Artists Jennifer Verge & Stephanie Visser Featured at Edgemar Center for the Arts March 6th!

On Sunday March 6^th, the art of Jennifer Verge and Stephanie Visser will be featured in two solo exhibitions at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica. Verge’s exhibition “Believe in the Magic” will showcase her mixed media works on wood. Visser’s exhibition entitled “Rhapsody in Blu” will feature her abstract paintings. 

Verge currently resides in Los Angeles but originally hails from Canada. Her family was her early inspiration, encouraging her to work with wood. Her teachers also pushed her to thinks outside the box. Verge will be showing roughly ten works created from wood with local found objects used throughout the works.

Just as most artists work in series, Verge has been busy with a new collection. She has been painting nudes and receiving an amazing response. She is also a talented jewelry designer and has a new business brewing. “Within a couple of months I will be launching my new Tee shirt line.”

Verge has recently exhibited at the LA Art Show, Gabba Gallery, Santa Monica Art Studios, and many more Los Angeles Galleries. For more information about the artist Jennifer Verge, visit her website at http://www.jenniferverge.com

Stephanie Visser is known for her abstract paintings. She moved to Los Angeles from Michigan to continue to pursue her creative endeavors. Visser also showed her work at the recent LA Art Show. She has exhibited her paintings at bG Gallery, Wallspace, TAG Gallery, Santa Monica Studios etc.

When asked how often she paints? Visser replied, “As much and as often as I can…that’s vague I know, but it does change from week to week depending on other things going on in my life.”  As an artist she said, she tries to establish a routine (so she can create on a consistent basis) that is supportive and will work for her. “I have a new studio in Beverly Hills and since it's closer to where I live, I am able to go even if only for a couple of hours.  Heaven would be every day.”

To find out more about the art of Stephanie Visser, visit her website at http://stephanievisser.com/

The Edgemar Center for the Arts has been offering high-quality theater productions since 2000. Don’t miss its upcoming productions such as the amazing Bubble Man, a fun filled family show which takes place February 27 and 28 (two shows per day), 11:00am & 1:00pm. Expect square bubbles, bubbles inside bubbles, fog-filled bubbles, giant bubbles, bubble volcanoes, tornadoes and trampolines and event people inside bubbles.

A Night at the Black Cat Cabaret is a provocative & seductive night of music and dance and runs March 4, 5, 11, 12, 18. 25, 26, and continues through April 1, 2, 15, 22, 23, 29, 30. 

Then April 7^th through April 10^th, Santa Monica’s premiere film festival, Cinema on the Edge is back to celebrate independent films of all genres that feature a distinct vision & a unique. Call 310-392-7327 to purchase tickets or check out the website for more info on all these productions www.edgemarcenter.org  http://www.cinemaattheedge.com/

Also onsite, is a flourishing acting school which offers scene study, on-camera auditioning, improv, script analysis, voice and speech, casting director workshops, and other acting classes. For more information about the acting visit the website. 

Be sure to mark your calendar for the art reception on Sunday March 6^th at Edgemar Center for the Arts for two new exhibitions, “Believe in the Magic” and “Rhapsody in Blu” featuring artists Jennifer Verge and Stephanie Visser from 4-7pm. RSVP to info@edgemar.org if you are interested in attending. Edgemar Center for the Arts is located at 2437 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405. 310-392-7327; http://www.edgemarcenter.org/

Upper West Restaurant Welcomes Artist Brooke Harker February 21st!

Upon returning from two solo exhibitions in Italy, LA cityscape artist Brooke Harker will share a variety of works at Upper West Restaurant in Santa Monica. 

Image: Carnival of Dreams by Brooke Harker 48 x 48 ink-acrylic-oil on canvas 2011 

The exhibit will include the painting that landed Harker's five-month painting residency in Italy in 2015. During that time she created twenty paintings on canvas, which highlighted various perspectives of Los Angeles, a frequent source of her inspiration. The exhibition, curated by Alfio Borghese, most recently toured to Satura Art Gallery in Genoa, Italy in January 2016.

"Memoirs of Cities," includes a collection of works at Upper West created by Harker from 2011-2015. The exhibit features paintings depicting Harker's spin on New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, San Diego, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and Catalina.

“I have always liked the vibe of Upper West for exhibiting art,” says Harker “it is trendy spot and of course I am excited to be a part of that energy. The environment feels cared for and that is mirrored in the food they serve and probably why so many people love the restaurant so much and want to be there.”

Harker speaks about the personal connection she feels to her paintings. “They are my memoirs…and then they become part of another person’s memoirs.  I love seeing the paintings I have created later in the background of photos on Facebook at gatherings of all kinds… It really is quite a gift to know that something I made gets to be a silent witness to another person’s life and in turn it become part of their memories.”

