself. The emotions of the viewers when confronted to my work are always more important to me than any message I ultimately try to send.

In the medium of photography, the public seems to believe that the technical recipes are more important than of other mediums, and so they may be, however, it is not of great interest to be explained. My technical relationship with my work is very simple in that I am a practitioner of straight photography using available light and the least manipulation in the darkroom as possible.

Born in France -1955. Received a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from the ‘Institut Universitaire de Technologie’ Paris, France(1977). An autodidact at photography. Started taking pictures in 1975 while working for Guy Bourdin in Paris. Learned black and white printing from 1977-1979 under the guidance of Jean Loup Sieff, also in Paris.

Moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and started to work with large format cameras. From 1995 to present, made extensive research on high definition printing with small and medium format cameras, using highly customized enlarging systems. Resides in Los Angeles. Working between Los Angeles and Paris.

Edgar Varela Fine Arts
727 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014

J. Wesley Brown        Amanda Friedman        Zach Herrera

Ryan Schude        RJ Shaughnessy        Tim Simmons

Los Angeles, Boulder Drive, 2004 Tim Simmons

Opens Saturday April 16th from 6-10pm

April 16th to April 24th @ EVFA

Edgar Varela Fine Arts

727 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Heaven is Not the Wide Blue Sky
A Solo Exhibition by Erica Steiner

“Heaven is not the wide blue sky, but the place where corporeality is
begotten in the House of the Creative.”  -Lu Yen

March  12th – April 9th (Artist Reception: March 12th from 6-9pm)

Erica Steiner’s newest series of oil and gold leaf paintings, Heaven is Not the Wide Blue Sky, explores a collective longing to touch and know realms beyond, to transcend both time and existential uncertainty in the face of rapid environmental degradation on a globally unprecedented scale.

The work dwells at the psychic intersection of imagined, archetypal
pasts and paradoxically playful yet apocalyptic futures, at once seeking to confront the gravity of our current human predicament and simultaneously seeking refuge in the pursuit of deeper patterns and rhythms that pulse beneath the surface of all life, imbuing the
material world with beauty and life force.

Incorporating elements of landscape, ornamentation and abstraction, the paintings employ a highly detailed visual language drawn from a wide range of influences, including traditional Indian, Tibetan Buddhist and Aboriginal painting, psychedelic art, contemporary graphic design, Japanese landscape painting, medieval Catholic illuminated manuscripts, mid-century modernism, Mexican folk art, and Victorian fashion. The work is rendered in oil and gold leaf on canvas, in series of fifteen to twenty paintings, painted in many layers, over time.