Vita Art Center presents Fiber Art Exhibit
Opening Reception: Friday, June 2 from 6-9 p.m.
Exhibit Dates: June 2 thru 30 from 6-9 p.m.

Vita Art Center is excited to exhibit the work of 4 exceptional contemporary fiber artists each showing a unique use of material, form and technique. Fiber art is defined as fine art which consists of materials that are natural or synthetic fiber and other components. It focuses on the materials and on the manual labor on the part of the artist as part of the works’ significance, and prioritizes aesthetic value over utility.

Exhibiting Artists: Carol Shaw- Sutton, Julia Ford, Tina Linville and Wendy Osher

Works by Ojai painter Kathy Bodycombe and Ventura printmaker and photographer Christina Altfeld will be featured until June 24 at the Buenaventura Gallery.

Their shows will share wall space in the Clophine Dooley Gallery as the rest of the downtown Ventura gallery is devoted to Buenaventura Art Association’s fifth annual Collage Open Competition. A reception for all three exhibitions will be 5-7 p.m. May 27, at which awards for the collage show will be announced.

Bodycombe’s “Duets” show will have oil-on-canvas landscapes from places she has lived or visited on both U.S. coasts and in Europe, ranging in size from 6 inches square to 24 by 36 inches. She has been painting for 15 years.

Altfeld, a lifelong photographer who’s also been exploring multiple forms of printmaking for 10 years, chose “Ocean Atmosphere” as her title.

The Collage Open Competition will have two- and three-dimensional original glued collage, mixed-media collage or assemblage artworks, of which at least half must be glued collage.

Judging the entries will be Kathy Leader, who grew up and received her art and art education degrees in South Africa and now teaches privately and in workshops in her West Los Angeles studio.

The Buenaventura Gallery, 700 E. Santa Clara St. is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. For more about the nonprofit Buenaventura Art Association and its programs, visit www.buenaventuragallery.org or call 648-1235 during gallery hours.

The Museum of Ventura County launches the summer season with an opening reception for The Secret Paintings, unveiling the works of local artist Michael Pearce, 6-8 p.m., June 2, at the Museum, 100 Main St. Following the opening ceremony, patrons can view the collected works and have the opportunity to meet and speak with the artist in person. Admission to the Museum and reception is free for Free First Friday.

For this exhibit, Pearce has selected 35 works of art, for which he took inspiration from Renaissance and Pre-Raphaelite masters. With The Secret Paintings, Pearce seeks to emulate their ambitiousness and scale, which is reflected in the centerpiece of the exhibition: a monumental four-part work of oil on canvas themed for the summer solstice.

The Secret Paintings will be on display at the Museum through August 6.

The Museum of Ventura County is proud to present Michael Pearce exhibition, The Secret Paintings, a 35-piece collection reminiscent of Renaissance and Pre-Raphaelite masters in their ambitiousness, complexity, and scale. Its scenes of theatrical grandeur combine the present with the mysteries of the past to create something wholly modern. Pearce uses the ancient Neolithic imagery of his ancestors, injecting it into medieval tarot card settings rife with allegory, all manifested in grand adventures across great canvases. The Museum will host an opening reception Friday, June 2, 6-8 pm.

Red Brick Gallery’s Sun Drenched exhibit May 15th – August 16, acrylics by Jen Livia, watercolors by Phyllis Gubins and Fine Art Jewelry by several local artists all exploring rhythm, movement and color.  Each of the artist’s representation of motion is unique, but they all relate back to how the elements of nature impact the world around them. Open Weekdays by appointment and Weekends During Classes, please see their web-site for more details and events.

Two Trees by Jennifer Livia can also be seen at Red Brick Gallery.

A Conversation with Mikael Jorgensen Sunday, April 30, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Oxnard’s Levity Live at The Collection

Mikael Jorgensen is a keyboard player in the Grammy Award winning rock group Wilco. The intersection of technology and music is of paramount interest to Jorgensen. In 1998 he relocated to Chicago from New Jersey and helped build SOMA Electronic Music Studios where he honed advanced production techniques utilizing modular synthesizers and specialized music software Jorgensen’s newest project Quindar is an electronic music and video duo where he and art historian James Merle Thomas remix the NASA audio and film archive. Jorgensen has performed on six albums and in concerts around the world. Mikael and his wife Cassandra C. Jones (an extensively documented FOTM artist) live with their two children in Oak View.

RSVP: www.FocusOnTheMasters.com or 653.2501.  $10 for the general public, $5 for students and seniors, and free to Focus on the Masters Members.  Not a member?  Sign up today at www.FocusOnTheMasters.com. To learn about Mikael Jorgensen visit www.MikaelJorgensen.com

The Artist Spotlight is open to students attending as a class assignment free of charge.  Faculty and students are requested to make a reservation at www.FocusOnTheMasters.com or call 653.2501.