Helen K. Garber - Emphasis Santa Monica

HELEN K. GARBER Joins 48 fellow Santa Monica Resident Artists
for “EMPHASIS SANTA MONICA” ART SHOW

OPENING RECEPTION
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
49 Santa Monica resident artists including John Baldessari, Bruria Finkel, Frank Gehry and Helen K. Garber will be exhibited Aug. 20-Oct. 18 at Santa Monica College’s Pete & Susan Barrett Art Gallery.

The art show – featuring an eclectic mix of works in all media – will coincide with the grand opening of the 499-seat Eli & Edythe Broad Stage at the SMC Performing Arts Center, where the gallery is located. The exhibit Coincides with The Broad Stage Grand Opening

The show is curated by Bruria Finkel - an award-winning artist and curator whose works have been exhibited worldwide.

“Santa Monica’s Main Street, 4th Street, Franklin Street and the (Santa Monica) Airport have had a long list of artists who found their inspiration working there,” curator and artist Bruria Finkel said in the show’s catalogue. “To mention a few: Richard Diebenkorn and his Ocean Park series influenced by light, sea and sand; James Turrell, who pioneered the idea of light as an art medium; Judy Chicago, who created atmospheric pieces here; and of course Robert Irwin. Painters such as Ed Moses, Charles Garabedian, Arlene Hendler, Roberto Chavez, Curtis Hoekzema and innovators such as John Baldessari created in studios on Main Street for years. Many more found the light and the community of artists a source of inspiration.”

Photographer Helen K. Garber fell in love with the Ocean Park neighborhood the first time she visited in 1981 and has lived behind Main Street for more than 25 years. She once had a studio at Ashland and Main and now has her digital work printed by master fine art printer, Jack Duganne. Duganne Ateliers is located in the in the last remaining art studio complex on Main Street in Santa Monica.

Ms. Finkel chose an image of Ms. Garber's that was featured in the the 2005 Hermes exhibit and publication, Looking at Los Angeles, Metropolis Books, edited by Ben Stiller, Marla Hamburg Kennedy, Craig Crull and Jane Brown.

Helen K. Garber, known for her night urban landscapes, has images in the permanent collection of the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy, George Eastman House, International Museum of Film and Photography, Rochester, NY, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, NY, the Museum of the City of NY, the Portland Art Museum, Oregon, and important corporate collections including City National Bank and Hunton & Williams, LLC.

The opening reception is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. (NOTE: Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. Aug. 20-22. The gallery is closed Saturday, Aug. 23.)

The gallery is located at the SMC Performing Arts Center on Santa Monica Boulevard at 11th Street. For information, call (310) 434-3434.

The exhibit comes at the same time the college will hold its gala opening of the new Eli & Edythe Broad Stage in the SMC Performing Arts complex, where the art gallery is located. The 499-seat theater (called The Broad Stage for short) will open Sept. 20 with an inaugural gala featuring legendary opera singer Barbara Cook. The venue is complemented by the Edye Second Space, a 99-seat black box that opened last fall and is located right next to The Broad Stage.