Ventura College Art Galleries
PR / Marketing Office * 4667 Telegraph Road, Ventura CA 93003 * (805) 654-6462
December 20, 2006 CONTACT:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Alisa Sparkia Moore
Public Information Officer
(805) 654-6462
Sharon Coughran-Rayden,
Gallery Director
(805) 648-8974, sharon@cielhaus.com
VENTURA COLLEGE GALLERIES HOST
PAINTING EXHIBITS
VENTURA: The Ventura College Galleries begin their Spring 07 shows with an unusual pairing: in Gallery 2, representational painter Jack Barnett and in the New Media Gallery, Hank Pitcher’s recent works of the Central Coast. The exhibits run from January 16 through February 13. The reception for the artists is January 16, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the patio by Gallery 2, and the press and community members are welcome to attend.
Jack Barnett’s exhibit is titled “Indefinite Allegories” – his paintings utilize fragmentary imagery comprised of the figure, collage imagery, mechanical elements, and the landscape. His representational paintings create an elusive and cryptic reality through the use of expressive painting technique. Barnett is from Grandview, Texas, and has had shows from coast to coast and throughout Texas and the mid-west. His work is in collections at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio; The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Saint Charles Seminary Museum in Philadelphia; and The Old Jailhouse Museum in Albany, Texas.
Barnett notes, “My new work is a departure and extension of works done in the past. All artists relate to their experiences in life. I have tried to absorb all and blend images and ideas into my art. I began my study of art drawing the figure, which I still love. Not being able to always find models, I turned to landscape painting. When I moved to the east coast, I came into contact with artists that had more abstract concepts, and I began to experiment with collage. My work still reflects all three influences today. Some images unrelated to art also creep in, as in the repetition of mechanical elements such as carburetors. When I was young, I was a hot-rodder and I still tinker with classic cars. I am also part Creek Indian, which has been an influence in my design concepts such as the totem series.” His work can be seen on www.BarnettByTwo.com. An example of Barnett’s work is provided with this release.
The New Media Gallery will exhibit painter Hank Pitcher’s recent work. His gestural paint handling reduces his subject matter down to the essence of place: the Central Coast. He masterfully captures the light quality of California beach culture, lush botanicals, and coastal landscapes. Hank Pitcher has been painting professionally since 1970. He is best known as a painter of California beach culture; his limited edition book Surf was released in fall 2003. He is a member of the Oak Group, a professor of art at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a native of southern California.
Simplicity and directness often veil the hard-won refinements and duplicities of art, and Hank Pitcher’s [works]…are small miracles of painterly equilibrium. Portraying the southern California coast…Pitcher’s paintings evoke a strong spirit of place … harmonies in saturated blues and greens, broken with startling shots of brilliant local color, are classical in their compositional clarity, but…also aspire to synthesize impressionism’s scrutiny of outward appearances with Pitcher’s emotional immersion in…seaside. Keepsakes of the fleeting appearance of a particular time, they endure as meditative archetypes in time. - Anne Ayres, Director of Exhibitions, Otis Parsons
Students staff both galleries, so the hours vary. For additional information and changes on hours, call Sharon Coughran-Rayden, gallery director, at Ventura College, (805) 648-8974 or contact her by email at sharon@cielhaus.com.#####
Totem Series 1, oil on canvas by Jack Barnett, 30" x 36"  |
