"Venice: Inspiring Artists in Italy and California"
2005-08-11 until 2005-09-10
Pharmaka
Los Angeles, CA, USA United States of America

The original in Italy and its counterpart on the coast of Southern California have aroused some of the world's most important artists. From Tintoretto and William Turner to Ed Ruscha and Frank Gehry ÅEthe light, the color, the water, all have informed a creative production as unique as it is enchanting. First stimulated by the discourse and artistry of the Funace degli Angeli in the mid-1950s (a collaboration partly inspired and organized by Peggy Guggenheim, between the glass masters of Murano and artists such as Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, and others), the Galleria Vetro e Arte in Venice and GrossArt with PHARMAKA in Los Angeles have embarked upon an artistic exchange between these two cities well beyond the scope of the original Funace.

Meant to investigate this incomparable sense of place through a variety of media (oil and canvas, mixed media and board, metal and glass), new works and collaborations from this on-going project will be exhibited in both Venice, Italy, and Los Angeles, California, starting the Summer of 2005. From Los Angeles, glass designed by Richard Birt, an innovative new glass sculpture born of the collaboration between Shane Guffogg and Pino Signoretto, paintings and collaborations with Chris Cousins, Shane Guffog, John Scane and Vonn Cummings Sumner; from Venice the paintings of Gino Baffo and Valter Paties, and the glass mastery of Mauro Bonaventura, Pino Signoretto.

PHARMAKA is a Greek word that means to paint or an artist's colors. It also means a poison or remedy. The name was chosen because its roots are in ancient Greece,the cradle of Western civilization, and it speaks to the duality inherent in all things.

The PHARMAKA Gallery has been incorporated as non-profit, and will also include exhibitions that might otherwise fall into the void between commercial Galleries and Museums. Respected curators and a variety (including internationally acclaimed artists) will be invited for curatorial collaborations.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of California

Other Important Exhibitions in Los Angeles