It has been way too long since I attended an art opening at Art From Scrap. For one reason or another, the openings seemed to conflict with some other obligation. Well, I’m making the extra effort to head over there tomorrow night to see this show by this prolific local family. They have been a large part of the local art community for a long time, and each of them brings their own wonderful talents to their work. I’ve seen their work all over town in public spaces and at any number of group shows around town. This will be a great opportunity to see a concentrated exhibition.

Details below. See you there.

Gene Pool Retrospective Exhibition: Alf Ramirez, Colleen Kelly, and Isabella Kelly-Ramirez

Artist’s Reception: Friday, January 13, 2012 from 5:00 to 7:00

AFS Gallery

302 East Cota St. Santa Barbara, CA J

EMAIL: afsadmin@artfromscrap.org

WEB: www.artfromscrap.org

Gene Pool- A Family Retrospective at AFS Gallery

SANTA BARBARA: Gene Pool an exhibition featuring the work of Alf Ramirez, Colleen Kelly, and Isabella Kelly-Ramirez opens at the AFS Gallery on Friday, January 13, from 5:00-7:00 pm.  A family exhibition; Ramirez and Kelly are married, Isabella Kelly-Ramirez is their daughter, Gene Pool promises to highlight the commonalities and differences of this artistic family.

Mary Price, curator of the exhibition says “I am delighted to present this group retrospective of a very talented and interesting artist family. Alf’s wonderful assemblages intrigue me because they are so meticulous and humor filled. Not many people are aware of his older work, because these secret marvels have been hidden away in specially-made crates in odd corners of the family home. Colleen is amazing and very prolific. I was motivated by the idea of placing many pieces of her assemblage work together in the gallery because, through them, you can feel her high energy and attention to detail. Izzy is becoming well-known in the Los Angeles art community, as well as in Santa Barbara. She’s a very charming and promising artist, and I’m delighted to have her drawings and collages alongside her parents’ assemblage work.”

Alf Ramirez has a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.   His work in Gene Pool consists of highly crafted, intricate mixed media assemblage.  Some of the pieces include carving and casting on a small scale.  Ramirez says, “Language can be a jumping-off point for some of my artwork, starting with the title. I aspire to poetry in that regard, however, the end result is often prose.  The work is basically an exploration of my personal history and exploration of life in the United Sates and in California in particular.”

Colleen Kelly is currently working in assemblage, printmaking and bronze-casting. Her art revolves around the themes of housing, architecture, social, political and environmental issues.

A well-known Santa Barbara assemblage artist herself, Kelly is excited about Gene Pool.  Kelly explains, “Over the years I’ve collaborated with and been influenced by my artist-husband Alfred Ramirez. It’s really gratifying to see him get his work out there.”

Isabella Kelly-Ramirez’s artwork is usually figure-based with surreal and expressionistic qualities combined. Inspired by her early involvement of theatre, parade, and masquerade, Kelly-Ramirez is interested in depicting characters by way of pattern, texture and cosmetic color palettes.

She elaborates, “I grew up with artists in a house that was and still is one big studio. My artistic style is a hybrid from both parents. The color, pattern and whimsy come from my mom. The gesture, line, and dark irony comes from my dad.”

Mark your calendars! Friday, January 13^th is opening night for Gene Pool; the show will hang through February 25^th, 2012^.  This event is free and open to the public.

About Art From Scrap: Art From Scrap is Santa Barbara’s Environmental Education and Art Center.  The AFS Gallery is located upstairs at Art From Scrap. Summer Gallery Hours: Tues. Wed. Fri. and Sat.-10-3, Thurs. 10-6.  Rotating shows hang throughout the year bringing together art lovers, collectors and local artists.

Artist’s Reception: Friday, January 13, 2012 from 5:00 to 7:00

AFS Gallery

302 East Cota St. Santa Barbara, CA J

Jill Cloutier:             (805) 884-0459       x13

EMAIL: afsadmin@artfromscrap.org

WEB: www.artfromscrap.org

Anyone who has read this blog over the past year or so will know how many times I have gushed over the wonderful shows that have taken place at MichaelKate Interiors under the curatorial care of Brad Nack. The next show in the space will be a Valentine’s themed show and the call for submissions has gone out. This is a chance for all of you artists out there to get your work in front of some of the largest crowds of art-lovers in town. But there is an added bonus in the form of store credit at MichaelKate! I’m agnostic when it comes to the importance of Valentine’s Day, but this is a reason to be genuinely excited.

