OC Art Blog

Gallery Talk by CeCe Sloan on Peggy Guggenheim this week!

Please join us for 
An Evening Showcasing Women and Art

Thursday,  May 27, 2010  11 p.m.  OR  6 p.m.

A talk and discussion by lecturer CeCe Sloan on the remarkable philanthropist and patron of the arts Peggy Guggenheim.

On exhibit: notable works by painter/poet Michael (Corinne) West,
whose paintings Guggenheim admired.

Philanthropist/art collector Peggy Guggenheim and painter/poet Michael (Corinne) West were key figures in the Abstract Expressionist movement in New York City after World War II. Female artists frequently adopted male noms des brosses in order to be taken seriously in the male-dominated art world; only recently have the works of female artists of the period been revisited. Art Resource Group will present an exhibition of notable works by Michael West to coincide with the MOCA(LA) exhibit, Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective (June 6-Sept. 20). West's work was overshadowed by that of Gorky, her close friend; clearly West was more than Gorky's muse, for her paintings were admired by Guggenheim and other notables of the period. Local art aficionado CeCe Sloan will present a talk on the subject of Peggy Guggenheim, followed by a discussion and reception. A  tax-deductible $20 donation will be collected at the door; all proceeds from the event will be donated to UNIFEM to help end poverty, violence and inequality for women in 135 countries.  

art resource group

 

fine art and appraisal services

Miriam Smith

20351 Irvine Avenue, Suite C-1

Newport Beach , California 92660

714.371.0101 

590 Madison Ave., 21st floor, New York NY

Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  Saturday by appointment

www.artresourcegroup.com

I'll be there to catch the 11am gallery talk, hope to see some of your lovely faces in attendance.

cheers, Joanna

Orange County Museum of Art announces artists in the 2010 California Biennial

For the first time in recent memory, artists that have strong Orange County roots will be participating in the 2010 California Biennial at OCMA.

Finishing School has a long Orange County history and Carlee Fernandez is an alum of CSU Fullerton. (and both are in the Hoff collection!)

Congrats to both the FS crew and Carlee. You deserve it!

The rest of the artists the will be participating in the show that will run from Oct. 24 to March 13 are:

David Adey, Agitprop, b.a.n.g. lab, Gil Blank, Nate Boyce, Luke Butler, Juan Capistran, Zoe Crosher, Brian Dick, Dru Donovan, Mari Eastman, Carlee Fernandez, Finishing School, Eve Fowler, Rebecca Goldfarb, Katy Grannan, Alexandra Grant, Sherin Guirguis, Drew Heitzler, Violet Hopkins, Alex Israel, Glenna Jennings, Barry MacGregor Johnston, Vishal Jugdeo, Stanya Kahn, Andy Kolar, Jennifer Locke, Los Angeles Urban Rangers, Tom Mueske, Tucker Nichols, Camilo Ontiveros, Nikki Pressley, Andy Ralph, Will Rogan, Paul Schiek, Taravat Talepasand, Wu Tsang, Zlatan Vukosavljevic, Nina Waisman, Flora Wiegmann, Allison Wiese, Lisa Williamson, David Wilson, Patrick Wilson and John Zurier

Photo: Andy Kolar, Carlee Fernandez, Brain Boyer & Ed Giardina from FS. Courtesy OCMA

Rock your world marble. . . !! - Studio Visit with Elizabeth Turk

Elizabeth Turk Studio - OC

 

While on the hunt for inspiring sculpture at the Armory Show in NYC, I stumbled across an elegantly carved piece of marble, so delicate that it resembled ribbon.  

It belonged to artist Elizabeth Turk.  Instantly that name rang a bell, as she had done an artist residency in our very own Grand Central Art Center, Downtown Santa Ana. AND that happens to be where I called home while in grad school. Go GCAC.

The piece was astonishing.  That was when I set out to find her . . . not as easy as I had expected.  Eventually I managed to finagle her number out of someone (in the OC, I think there are even less than 6 degrees of separation between us all). Elizabeth Turk graciously invited me to her studio in Santa Ana to give the OC ArtBlog followers the inside scoop.  Totally amazing.

This swan-like woman with bright blue eyes escorted me around the property until we settled down at a piece in progress, one of her famous 'collars.'  As we spoke, those little hands went to work, filling away from the inside out of a piece so precarious that it quivered at the mere rubbing of a file.  Astonished I asked, "how delicate is that piece?"  (I was think. . . marble, stone, relatively break proof right?)  

Elizabeth explains that the process she utilizes to carve and the shapes rendered are the result of a balancing act based on the intimate relationship between the stone and the hand that carves it. Cracks can happen at any time and cause irrevocable damage. So if you are wondering, NO I did not touch anything.

 The process can take up to 2-3 years before arriving at completion, not to mention the care that is needed in construction of the base, the armature that the piece rests upon, and the transport/installation of the artwork to it's new home.

Elizabeth Turk has an incredible talent, of which she uses to combine classical marble carving techniques with contemporary themes in a way that maintains the integrity and reputation of crafts(wo)men and their trade.  

 

Even Michelangelo would be impressed with her creations.  Go Elizabeth!  We LOVE the work.  Thank you for inviting the OC Art Blog into your studio. We will keep you all updated on her pending exhibitions, in the mean time here is a link to her gallery Hirschl & Adler in New York.  

 

 

Enjoy,

Joanna