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Artist Statement:
Coming Soon!
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Artist Exhibitions:
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2007 "Blooms" • City Hall
Bridge Gallery • Los Angeles,
CA • Curated: Mary Oliver &
Jacqueline Dreager
2007 All Media 2007 •
Irvine Fine Arts Center •
Irvine, CA • Juror: Carl Berg
2006 Long Beach Arts • “Open
National Exhibition” • Long
Beach, CA • Juror: Walter
Askin
Altadena Library •
Altadena, California • Group
Show and Sale
“...
Further Information
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Artist Galleries:
Coming Soon!
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Collections:
Bank of America (formerly
Security Pacific)
Seismic Productions •
Hollywood, CA
Group Saint Germain, Ferrieres
en Brie, France
Aaron Paley & Judith Teitelman
• Los Angeles, CA
Rebecca Bishop • Pasadena, CA
Diane Gendel • Los Angeles, CA
Christian & Colette Hope • Los
Angeles, CA
Eric Jacobson • Glendale, CA
Steve & Kathy Kirk • Long
Beach, CA
Gale ...
Further Information
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Commissions:
Coming Soon!
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Reviews for Cory Sewelson:
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Visual smorgasbord at Irvine Fine Arts Center
Review: 'All Media '07' selections run gamut of talent, tastes
By DANIELLA WALSH
Special to the Register
The yearly All Media shows have become a tradition at the Irvine Fine Arts Center, an anticipated gathering of the best offerings by local artists in painting, photography and three-dimensional work. Every year has brought surprises, with some returning artists showing new work and new talent submitting work in the spirit of "let's hang it up and see who salutes."
Over time, there have been artists like Moira Hahn and Ellen Rose who have forged significant careers and others who had their measure of fame before returning into obscurity. Rose weighs in this year with "Heroes," 2005 a painting of a soldier in dress uniform and a furled American flag posed against a fiery red background. His ethnicity obscured, all his features reflect is turmoil. Her composition and brushwork make for an effective combination of looseness and control.
As usual, the quality and variety of work submitted and the discerning eye of the presiding juror determines the show's overall tenor. Carl Berg, IFAC's former curator (now owner of the Carl Berg Gallery in Los Angeles and founder of the Carl Berg Project in Amsterdam) sifted through roughly 500 entries before making selections that run the gamut from somewhat amateurish to gallery show material. "I tried to balance different media, but the most numerous and best submissions were photographs this year," he said, adding that he did not necessarily base his choices on technical prowess but on a work's inherent sincerity.
However, he did include April Raber's "Paving Paradise," 2007, a painting that I found both technically and compositionally appealing, even if the subject of a refinery despoiling the land is a familiar one. Neither she nor Rose got a prize.
Then again, Delores Peffley earned my personal award for hubris with "Morning Comes Silently," 2007, a feeble attempt at combining figuration with abstraction that she hopes to sell for $2,900. (All works are for sale.) While wondering how this got in, I did take into account the difficulties of judging works from jpegs and slides since they're great at obscuring sloppy draftsmanship and clumsy brushwork.
On the other hand, there are several paintings that contain narrative elements that intrigue and, as Berg said, override technical consideration. Thus, I got immersed into Cory Sewelson's "Tiara," a painting/collage suggesting that there is a dark side to the life of a ballerina and Catherine Bennaton's "Receiving," 2006 which, painted in a sort of neo-Renaissance style, put a contemporary twist on "inspiration from a higher source."
Rightfully, the photographers carry the show. José Wantland channels Georgia O'Keeffe in his close-up studies of flowers and roses ("Red Mix," 2007), and Burt Maclay does Ansel Adams in "Reflection," 2005. Aundre Holmes' "Moonlight at Montage,"2007 provides more abstract drama, but still without the gimmickry that often pervades computer age photography. Equally compelling, James Cooper's "Surf Beach Station," 2006"Booth," 2006 won an Honorable Mention.
Speaking of compelling: Linda Frost's "Before the Fall," 2006 resembles a high definition television picture—almost too much so. But, the baby doll's head resting in a carefully constructed bird's nest, invites ruminations about another sort of intelligent design. It won Second Prize.
Camilo Cruz won First Prize for "Attorney," 2006, a photograph of a lawyer in an intense conversation with his (female) client. Cruz focuses on an overweight, cheap-suited lawyer speaking intensely to a pretty young woman and, of course, one wonders what about. Cruz also contributed a hilarious photo of two corpulent, black-suited attorneys who stuffed their girth and bulging briefcases into neighboring phone booths. Looking at their facial expressions, I amused myself by mentally composing captions. ("Booth," 2006)
Disappointingly, the supply of three-dimensional work is thin. However, I enjoyed Lynn B. Peavy's Raku pot "Simple Pleasures," 2007 for its glowing copper color and slightly off stance and was charmed by Jack Kabat's ceramic bull regardless of its oddly elongated head. (Kabat, who is in his late 90s, also crafted the intriguingly diverse collection of owls in the lobby.)
I would commit a disservice, if I did not mention "Memories in the Making," a show of paintings made by artists with Alzheimer's disease. There are some noteworthy pieces here, and, if one is looking for sincerity, that is the show to check out. Thus, this year's All Media can again be filed under "hardly a dull moment."
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