Good Luck to the artists. I hope to see you all at the show. Details below.

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MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery Presents…

I am in LOVE – Art contest and open call to artists.

Art must be submitted by 6pm, Monday January 30th, 2012

Feb. 6 – April 1, 2012 Opening Reception Friday Feb. 10, 7-11pm

Angels, Arrows, Hearts and Cupids
A re-working of the cliche’s of art.

1st Prize $1,000. store credit at MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery.
2nd Prize $500. store credit at MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery.
3rd Prize $250. store credit at MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery

You are invited to create and submit artistic re-working of images of the cliche’s of love.

Get ready for the Valentines Day celebrations, paint a green cupid, turn that angel into a demon, sculpt rubberized love arrows or take photos of broken hearts. Our Judge will select pieces for inclusion in the show and prizes, based on creativity, emotion, desire, passion and point of view. Acceptable formats include paintings, drawings, college, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, photography.

Small work and large work acceptable, however, no work over 10×20 feet, no sculpture or ceramic work over 150 pounds, no pornographic, violent or racist, work.

It’s all about love.

Art must be submitted by 6pm, Monday January 30th, 2012

Brad Nack Curator

Details here.
http://mkiart.tumblr.com/

MichaelKate Interiors and Art Gallery
132 Santa Barbara St. Santa Barbara Ca. 93101 (805) 963-1411

Happy New Year, one and all. I hope you all had a great holiday season and are ready to get the new year started. We are going to start 2012 off with a less frantic version of the monthly 1st Thursday Art Crawl. This should allow us to take a bit more time at each location and soak in the art more thoroughly. We will end the night at the studio of one of Santa Barbara’s most talented young painters, Derek Harrison. After missing his studio last month because of a miss-communication, we are back on track for this month. It should be a great night, and I hoping to see another big crowd join us for the evening.

You can find a map of the proposed itinerary below. The Art Crawl starts PROMPTLY at 5:45, so if you can’t make it at the beginning, use the map to track us down. I also usually update our location live on twitter.

See you on Thursday!

Click on the image below for a larger, printable version of the map.

A while back I was introduced to a local Brooks MFA graduate named Sol Hill. Photography is definitely not my specialty, but it is something I have a bit of passion for.  Sol took me through a great deal of his portfolio and the photos he showed me were like nothing I had seen before. Unlike almost every other photographer on the planet, Sol makes use of the digital noise produced by a variety of different cameras to produce images that subvert the straightforward denotation that we usually associate with photography. The resulting images give a very distinct suggestion of specific subjects or locations, but make any attempts to decipher their reality futile. For me, the visual effect of the photos is a wonderful combination of science fiction and the sublime. And it is the kind of thing that rewards multiple viewings.

Check these photos out at Sol’s Open Studio Sale this Saturday afternoon. Details Below.

SOL HILL:
Open Studio Art Sale
Saturday Dec. 10 2:30-6:30PM
3013 Paseo Tranquillo • Santa Barbara • CA • 93105
Contact information: Sol Hill • 805-453-4375 • sol@solhill.com • www.solhill.com

Local artist Sol Hill will be holding his first open studio here in Santa Barbara. Hill works with artifacts produced in digital photography to create highly textured lyrical images that hover between abstraction and recognition. While Hill’s medium is photography, his work is interdisciplinary in spirit. His interest lies in removing the expected details in a photograph and replacing them with textured visual details that stimulate the senses but evade easy definition.

Hill uses photography less to record surface appearances than as a tool to investigate how the interior dimensions of the subject can be perceived. Hill hopes to glimpse something beautifully unexpected out of his interaction with the subject and the variables that affect the photographic process. He seeks to use the camera, a device built to fix a perception, in order to deliver a certain freedom from fixed perceptions. To inaugurate his new studio space, Hill is offering discounts up to 50% off all limited edition prints during the event only. It is a great opportunity to find an exceptional gift for someone special or to treat yourself this to something special this holiday season.

Wine and hors d’oeuvre will be served.

Sol Hill Open Studio