Continuing through September 25, 2011
Like a surfer adept at scrutinizing the effect every incoming wave has on the next, curator Jacqueline Dreager aspired to install this eclectic collection of two and three-dimensional work by 18 California artists in a manner that empowers each work as it relates to its neighbors. The show was born out of an inspiration to encourage artists who surf to personalize old, worn out surfboards. That concept expanded into “Surf’s Up,” an exhibition that positions half a dozen re-imaged boards amidst a variety of paintings, photographs and mixed media works.
Ned Evans, R. Nelson Parrish, Andy Moses, Rich Stich and Stephen Roberts Johns are among those who celebrate the mesmerizing luminosity of light reflected off the surface of water. Joni Sternbach’s enticing wet-plate collodian photographs explore the juncture between land and sea. Mark Dean Veca’s “Charlie Don’t Surf,” is a stunning homage to Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” while Sandrow Birk’s “San Pedro” suggests themes photographer Alan Sekula might address. Anthony Friedkin captures the ocean’s moods, from dynamic to serene. Timothy Williams’ mixed media “Remembrance” is hauntingly operatic. The exhibition spills over into a Palos Verdes Art Center classroom where students, inspired by the show, create their own “Surf’s Up” imagery.
Published courtesy of ArtSceneCal ©2011
