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Arts Spring 2024

Arts Spring 2024

A Secret Plot

BART’S BOOKS | ADRIENNE DEGUEVARA

302 West Matilija Street | RECEPTION JULY 5 6 PM

A Secret Plot is back with a new street exhibit featuring the work by Santa Barbara artist Adrienne DeGuevara.

In typical Secret Plot fashion, the art demands the viewer's full concentration and does not give anything away without effort. It's the way that art should be.

Inspired by the insecurities of the postmodern experience, where media turns the last vestiges of humanity into vaporwaves, DeGuevara asks a simple but important question about our complicity in the making and sustaining of that experience. Indeed, are we quitting watching reality quietly, or are we quietly watching reality quit?

In typical Secret Plot fashion, an argument can be made that it is precisely BECAUSE we abandoned metaphysics in favor of the hard sciences that we are saddled with a world that no longer makes sense. As the dictum dictates, to the outside observer advanced technology and scientific progress take on the appearance of magic. Reality disintegrates into obscure notions of increasingly smaller and smaller particularities that can no longer coalesce into a coherent worldview. In this kind of modernity, different realities compete for primacy, but none have the ability to fend off their adversaries when they become hegemonic, however briefly. Ultimately, reality, even the most tenuous and fake, has to be imposed by brute force, and evidence of that is now everywhere.

See the work in person on the exterior wall of @bartsbooksojai


 

British Modernism

CANVAS + PAPER | Victor Pasmore, Graham Sutherland, and Keith Vaughan

311 N. Montgomery Street | On view through July 7

Canvas + Paper Gallery's latest exhibition, "British Modernism: The Art of Victor Pasmore, Graham Sutherland, and Keith Vaughan," offers a concentrated yet impactful exploration of three iconic figures in British art. The gallery's intimate setting allows for an in-depth appreciation of each piece. Above: Graham Sutherland's "Red Tree" (1936) stands out with its haunting use of color and form, capturing the essence of nature through an almost surreal lens. Victor Pasmore's "View of a Garden, Chiswick" (c. 1944) provides a tranquil contrast, inviting viewers into a serene, meticulously rendered garden scene.

Keith Vaughan's "Landscape in Buckinghamshire" (1958) completes the trio with its bold, expressive brushstrokes and vibrant palette, embodying the dynamism and innovation of post-war British art. Each painting offers a distinct narrative and stylistic approach, making "British Modernism" a powerful showcase of these artists' enduring legacies.


 

Magic Garden

OJAI ART CENTER | CHRISTOPHER NOXON AND REBECCA ODES

113 South Montgomery Street | March 30 - May 1 | Opening Saturday, July 13, 3-5 PM

Visions of flora & fauna, figures & phantasms in this multidisciplinary/multidimensional two-person show from Rebecca Odes and Christopher Noxon. Odes exhibit sculptural constructions that incorporate textiles, wood, and light, as well as paintings. Noxon is showing for the first time a series of Ojai-specific semi-abstracts known as “the Big Weirdies” (including renditions of Meditation Mount (above), Horn Canyon, and the Ventura River Preserve). 


 

Push and Pull

515 GALLERY | GROUP SHOW with CAROL SHAW-SUTTON

1206 Maple Ave, Los Angeles | June 8—June 29

Sharing is a fundamental aspect of human interaction, spanning from essentials like food to the intangible realm of ideas. The 'Share-A-Wall' initiative embodies this ethos by actively promoting the arts and humanities. It encourages supporters to amplify lesser-seen artwork, granting wider visibility and a broader audience to the voices of many artists. Through various platforms and spaces, 'Share-A-Wall' upholds a longstanding tradition of inclusivity and accessibility, demonstrating that anyone, with just one wall, can catalyze meaningful change.


 

Crescent Sun

SPORE SPACE | LAURITA CORTESE

221 East Matilija Street | June 9 - July 28 | Opening Reception June 9, 3 - 8 PM

Spore Space is excited to present ‘Crescent Sun’ by Los Angeles-based artist Laurita Cortese. Cortese has created a new body of ceramic work that explores interior space in relationship to the resting body and the celestial.

