California Contemporary Art Exhibition

Sansiao Gallery

Finished

Artists

Robert Bechtle, Karen Bresci, Joan Brown, Pauletta M. Chanco et al.

This exhibition introduces a wide range of Californian art, from artists that the gallery director met while an exchange student there and not yet widely known at the international level, to globally renowned and active artists. The show hopes to consider the changes and transitions in the work of these artists who live in California and are influenced greatly by that particular environment. Recently, although new art movements have started up in various places from Latin America to Asia, Californian art seems not to be riding this new wave of contemporary, current trends. Perhaps this is due to the entrenched notion of New York as art capital, or else the perception that Californian art is subdued and unpolished compared to New York equivalents. What comes to mind with California are blue oceans and skies and palm trees, an alluring place bathed in sunshine. In contrast to the East Coast, built on solid bourgeois and even aristocratic foundations, California comes off more lively and open, with at the same time a thriving economy and optimistic social milieu in general. In addition, California is often talked about in terms of discrepancies between wealth and poverty, violence and crime. It is against this background of light and shadow that Californian art comes about. Perhaps one of its defining characteristics might be its pursuit of an everyday human reality that includes nature and the emotions of individuals.

Schedule

Jul 3 (Thu) 2008-Aug 2 (Sat) 2008