Seaside Gallery
EXPRESSIVE ABSTRACTIONS
Just Color, Line, and Form Shapes the Art of Abstract Artists
Seaside Gallery presents Expressive Abstractions, an exhibition and sale of abstract art by five accomplished Central Coast artists starting November 1st running through November 30th.
An Opening Reception will be held at Seaside Gallery on Saturday November 1st from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. This is the first all-abstract show ever hosted in Pismo Beach.
Abstract art is probably the most misunderstood and controversial genre in the field of art. An abstract painting uses line, color and form to communicate an idea or emotion in a composition that references nothing recognizable. However, just because there is nothing identifiable does not mean that the art is without value, meaning, or message or that it lacks cohesive unity and artistic vision. Abstract artists have to focus on color, the intermingling of disparate elements, textures, layering, movement, lines, and shape, among many other aspects in order to make a truly beautiful piece of abstract art. It may be, in fact, the most honest depiction of an individual artist’s creativity. As abstract artist George Baselitz once said: “The reality is the picture; it is most certainly not in the picture.” Consequently, often an abstract artist uses an elusive title, because each viewer perceives the significance of the work individually.
Local artists to be featured in the Expressive Abstractions exhibition include: Brenda Allison, Jayne Behman, Pamela Benham, Jack N. Mohr, and Gayle Rappaport-Weiland.
Also on display will be the abstract art of Clara Blalock (Atlanta, GA) and the expressionistic art of Leon Oks (Chicago, IL).
Brenda Allsion: A resident of Fresno, CA, Brenda is a published artist and fearless creator of original works, whose art has been sold for residential, commercial and hospitality applications. With a Bachelors of Arts in Design, her subsequent experience in the design industry with unusual combinations of textures, patterns, and color, became the foundation of her art. Custom paintings for interior designers and private clientele are a mainstay of her studio. Brenda’s art is boldly contemporary and frequently abstract. And, she creates paintings meant for outdoor display. She says: “an empty canvas talks to me and draws me into endless possibilities.”
Jayne Behman: She has been intimately involved in the execution, promotion, and instruction of art throughout her life. A professional artist with an unusual spirit of experimentation in form, materials, style, and presentation, Jayne received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and she is a graduate student working towards a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Abstract/Realism at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She possesses a restless curiosity that that rambles over two- and three-dimensional work, often blending both together. She enjoys escaping to her studio near Los Osos in Baywood, CA
Pamela Benham: After studying painting with the Art Students League in New York, Pam received her BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Her art resonates with the East Asian principle that painting is an expressionistic art meant to capture the subject’s soul and express the elusive unseen. Her vibrant abstract paintings extend beyond the canvas edge and refuse to be constrained. Exhibited internationally in museums and galleries, she has had more than 20 solo exhibitions. She maintains her own Studio 93 in Santa Barbara, California.
Jack N. Mohr: Born in Berlin, Germany, Jack graduated with a Masters’ degree in Graphic Design from the State University for Creative Arts. After working in advertising agencies and design ateliers, he founded his own studio where his art evolved to his current preference of working with mixed media painting, occasionally crossing the line between two- and three-dimensions. The interrelationship between conceptual thinking and spontaneous inspiration leads to the crossing of boundaries and merging of mediums, styles, and methods. Jack has won many awards for his posters and earned international recognition with his logo and trademark designs. Jack’s posters are in the permanent collections of two museums in Berlin and his art can be found in various private and corporations’ collections throughout the United States and Germany. Since 1997 a resident of Santa Barbara, he believes that graphic design and free art are closely related, like two sides of the same coin — on one side creation under constraints with a determined goal and on the other visual exploration and free flow of expression.
Gayle Rappaort-Weiland: Based near Sacramento, Gayle is currently teaching at Cuesta College and living in Shell Beach. She brings originality, enthusiasm, energy and heart to her paintings. Using rule-breaking techniques that set her apart from other artists, she creates beautiful abstract / impressionistic works using acrylic and mixed media. After studying art in college in New York, Gayle sharpened her skills studying with nationally known artists Gerald Brommer and Zoltan Szabo. Her qualifications and expertise, both as an artist, teacher, curator, juror and on-air personality are widely recognized and respected. Her book titled: The Classy Artist with Countless Styles caught the eye of Cliffs Resort and Hotel General Manger Mike Casola of Shell Beach in early 2013 and is now found in every Suite in the hotel. Collectors throughout the World proudly hold her work, including Coors Brewing Company, Directors Mortgage, and Oncology Radiological Associates of Sacramento, and many other professional clienteles.
