bG Gallery and Gestalt Projects present “Circular,” a group show curated by Airom. When one thinks of art, the shape of a circle does now usually come to mind. Curator and artist Airom encourages artists to develop in original ways and create outside the box. He has organized the group show as part of Gestalt Project exhibits. He said he had always been drawn to the shape and felt it would make an interesting show. “Many of the artists had already worked in a circular format but most created a special circular piece for the show.”
Ray Ford said he was excited to participate in the exhibition. When asked about the show’s theme, Ford replied, “It suits me since a lot of my pieces are circular.” Ford has been creating art for over eighty-five years. He started carving wood when he was young and made it a big part of his life. Later he supported his family with his art. A true passion, which has kept him a very active ninety-year-old, he continues to find inspiration all around him. Each day he heads to his studio…which bears a sign above the doorway…Ray’s Playhouse. One never knows what will come out of that studio, but it will for sure be a one-of-a-kind work of art.
Ford added he does have his favorites. “If I have to choose one, I’ll choose an egg I carved, but I keep that in my private collection. If we have a house fire that’s the one I’m going to grab,” said Ford. http://hrayford.com/
One of artist Jill Stoll’s installations will be included in “Circular.” “After living in New York City for 10 years, I moved to Lubbock, Texas,” said Stoll. “It was the catalyst for a lot of art as I toiled to reconcile these two disparate experiences.” She went on to say that she noticed a certain poetry in the names of the small towns that dot this part of Texas, such as Tarzan, Polar, Tokio, Turkey, Tulia, Sunnyside, Muleshoe, Grow, Progress, and Loop, etc. “All of them under one singular, constant, natural phenomena: that of the west Texas sky. I drew a 30-mile radius around Lubbock. I made 30 commemorative laser-etched collages for each town within the radius. These individual pieces comprise ‘An Unhealthy Obsession with Geography,’” said Stoll.
“After I did that, I drew a 60-mile radius and then a 90-mile radius. Each oval is a meditation on place. I digitally extracted a line drawing from my photographs of the west Texas sky, which is etched into one side of the collage. The images etched on the other side are lines from a large body of photographic work I made in New York City from 2001 – 2007.” For additional info, visit http://www.jillstoll.com/
Artist Maria Bouquet said, “It is important for curators and gallery directors to develop a signature style, something that sets them apart, and Airom has done this beautifully with a show around the theme of round art work.” Bouquet has participated in about four group shows at bG Gallery. “The new space looks awesome and it is very well located,” said Bouquet.
Art by Maria Bouquet
When asked what she thinks of the Circular theme, she replied “I think it is an interesting chance to see shapes aren’t usually exhibit in shows. And it makes it actually more interesting because all pieces are round.” For additional info about Maria Bouquet, visit http://www.mariabouquet.com/
The opening reception for “Circular” will be held on Saturday, May 26th2018 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm.The exhibition will remain on view through June 10th, 2018. The Santa Monica gallery recently relocated from Bergamot Station to Ocean Park. Visit the new location at 3009 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica CA. http://bgartgalleries.com/