September 5, 2007 CONTACT:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Alisa Sparkia Moore
Public Information Officer
(805) 654-6462
Kate Martin
Gallery Director
(805) 648-8974
VENTURA COLLEGE GALLERIES HOST
TACTILE EXHIBITS
VENTURA: The Ventura College Galleries initiate their fall 2007 shows with an unusual pairing. The exhibits run from September 4 through 28..
In Gallery 2, Miya Hannan, from San Diego, Mixed Media Exhibit. The photo attached, titled One or Millions?, is mixed media on fabric, starch, and bandage casting, created in 2006. She says, “In Eastern cultures death is not seen as a negative, but as part of the continuum of life. Influenced by Buddhist philosophy, cosmology, and death rituals, as well as my scientific knowledge, I have been working on installations, prints, and sculptures that address issues related to cultural perceptions of life and death. In my work, I employ anatomical references and abstract elements, overlaid rhythmically, to suggest natural cycles. I use thin Japanese paper, a material that recalls the termporality and fragility of physical bodies. The size, the ethereal imagery, and the subtlety of the materials are meant to imply the existence of something beyond the physical body. Recently, I have also been interested in using materials taken from Asian death rituals, such as bone ash and fabric. I present the structure of the world as a conjoined totality, evoking spiritual quality beyond the materiality. ”
Hannan has exhibited in galleries throughout California, including San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, Glendale, and Palo Alto, and in Lubbock, Texas and at the Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. Her MFA in printmaking is from the San Francisco Art Institute, her bachelor’s in fine art with emphasis in painting and printmaking from San Diego State University. She also has a bachelor’s degree from Kyushu University in Japan in medical technology.
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In the New Media Gallery, Tari Kerss, brings her Fiber Art Exhibit. The attached photo of her work Solutio, which is a woven sculpture, created in 2006. Tari says, “Woven structures, dyes and transparent fibers are used to construct forms reminiscent of liquids. My interest in these forms began with the image of a teardrop, as both a personal and collective symbol for expressing emotions of grief, joy, sorrow, and anxiety. I focused on the form and symbol of the teardrop, which eventually lead me to an awareness of other fluids, in the body and the environment on which we depend daily. The tension of being dependant on both natural substances and a modern lifestyle that threatens them is a contemplation of the work.
Using structure and materials in weaving I create rigid, pliable three dimensional forms that interact with gravity, light and air. The ephemeral, fragile, tactile sensibilities associated with fabric are contrasted with the permanency of the plastic threads used in these constructions. These sculptures integrate interior and exterior, transparency and opacity, movement and stasis, weightlessness and gravity.”
Kerss received an MFA in 1991 from the California College of the Arts, in Oakland. She studied at San Francisco State University, receiving a BA in art. She now resides and maintains a studio in Sonoma County. A review of her art can be found in Artweek, “Preview Tari Kerss,” Debra Koppman, May 2006, Surface Design Journal, Exposure, Summer 2005, Volume 29.
The Galleries are open Monday through Friday, from 10 am – 4 pm, however, students and volunteers staff both galleries, so the hours may vary without notice. For additional information and changes on hours, call Kate Martin, gallery director, at Ventura College, (805) 648-8974.
 Kerss - Solutio
 Hannan - One or Millions?
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