Metta National, (art in the dark) by Anna Karakalou with projection mapping by Panos Scourtis

Vita Art Center will turn the lights out to create a unique experience of art in the dark. Mulit-platform artist, Anna Karakalou will be exhibiting a fully immersive show at the Vita Art Center. Incorporating elements of traditional media, projection mapping by Panos Skourtis, digital painting and an introspective soundscape.

The shows previous iterations were seen in Labastide, France, as Efterpi and at the WAV Gallery as Inner National which was, unfortunately postponed to a one night only opening/closing due to the Thomas Fires.

Noting inner connectivity in a dark universe, Anna Karakalou paints colorful mirrors of recognition for us to see ourselves in. The images and portraits mirror the inner-self. The dark projection space of the exhibition map out the connection of the universe of all souls. -Marija Skara (Finnish Press)

Until Feb.23., Vita Art Center ,Bell Arts Factory, 432 N. Ventura Ave.

Over 350 people attended the opening reception of the new Neal Barr exhibit, In High Style: The Photography of Neal Barr, hosted by Union Bank at the Museum of Ventura County. Breeze publisher Sheldon joined Neal at the wonderful celebration.

Attendees enjoyed an evening of high-fashion fun and art on a beautiful Ventura evening. Featuring the music of Studio 54 and fabulous food and refreshments from downtown Ventura merchants. More than $1,500 was raised in support of the United Way Ventura County’s Thomas Fire and Flood Fund.

The City of Ventura’s Public Art Program, in collaboration with artist MB Hanrahan, is excited to provide the community an opportunity to participate in an upcoming permanent public art installation, “Bee Cause” at the Barranca Vista Center, 7050 East Ralston St.

Through a series of workshops, the community will assist in transforming hubcaps into beautiful flowers on metal mesh with bee sculptures among flower patches that creates awareness around the plight of the North American Bumble Bee. This project is funded in part by the California Arts Council Artists Activating Communities and the City of Ventura. The California (CA) Arts Council’s Artists Activating Communities program was designed to demonstrate that the arts are a central component of civic life and that artists are vital in shaping society. Artists work closely with organizational partners and community members to produce creative projects that are tailored to the community. The CA Arts Council recognizes that arts are a societal cornerstone that brings people together, builds community, and fosters social progress. The public is invited to attend the following workshops and “bee” a part of this unique opportunity:

Vita Art Center-432 N. Ventura Ave.
Workshop will be held during the Friday Night Teen Program (12 and up)
Friday, February 2, 6-9pm
No fee.

Barranca Vista Imagination Center
(12 and up)
Wednesday, January 31, 2018, 4-7pm
$15 fee

Museum of Ventura County
(12 and up)
Saturday, March 3, 2018, 12-3pm, in the Plaza
$15 fee

To RSVP or for more information, please contact the City of Ventura Public Art Project Manager at 658-4759 or [email protected]. All proceeds and donation will go towards the Bee Cause project. All supplies will be provided at the workshops.

Award winning artist, Frances Spencer presented a solo exhibit of her art at the WAV (Working Artists Ventura) theater gallery from January 5-26. Funding was made possible by a Puffin Foundation grant.

The centerpiece of the exhibit, “War and Peace: Diptych,” illustrated the theme, Peace and Love Will Save the World. WAV Theater Gallery 175 S. Ventura Ave.

Rugged Tableau: Recent paintings and mixed-media works by John White; Topographies in stone by Paul Lindhard (Feb 11—Mar 18) Opening Reception: (Feb 11, 3 pm—6 pm) at the Art City Gallery.

John M. White is a painter, sculptor and performance artist. Some years ago, while living in Solimar Beach, White began looking at the detritus washed up on the sand: seaweed, driftwood, shells, etc. The resultant paintings were poetic and suggestive rather than descriptive. They established the foundation for the three series he has recently produced.

Considered one of the seminal California performance artists, White has staged hundreds of public performances since 1967, and is included in numerous public museum collections.

Ventura-based Paul Lindhard has been an artist, sculptor, studio builder, producer and patron of the arts for over 50 years. He has dozens of monumental scale permanent public and private installations throughout Western United States, with a majority of works in Ventura City and County. The artist is always questioning nature within stone, sourcing and collecting stone with an awareness of shapes stone moves through.

In the past two decades Paul Lindhard has made stone tables that invoke the landscape of their stone material origins. These tables are not flat or overly useful as tables. Their surfaces, edges and pedestals are shaped instead to optimize the beauty of each element. The artist has collected these pieces from remote, wild and rugged places. A second series has evolved from this practice. Lindhard has evolved miniature topographies presented on pedestals, preserving exotic weathering and texture on their uppermost surface while sides are carved and polished to expose rare and beautiful inner stone. These sculptures make a salient counterpart to larger dada-table pieces.

Art City Gallery, 197 Dubbers St., 648-1690. www.artcitygalleryandstudios.com.

In our last issue we goofed and credited art to the wrong artist. This is Sunset by Wendy Winet in current CMH show.

Focus on the Masters (FOTM) is pleased to announce that ten artists have been selected for FOTM formal documentation by a distinguished jury for the 2018 season. An artist will be featured monthly beginning with Carol Shaw-Sutton on Sunday, January 28 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. as part of FOTM’s popular Artist Spotlight interview series, now in its twenty-third year. Each artist’s interview will be filmed before a studio audience at Levity Live, 591 Collection Blvd., located at the Collection in Oxnard.

Admission to the Artist Spotlight interviews is free for FOTM members; general admission is $15, seniors and students with valid ID $10. For membership information, visit www.FocusOnTheMasters.com.

Members of the community are invited to host an AfterGLOW and help to raise much needed funds to maintain the FOTM Archive. These popular salon style gatherings offer art enthusiasts the opportunity to visit with the featured artist while enjoying a light supper in the company of dedicated arts supporters. If you would like to host an AfterGLOW in your home, call FOTM at 653.2501 or email [email protected].

The ten artists have been selected for formal documentation by a highly respected jury consisting of Karen Kitchel, Margaret Nielsen and Colin Fraser Gray. Each artist was selected based on the artists’ mastery of their craft and diversity of expression, the respect from their peers and their historic role in the life of our artistic heritage.

Artists gathered at the Museum of Ventura County for a twice-monthly figure-drawing session put on by the museum’s resident artist Ryan Carr.

These free sessions allow artists to practice their craft by drawing live, clothed models using charcoal, pencils, pens, pastels — any medium that isn’t paint or any other liquid.

Sessions are held at the Museum’s Smith Pavilion or in a local brewery. Participants must be 21 or older. For information on the next event, check venturamuseum.org

In our last issue we goofed and credited art to the wrong artist. This is by Cassandra Tondro a Ventura artist who has offered to replace any of her art that burned in the Thomas fire for free.