Clara Blalock: A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she studied painting and printmaking and received her BFA degree from the Atlanta College of Art. Clara has pursued a career as a professional abstract painter for more than 25 years. The New York abstract expressionist painters of the mid-1960s have greatly influenced her work over the years and continue to affect her painting today. “I work on large canvas, use broad brushes and get my whole self into the painting. I’m in constant motion as I work all over the surface to create a unified whole.” Working daily in her studio, Clara produces large works in oil that are shown and sold in galleries throughout the United States.
Leon Oks: Leon Oks, an American artist born in Russia, both invites comparison and defies comparison with modern masters. Some see the influence of Fauve and Pablo Picasso in his works while others believe he has gone well beyond the boundaries established by these great 20th Century artists. His signature style is more expressionistic than abstract. Leon appears fascinated by the concept of a “feminine” life force. This year, The Russian State Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia has acquired his art for its permanent collection. Established in 1895 by Emperor Nicholas II, it is the first state museum of fine arts in Russia. Earlier, his art was also accepted into the permanent collections of the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which is the largest private museum of art in Russia and the Museum of Modern Art in Moscow, which is the first state museum to focus on Russian art of the 20th and 21st centuries. His paintings are also in numerous private and corporate collections as well as acquired for the permanent collections of American Museums such as the Schacknow Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of the Americas in Florida, and the Latino Art Museum, Pomona California. He is frequently anthologized in such volumes as International Contemporary Masters, Famous: 120 Contemporary Artists, Portraits d’Artistes (Editions Regards, 2007), as well as having been featured in a lavish monograph, Leon Oks: Dreamscape, published by World of Art Books in 2007.
Untitled SBC 10, Pamela Benham, oil on canvas, 48" x 24"
EXPRESSIVE ABSTRACTIONS
Just Color, Line, and Form Shapes the Art of Abstract Artists
Seaside Gallery presents Expressive Abstractions, an exhibition and sale of abstract art by five accomplished Central Coast artists starting November 1st running through November 30th.
An Opening Reception will be held at Seaside Gallery on Saturday November 1st from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. This is the first all-abstract show ever hosted in Pismo Beach.
Abstract art is probably the most misunderstood and controversial genre in the field of art. An abstract painting uses line, color and form to communicate an idea or emotion in a composition that references nothing recognizable. However, just because there is nothing identifiable does not mean that the art is without value, meaning, or message or that it lacks cohesive unity and artistic vision. Abstract artists have to focus on color, the intermingling of disparate elements, textures, layering, movement, lines, and shape, among many other aspects in order to make a truly beautiful piece of abstract art. It may be, in fact, the most honest depiction of an individual artist’s creativity. As abstract artist George Baselitz once said: “The reality is the picture; it is most certainly not in the picture.” Consequently, often an abstract artist uses an elusive title, because each viewer perceives the significance of the work individually.
Local artists to be featured in the Expressive Abstractions exhibition include: Brenda Allison, Jayne Behman, Pamela Benham, Jack N. Mohr, and Gayle Rappaport-Weiland.
Also on display will be the abstract art of Clara Blalock (Atlanta, GA) and the expressionistic art of Leon Oks (Chicago, IL).
Brenda Allsion: A resident of Fresno, CA, Brenda is a published artist and fearless creator of original works, whose art has been sold for residential, commercial and hospitality applications. With a Bachelors of Arts in Design, her subsequent experience in the design industry with unusual combinations of textures, patterns, and color, became the foundation of her art. Custom paintings for interior designers and private clientele are a mainstay of her studio. Brenda’s art is boldly contemporary and frequently abstract. And, she creates paintings meant for outdoor display. She says: “an empty canvas talks to me and draws me into endless possibilities.”