In this installation Cortese has created a series of amorphous ceramic sculptures that function in pairs: one emitting light and one receiving. The interior of the gallery will be softened, and many hard edges in the room and on the sculptures have been pressed, smoothed, draped, and rounded, suggesting a space that prioritizes a body in need of pause, rest, and recovery. Cortes's ceramic sculptures simultaneously resemble the body and functional forms, questioning if one is observing a lamp, the shoulders of a person, a tree stump, or a satellite dish.

Read more about Laurita and this new body of work on the Spore Space site here. Then, join us on June 9 for an evening reception. For optimal viewing of the work, we recommend arriving at sunset. 


 

VITA ART CENTER | THREE SHOWS FEATURING SEVERAL OJAI ARTISTS
28 West Main Street, Ventura
| JUNE 1 - JULY 14

Gallery hours: SATURDAYS 12-4pm, SUNDAYS 12-4pm.

PRIVATE VIEW & RECEPTION: Host a private view and gallery reception at the Vita Art Center with up to 10 guests. Wine and champagne will be offered. If you’d like, bring in a meal of your choice and enjoy it in our outdoor patio.


 

Greenbelt: Interplay and Imagination on the Edge of Wildness

SANTA PAULA ART MUSEUM | CHRISTOPHER NOXON

117 N. 10th Street, Santa Paula | May 11 - September 8

From SPAM:

In this first one-person show of paintings by Ojai author-turned-artist Christopher Noxon, “Greenbelt” showcases the vibrant visions of an artist processing the interplay of wildness, development, and agriculture. Inspired by Fauvist landscapes, Huichol yarn paintings, and activists working to protect open space, Noxon creates semi-abstract pictures of familiar scenes filtered through a phantasmagorical lens, focusing on the places where mountains and orchards share space with housing and highways. The exhibit includes more than 40 works created over the last three years using oil, acrylic, collage, and ink, ranging in size and scope from sketchbook doodles to large canvases described by the LA Weekly as “riotously chromatic and time-and-space bending."


 

We Speak

CAROLYN GLASOE BAILEY FOUNDATION | P.LYN MIDDLETON, WILL THOMAS

248 South Montgomery Street | May 10 - June 28 | Reception: May 10, 5 - 7 PM

 

An installation of handmade rocks by P. Lyn Middleton with sound by Will Thomas.


 

Spirit of Place

FOX FINE JEWELRY | MARY NEVILLE AND EMILY THOMAS

560 East Main Street, Ventura | April 11 - July 6

Fox Fine Jewelry is set to enchant Ventura with "Spirit of Place," a captivating exhibition showcasing the remarkable works of Mary Neville and Emily Thomas. Art enthusiasts and newcomers alike are invited to delve into the rich tapestries of emotion and landscape brought to life by two of Ojai's distinguished contemporary artists.


 
 

MORE EVENTS

$5.00
Every month
$55.00
Every year

Ojai Locals Only


Cover: Mt. Shasta by Francine Gealer

 

PAST EVENTS:

It’s a Job

SPORE SPACE | GROUP SHOW

221 East Matilija Street | February 18 - March 31

Women Making History

CAROLYN GLASOE BAILEY FOUNDATION | GROUP SHOW

248 South Montgomery Street | March 8 - April 26

Recent Works

BEATRICE WOOD CENTER | JOHN KEENAN

8585 Ojai Road | March 16 - May 4

50 Revolutions 1974 - 2024

UCSB ASSOCIATED STUDENTS BIKE SHOP | GROUP SHOW

344 Ocean Road, Santa Barbara | May 24 - TBD

Ojai Studio Artists Salon

BEATRICE WOOD CENTER | GROUP SHOW

8585 Ojai Road | January 6 - March 30 (EXTENDED)

The Works of Christine Brennan

OJAI ART CENTER | CHRISTINE BRENNAN

113 South Montgomery Street | March 30 - May 1

Walking in Water

SPORE SPACE | HANIEH KHATIBI

221 East Matilija Street | April 14 - May 19

Digital Pop

OJAI VALLEY MUSEUM | GROUP SHOW

130 West Ojai Avenue | February 15 - April 7

Jean Metzinger 

CANVAS + PAPER | THREE WORKS

311 N. Montgomery Street | March 7 - April 28

Artist Registry Exhibit

OJAI VALLEY MUSEUM | SYLVIA RAZ

130 West Ojai Avenue | Through June 16

 
 

Cover: Shelter, by Jules Weissman

Poco Farm

Poco Farm

Ojai Film Society's Spring Series

Ojai Film Society's Spring Series

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