 

Image: Artist Brooke Harker with one of her works, Heart of the View.

Don’t miss the opening reception of “Memoirs of Cities” at Upper West Restaurant on Sunday, February 21st, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The following week…Upper West will host its 3rd annual Leukemia & Lymphoma benefit  and Oscar viewing party starting at 4:30pm. The art of Brooke Harker will be on view and the artist has offered to donate a percentage of her proceeds for any of her paintings sold on that day to the charity on the day February 28^th. See Upper West’s website at http://www.theupperwest.com/ to find out more info about both events. For additional info on Brooke Harker’s work, visit her website at http://www.brookeharker.com/

Upper West is located at 3321 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica. For more information or to make reservations, be sure to call 310.586.1111 or visit TheUpperWest.com; LLS.org

Saturday, February 6th, “Grayscale Wonderland II” Opens at bG Gallery!

bG Gallery presents “Grayscale Wonderland II” featuring an exhibition of grayscale works on Saturday, February 6^th, 2016. 

This is the 2^nd rendition of the exhibition, which asks the artists to create spectacular worlds without the use of overt color. Co-owner and curator Om Bleicher explains, “This year we have also put the call out to try out mostly new artists to the gallery though we'll still include a couple from the roster who've done some work for the show specifically.”

Dreamcatchers 01

48" x 48"

Archival ink on gloss canvas

Created 2015

Digital Surrealism

 
The art of Scott Horton will be included in the group exhibit. Born in Washington State, but raised in Seattle Horton has been an artist most of his life. Horton has worked with various types of media, but he was first inspired to use illustrative (or scratch) board by his college professor. The medium is a layer of black ink rolled over white chalk; a reverse of pen and ink. He continued to work with the scratch board throughout his career as an artist, but found a way via new technology to update and integrate his work into larger formats. His black and White series entitled Dreamcatchers uses both his surrealist and pop approaches to his art. 

Horton will be exhibiting works from his Dreamcatchers series in “Grayscale Wonderland II.” He explains how the work came to be, “I spent almost a year collecting images to use for the series, then developed a method to mimic etching / illustration. From there, each piece took weeks to assemble. There are currently 10 pieces in the series, with plans for more, and even selective color and full-color work. Visit Scott Horton’s website at http://dreamscolor.com/

Artist Terry Marks-Tarlow will also have one of her works included in the show. “I love working in simple black line on white paper. I aim to distill the whole of the human body down to its barest essence. Line Fantasy 2, like many of my figure drawings, reveals the same model in different poses. Overlapping lines seek synchronicities of placement and help to blur the distinction between one pose and another. By putting multiple poses together, I can capture changing dynamics and moods.”

Terry Marks-Tarlow

 Line Fantasy 2 

17" X 21" framed.

To find out more about the art of Terry Marks-Tarlow, visit her website at http://www.markstarlow.com/Art%20Prints/index.html

Photographer Huss Hardan will also have one of his prints in “Grayscale Wonderland II.”

At just ten years old, Hardan knew he wanted to be a photographer. He started shooting early while living in England. His first interaction was with a Polaroid instant camera. He then branched out to 35mm film, digital and more. 

Huss Hardan

12”x12” print 

matted to 20”x20, framed

 Limited 1 of 15

Hardan’s work in the show was taken on a drive. “I was driving up the coast to San Francisco and while in Cayucos I saw the light changing and a huge fog bank roll onshore. I waited until the moment was right and took the shot with a Rolleiflex.

Additional information about the art of Huss Hardan’s work can be found at http://www.huzgalleries.com

Artist Johnny Naked has a work included in the exhibition as well. This is his first time showing at bG Galllery. 

“This piece actually began as a color work, but it felt over-worked as such. The human figure and the rock he sits on, become one in this grayscale interpretation, creating a visual metaphor for how we as humans are not separate from Nature, but rather a part of it.” 

Johnny Naked

Nude Boy on Rock

See Johnny Naked’s website for more info   http://www.johnnynaked.com/

Additional artists are: Yaron Dotan, David Dumo, Melissa Wilkinson, Jeehye Shin, Andrea Castillo, Mary McGill, Mick Phelan, Daggi Wallace, Domenico Foschi, Johnny Naked, Pascaline Doucin-Dahlke, Marion Wood, Allan Peach, Harry Wilson, Peta Orbach, DOSSHAUS, Robert Zagorski, Steve Paulsen, Susan Moss, Barbara Kolo, Kim Kimbro, Thomas Whittaker Kidd and more.

The opening reception for “Grayscale Wonderland II” takes place on Saturday, February 6^th from 6-9pm at bG Gallery (space # G8A) at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica (2525 Michigan Ave in Santa Monica, 90404). http://santamonica.bgartdealings.com/