This past March, bG Gallery rented a temporary space at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. After putting on several successful exhibitions, the gallery was able to re-negotiate its contract and has found a permanent home at the arts complex.
This Saturday, May 24, bG Gallery presents “Three-Winged Chrysalis” as its inaugural show for the official grand opening.
“I was looking for works exploring subject matter of transitioning forms, becoming something new from something else,” explains co-owner and curator Om Bleicher. “I wanted a diverse set of explorations of this subject matter from contemporary and modern artists.” The exhibition features paintings, photography, digital works, interactive sculpture etc.
Stephanie Visser is one of the artists participating in the group show. She has been painting since she was just a child.
“I went to art school when I was eighteen and haven’t stopped since,” explains the artist.
Visser’s parents always knew she had talent, but when she declined a National Merit Scholarship for college to study mathematics, like most parents, they became concerned for her future. They asked her to make a choice…if she pursued her art, she would no longer receive financial help. But she was firm in her passion and continued on her journey. She admits this is a decision she has never regretted.
When asked what inspires her, she replies, “Emotion…purely simple…to life situations, the environment, people, light conditions, colors, smells.” Visser paints at her studio in Venice three times a week. She continues, “It changes only by the events of my life and what I am reacting to…it can be beautiful lovely things or the struggles of the day and the way it affects what I see and feel.” To find out more about Stephanie Visser, visit http://stephanievisser.com/
The sculptures of Hadiya Finley will also be featured in “Three-Winged Chrysalis.” This will be the third exhibition at bG Gallery that Finley has participated.
The artist recently returned from China where she has been working for the past few years. She created a commissioned public work for a residential complex in the northern part of Guangzhou. The unveiling for “Tree People” took place in January.
Finley has been creating art for most of her life. Probably best known for her sculptures, Finley works with a variety of materials.
She explains, “I do enjoy developing a piece in clay and then having it cast in bronze, but I am also looking at combining other materials with the bronze. I am interested in producing figures with softened forms, something the clay allows readily.”
For more information about Hadiya Finley, see http://www.barefootbird.com
The exhibition also includes the work of: Dan Busta, Shaun Berke, Ted Gall, Burton Gray, Jim Holyoak, George Joaquim, Devin Johnson, Steven Kenny, Christopher Mudgett, Dave Quick, Gay Summer Rick, Ron Rogers, Ryan Schude, and many more.
The opening reception takes place this Saturday, May 24, from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Bergamot Station, (G8A), 2525 Michigan Avenue in Santa Monica.
The exhibit will remain on view through June 16.
Contact: (310) 906 4211; http://www.bGartGalleries.com.
