There is nothing like viewing art with the eyes of children because they are so honest about what they see. With this in mind, I took my 11-year-old grandson Samuel with me to view the works of several local artists showing at the Betteravia Gallery South in Santa Maria.
First we gazed at works by W. Dibblee Hoyt, a Santa Maria native and mentor to several photographers whose works also comprise this exhibition. I found Hoyt’s black-and-white images far more expressive than his color photographs, which appeared more like advertisements.
“Carpathian Mountains on a Motorcycle” is indeed a lovely image of a biker cruising through forested hills. But it also brought to mind a print ad in a motorcycle magazine.
But, oh, his black-and-white images are stunners! Hoyt focuses attention on the gnarled hand of his sitter in “Old Man.”
“He tells a whole story in a single picture,” Sam commented. “It is a story everyone can relate to.”
That gentleman’s weather-beaten, leathery hand truly does speak volumes about the elderly subject himself as he gazes serenely into the distance.
Hoyt’s students share the exhibit space, which includes works by Phyllis Daniels, Debbie Fuller, Raymond Lopez, Sandy Peterson, Lynda Schiff, Sherrie Chavez, and Cathy Gregg.
Chavez pays homage to Edward Weston with her richly shadowed image of the windblown sand dunes in “Late Shadows.”
“Striking Guadalupe” by Gregg brilliantly captures a powerful lightning strike at dusk. The looming sky encompasses three quarters of the image, making the city lights appear diminutive in the face of nature.
We moved on to the South Gallery to view “Edge to Edge,” featuring works by Kristopher Doe and Tony Girolo. The show is aptly named, as each artist explores forms within spatial contexts.
Doe’s images of street scenes in Havana, Cuba, evoke a time momentarily frozen and captured in charcoal and pastel: old cars on streets lined with even older buildings, and all seem as surreal, silent watchers. Three women appear to be gossiping in “Familia,” as the pattern in the wrought-iron fence behind them suggests voyeuristic eyes.
The artist states that his inspirations include the works of painter N.C. Wyeth. This is apparent in the starkness of Doe’s imagery. The people in “Monserrate” appear distant as they pass by dark, empty windows. These city streets possess no city noises, but rather are like stills from silent movies.
Doe also has two remarkable landscapes in the show. “Water and Walls” and “Hard Right” recall the cliffs and water at Lake Powell. Doe employs cool and warm tones to contrast the textures and movement of nature. Sharp angles are juxtaposed with curves, light with shadow, and simple lines with bold blocks of color to evoke the imperfection yet pristine beauty of nature. “Hard Right” is Sam’s favorite piece by Doe.
“He really pulls you in and makes you want to know what’s on the other side of the rocks as the river turns around them,” was Sam’s impression. “The stones take on a life of their own, like silent giants.”
Finally, we looked at Girolo’s cityscapes and still-life paintings. He marries two-dimensional abstract forms with three-dimensional space in his still-life images. “Fluorescent Still-Life” is comprised of blocks of color, hard edges, and muted primary and neutral hues.
“Cityscape #1” and “Cityscape #2” both recall the block-print social-realist vision of works by Ben Shahn. Girolo’s clusters of city skyscrapers and buildings appear empty and almost ghost-like.
“Bag Electric” is a small work that packs a punch. Something as simple as a paper bag is bestowed with energy by bright swatches of color.
Sam’s favorite work by Girolo, and mine as well, is his “Terra-Cotta Still-Life.” He successfully explores three-dimensional surfaces, making them pop against a two-dimension setting.
“This is simplicity like no other,” Samuel commented. “He makes everything in the picture look simple, but he explores a lot of surface planes and space.”
Both exhibitions run through Jan. 17 at the Betteravia Gallery South. They make for a pleasant, visual outing for both fans of photography and painting.
Ariel Waterman is impressed that Sam was so impressed. Contact her via the executive editor at [email protected].
