Here we are in August already. You may be winding down your summer festivities and travel adventures. You may be thinking about getting the children ready for school, or preparing for a return to the mundane, the day-to-day. Yet there are still wonders to behold. You will find them in an exhilarating show at the Cypress Gallery, entitled “Patterns, Spaces and Places.” Artists Neil Andersson, Deborah Breedon and Chuck Klein present a diverse, dynamic collection of work that is sure to energize your senses.
The three artists, all members of the Lompoc Valley Art Association, are dedicated professionals for whom art is a daily vocation and a raison d’etre. In this show they experiment with new forms and techniques, inspired by the boundless creative potential found in their art materials, as well as in the world around them. Pastel, oil paint and wood are transformed into radiant inspiration.
Deborah Breedon’s use of pastel media is extraordinary. Realistic landscapes and abstracted realism have the same stunning effect. Whether you are looking at a hillside of poppies in “Poppy Bloom” or cactus forms in “Shimmer,” pigments surge with electricity. Vibrant strokes of texture charge one another, creating a surface that leaves one dizzy.
Similar movement and alacrity of color can be found in the abstract oil paintings of Neil Andersson. Known predominantly as a plein-air painter of serene landscapes, in this show Andersson embraces pure abstraction. The artist is also an accomplished jazz guitarist. Andersson seems to register the tones and rhythms of a musical score in paint. He doesn’t miss a beat. Pigments both harsh and gentle, thick and thin, dance before your eyes. Works entitled “Bird in Flight” and “Propinquity” tell stories animated with a visual life force.
Chuck Klein practices the art of turning wood, turning wood into the mysteries of nature and the human experience. The extraordinary forms he creates seem to be inspired by metaphysical thoughts, of perhaps finding a synchronicity in human and divine experience through the natural world. Embedded in many of his pieces are devotional objects, polished stones, and shells, imbuing the work with further meaning. Klein’s turned wood is created for contemplation, suggesting portals, doors, gateways, and sacred vessels.
In the main galleries, artists show their willingness to look at the world anew. Joe Goetz’s painting “Golden Horizon” depicts a beautiful but shifting landscape.
Jasmine Gonzalez’s mixed media collage piece “Never Let It End” is a concatenation of many book covers, whose surfaces peek through an expressionist rendering of a troubled city. In contrast, Angelina LaPointe’s pristine, hand-colored block prints on wood seem to convey an opposite message. Called “Atomic Beach Houses,” the images are so overtly precise and serene they may be sheltering a quite different reality.
“Misty Morning,” a photograph by Cindy Berry, tells the story of a miraculous encounter with a dried bush covered by spiderwebs, suffused with light. What a lovely surprise that must have been for the artist.
Our art gallery is full of such surprises. We have glorious gifts for sale. We are sponsoring a fall show entitled “Square Perspectives.” It’s not too early to start planning your unique piece. Surprise us! The show prospectus is on our website.
CAPTIONS (All photos by Bill Morson)