Abstract exhibition to open at Manhattan Beach Creative Arts Center
Lohrer Hall’s Eastern Weaving (detail), gouauche on paper. Images courtesy of Megumi Moisen, Manhattan Beach Parks & Rec
“(in)visible systems,” a collection of abstract painting and printmaking by three South Bay female artists, opens Friday at the Manhattan Beach Creative Arts Center.
Using different mediums, the three artists explore their geometric imagination by utilizing the interplay between colors and lines, creating artworks characterized by abstract, structural patterns, said Megumi Moisen, recreation supervisor of the Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation Department.
“We wanted to have something visually pleasing and intellectually stimulating, and a collection of colorful abstract art was the answer for the search,” Moisen explained.
The title of the exhibit alludes to the creation process of these artworks, which resembles the building of a system using keen observation, contemplation and trial and error.
Kimiko Miyoshi’s Rocks 1, lithograph.
Each piece reveals or hides the relationship between surface-level observations and inner configurations.
The featured artists have been established fixtures in the Los Angeles art scene for the last 20 years, Moisen said. Betsy Lohrer, a mixed media installation artist who teaches at Cal State Fullerton, uses goache on paper to form complex layers of color and lines, a visual representation of time in relation to the accumulation of everyday acts. Kimiko Miyoshi, an assistant professor at Cal State Long Beach, uses printmaking to show her propensity toward scientific experimentation and observation. Many of her works transform trivial objects to visually striking images.
Linda Jo Russell’s Stratum Five, acrylic on canvas.
Linda Jo Russell, who teaches at Otis College of Art and Design, juxtaposes free form and geometry to defy logic and embrace intuition.
The exhibition, open until March 14, will be launched with a reception Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. Gallery hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 6 p.m., Wednesdays from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m.