Jan 1

Jan 1 Arts Winter 2025

Emergence

SPORE SPACE | RODRIGO ORMACHEA
***221 East Matilija Street*** | March 30 to May 25

Opening Reception
Sunday, March 30th
11 am - 1 pm

From Spore Space:

Spore Space is excited to present Emergence by Rodrigo Ormachea. Rodrigo is a 4th generation jeweler and interdisciplinary artist. While metalsmithing for him is an exploration of forms with a function, clay has allowed for a detachment from practicality, allowing for a more authentic exploration of ideas into physical forms. The exhibition is a continuation of his development of uninhibited forms. Rodrigo resides in Ventura, California with his son Sumaq, who helps to evoke earnest imagination.

Emergence is when complex patterns arise from simpler parts, as seen in nature and human-made systems, such as the growth of coral reefs, the branching of trees, the formation of weather patterns, or the evolution of cities. Emergence is not the result of a single force, but a collaboration and conversation between materials, time, and environment. The exhibition presents a series of interlocking ceramic sculptures. While the geometry of the work might be rudimentary it's the combinations of these forms and their relation to one another where complexity emerges. Vibrant oranges and muted greens suggest the slow patina of decay and renewal, like flesh giving way to mineral. The clay remembers pressure, and the kiln’s unpredictable environment coaxes out color and texture, blurring the line between the organic and the elemental.

Painted Seasons

SANTA PAULA ART MUSEUM | ANNE WARD
***123 North 10th Street, Santa Paula*** | Opening Saturday, March 15

From SPAM:

Anne Ward is obsessed with light and pattern and color. Two years ago, Ward began thinking a lot about impermanence in the midst of so much change and also about the things that make her feel calm and uplifted. As a gardener, she finds the seasons and what is blooming at a particular time to be profoundly reassuring. The garden helps her to reconcile change and embrace the “season of now.” “Painted Seasons” represents various seasons of life, from old family photos to the greens of early spring and the energy of summer. Ward’s great hope is that her paintings function like a window that, when opened, can allow people to notice the “ordinary” in a different way and hopefully feel some of the energy of optimism with which she painted them.

Opening Saturday, March 15, 4 - 6 PM

Hands, Head, and Heart

OJAI VALLEY MUSEUM | GROUP SHOW
***130 West Ojai Avenue*** | March 20 - June 8

From Ojai Valley Museum:

Hands, Head, and Heart: Fiber Art of the Ojai Valley features 15 emerging and established artists whose work is inspired by the Ojai Valley. Using a variety of textile methods, they weave their personal stories into the artwork. They reflect on the meaning of place while addressing environmental anxiety, cultural change, and historical lineage. Also included in the exhibition are Native American baskets and objects from the Museum’s Collection.

Hands, Head, and Heart are curated by internationally known fiber artist Carol Shaw-Sutton. She was head of the fiber department at California State University, Long Beach, for over thirty years.

Artists included are Annette Heully, Carrie Burckle, Carol Shaw-Sutton, Charlotte Schmid-Maybach, Eliot Spaulding, Jmy James Kidd, Julie Easton, Michael Rohde, Minga Opazo, Molly Haynes, Pat Edwards, Rosemary Hall, Ruth Katzenstein Souza, Sally England, and Wendy Osher.

Featured: Jmy James Kidd

Three Works

CANVAS + PAPER | WILLIAM SCOTT
***311 N. Montgomery Street*** | February 13 - April 13

Celebrating the work of William Scott (1913–1989), this exhibition presents a curated selection of paintings that highlight his evolution as one of Britain’s most distinctive modern artists. Scott’s signature approach to abstraction and still life is on full display, spanning from his textured and moody early works of the 1950s to the austere minimalism of his later years.

With an affinity for everyday objects — mugs, bowls, and jugs —S cott transformed the domestic into the profound, balancing the tension between form and space. His use of earthy tones and gestural brushwork reflects a deep engagement with both European modernism and American Abstract Expressionism.

This exhibition includes key works such as Black, Brown and White (1958), Still Life (1957), and Poem for a Jug, No. 9 (1979–80), offering insight into Scott’s shifting visual language and his ability to distill complexity into simplicity.

A master of reduction and restraint, Scott’s work remains both intimate and monumental, inviting viewers to reconsider the beauty of the everyday.

Cross Country

CAROLYN GLASOE BAILEY FOUNDATION | GROUP SHOW
***248 South Montgomery Street*** | February 17 - March 30

A compelling conversation between artists whose work navigates the intersections of geography, culture, and materiality. In partnership with the Nemeth Art Center in Minnesota, this exhibition reflects the ongoing dialogue between two creative communities, offering a nuanced exploration of place, migration, and artistic lineage.

The selection of artists — ranging from the evocative figurative work of Nancy Friedemann-Sanchez to the sculptural interventions of Aaron Spangler — reveals a dynamic engagement with texture, history, and abstraction. Madeleine Bialke’s atmospheric compositions and Brad Kahlhamer’s layered visual language contribute to a show that resists easy categorization, instead inviting viewers to consider the push and pull between rootedness and movement, tradition and reinvention.

By bridging two artistic spheres, Cross Country 2025 captures the tension between the regional and the universal. The result is a show that feels both deeply personal and widely resonant, offering a rare glimpse into the ways contemporary artists negotiate identity across landscapes, both physical and conceptual.

Pictured: Nancy Friedemann-Sanchez, China

From Brooklyn to Ojai

CAROLYN GLASOE BAILEY FOUNDATION | GROUP SHOW
***248 South Montgomery Street*** | Opening April 25

From CGBF:

Brooklyn and Ojai inspire creativity, community, and a blend of modern and traditional influences, making them connected through their appeal to those who value artistic expression and cultural depth.

Opening Friday, April 25th, 5 - 7 PM

What is Beauty?

THE MUSEUM OF VENTURA COUNTY | GROUP SHOW
***100 East Main Street, Ventura.*** | January 17 - May 11

What is Beauty? Rethinking Women’s Portraiture in Art invites us to explore diverse perspectives on beauty through fourteen portraits by Ventura County artists from the Museum’s permanent collection. Spanning works created between 1939 and 2011, this exhibition showcases a range of styles — from vibrant realism to minimalist simplicity — challenging traditional standards shaped by art, media, and society. Featured artists Carlisle Cooper, Hiroko Yoshimoto, Johanna Spinks, John Nava, John Nichols – featured in the exhibition, Kitty Botke, Lis Schwitters, Michael Ward, Neal Barr, Omar d’León, and Robert Clunie offer eclectic interpretations of women’s portraiture.