Jayne Behman: She has been intimately involved in the execution, promotion, and instruction of art throughout her life. A professional artist with an unusual spirit of experimentation in form, materials, style, and presentation, Jayne received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and she is a graduate student working towards a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Abstract/Realism at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She possesses a restless curiosity that that rambles over two- and three-dimensional work, often blending both together. She enjoys escaping to her studio near Los Osos in Baywood, CA
Pamela Benham: After studying painting with the Art Students League in New York, Pam received her BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Her art resonates with the East Asian principle that painting is an expressionistic art meant to capture the subject’s soul and express the elusive unseen. Her vibrant abstract paintings extend beyond the canvas edge and refuse to be constrained. Exhibited internationally in museums and galleries, she has had more than 20 solo exhibitions. She maintains her own Studio 93 in Santa Barbara, California.
Jack N. Mohr: Born in Berlin, Germany, Jack graduated with a Masters’ degree in Graphic Design from the State University for Creative Arts. After working in advertising agencies and design ateliers, he founded his own studio where his art evolved to his current preference of working with mixed media painting, occasionally crossing the line between two- and three-dimensions. The interrelationship between conceptual thinking and spontaneous inspiration leads to the crossing of boundaries and merging of mediums, styles, and methods. Jack has won many awards for his posters and earned international recognition with his logo and trademark designs. Jack’s posters are in the permanent collections of two museums in Berlin and his art can be found in various private and corporations’ collections throughout the United States and Germany. Since 1997 a resident of Santa Barbara, he believes that graphic design and free art are closely related, like two sides of the same coin — on one side creation under constraints with a determined goal and on the other visual exploration and free flow of expression.
Gayle Rappaort-Weiland: Based near Sacramento, Gayle is currently teaching at Cuesta College and living in Shell Beach. She brings originality, enthusiasm, energy and heart to her paintings. Using rule-breaking techniques that set her apart from other artists, she creates beautiful abstract / impressionistic works using acrylic and mixed media. After studying art in college in New York, Gayle sharpened her skills studying with nationally known artists Gerald Brommer and Zoltan Szabo. Her qualifications and expertise, both as an artist, teacher, curator, juror and on-air personality are widely recognized and respected. Her book titled: The Classy Artist with Countless Styles caught the eye of Cliffs Resort and Hotel General Manger Mike Casola of Shell Beach in early 2013 and is now found in every Suite in the hotel. Collectors throughout the World proudly hold her work, including Coors Brewing Company, Directors Mortgage, and Oncology Radiological Associates of Sacramento, and many other professional clienteles.
Clara Blalock: A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she studied painting and printmaking and received her BFA degree from the Atlanta College of Art. Clara has pursued a career as a professional abstract painter for more than 25 years. The New York abstract expressionist painters of the mid-1960s have greatly influenced her work over the years and continue to affect her painting today. “I work on large canvas, use broad brushes and get my whole self into the painting. I’m in constant motion as I work all over the surface to create a unified whole.” Working daily in her studio, Clara produces large works in oil that are shown and sold in galleries throughout the United States.
Leon Oks: Leon Oks, an American artist born in Russia, both invites comparison and defies comparison with modern masters. Some see the influence of Fauve and Pablo Picasso in his works while others believe he has gone well beyond the boundaries established by these great 20th Century artists. His signature style is more expressionistic than abstract. Leon appears fascinated by the concept of a “feminine” life force. This year, The Russian State Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia has acquired his art for its permanent collection. Established in 1895 by Emperor Nicholas II, it is the first state museum of fine arts in Russia. Earlier, his art was also accepted into the permanent collections of the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which is the largest private museum of art in Russia and the Museum of Modern Art in Moscow, which is the first state museum to focus on Russian art of the 20th and 21st centuries. His paintings are also in numerous private and corporate collections as well as acquired for the permanent collections of American Museums such as the Schacknow Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of the Americas in Florida, and the Latino Art Museum, Pomona California. He is frequently anthologized in such volumes as International Contemporary Masters, Famous: 120 Contemporary Artists, Portraits d’Artistes (Editions Regards, 2007), as well as having been featured in a lavish monograph, Leon Oks: Dreamscape, published by World of Art Books in 2007.
Untitled SBC 10, Pamela Benham, oil on canvas, 48" x 24"