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

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.

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). 

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.

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.

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."

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

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.

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Cover: Mt. Shasta by Francine Gealer

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Cover: Shelter, by Jules Weissman