“Surf & Turf” opens at Castelli Art Space. The group exhibition will spotlight the beauty of LA. Artists include: Brooke Harker, Gay Summer Rick, Teale Hathaway, and Gregg Chadwick
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“This exhibit takes a look at our city’s “Surf and Turf’ through the unique and perceptive eyes of artists, as they venture out to admire and memorialize architecture we have not paid attention to, beaches we have not walked, trails we have not hiked, and iconic sites the rest of us barely notice, as we commute to work or toil away in an office,” explained curator Dale Youngman.

Artist Brooke Harker will be featuring six of her paintings. Her artworks will feature images of Venice, along with Hollywood, Downtown LA, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. Harker has always had a fascination with umbrellas – consistently searching for that perfect formation. “At the beach, I marvel at how the choice of each person as to where to place their umbrella in the sand, and how it creates a collective image. Each pattern never existed before, nor will again as it does in the observation of a particular moment.”

One day as she was scouting subjects to paint in Venice beach, she spotted a woman reading a book amidst the busy activities of the beach. She was wearing a pink bikini. “There is a bit of game in this for me as taking photos of people on the beach or sketching live with the hopes of obtaining a reference for a painting is like gathering flies. One moment a person might be digging in the sand and in an instant take off running towards the surf.”
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Leisure Day by Brooke Harker 49″ x 72″ ink, oil & acrylic on canvas

She added that when choosing a location, she uses certain markers as an anchor to the painting. Items such brightly colored umbrellas, buckets, beach furniture, and towels often double as a source of stability in a composition. “There is very little in a beach scene that can’t change in an instant, and I find the observation of that fascinating.”

On view: July 27 – August 17, 2019

Where: Castelli Art Space, 5428 West Washington Blvd, LA 90016
Website: https://www.castelliartspace.com