Los Angeles-based contemporary Light and Space artist Shana Mabari is set to be featured in a solo exhibition titled “Oceans” at the Porch Gallery in Ojai. The opening reception was held on Saturday, March 26, 2022. The show will remain on view through May 23, 2022. The art in this exhibition was inspired by a journey with the non-profit Sea Shepherd Global (see more below). Ojai is an incredible place. If you have never been, make a plan to view this exhibition – there are tons of other galleries as well. CLICK HERE to read a story by one of our writers about Ojai on our sister site EatTravelGo.com (or go to the Stories Section, on the We love LA Page, under the Day Trips drop-down. Remember to confirm with gallery for up-to-date covid protocols and guidelines – (proof of vaccination and masks MAY be required).

In 2020, Mabari became the first artist-in-residence on a maritime mission lead by the non-profit Sea Shepherd Global, the world’s leading direct-action ocean conservation organization. For five days, Mabari sailed their vessel M/Y Bob Barker off the west coast of Africa, a clandestine operation part of Sea Shepherd Global’s ongoing efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the waters of Benin. It resulted in the arrest of a trawler illegally fishing in protected waters just outside an important ecological reserve.

Mabari says. “I am beyond grateful to everyone at Sea Shepherd Global for the opportunity, in particular to the organization’s Director of Campaigns Peter Hammarstedt, who saw the unique potentials of embedding an artist onboard one of their missions.” Mr. Hammarstedt and other Sea Shepherd Global officials will be present at the March 26 opening.

Artworks to be featured in Mabari’s Oceans series include “Korāl” sculptures, and circular “Horizōn” pieces, all acrylic. The Korāl installation comprises more than 60 free-standing sculptures in varied colors including red, blue, violet, yellow, and orange. They range from 7 to 14 inches in height, creating a coral reef inspired environment in the gallery that aims to bring awareness to the devastation of coral reefs throughout the oceans, and highlight their remarkable underwater elegance. Horizōn is a series of eight 15-inch wall-mounted disks.  They reference the elemental meeting of sea and sky, the same horizon line used by early mathematicians and astronomers including Ptolemy and Galileo to accurately measure the planets and constellations in the night sky. Ten-percent of proceeds from exhibition sales will benefit Sea Shepherd Global.

Also inspired by Mabari’s Sea Shepherd Global residency is the new book OCEANS, a collection of essays curated by the artist and accompanied by images of her “Korāl” sculptures. It will be published in April 2022 in a limited edition of 100, each signed and numbered by Mabari. The book is a collaboration with Sébastien Montabonel of Alaska Editions, based in London, UK.

Mabari’s Sea Shepherd Global residency builds on her commitment to expand her practice to engage with disciplines beyond traditional art-world boundaries. It follows up her 2018 voyage as the first artist to fly aboard a mission of NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The groundbreaking aircraft uses a 2.7-meter telescope mounted in a customized 747 – flying to a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet – to study astronomical phenomena including black holes and star formation. Artworks inspired by SOFIA were first exhibited at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History in early 2020. Find out more about Sea Shepherd Global, on its website.

On view: March 26, 2022 – May 23, 2022

What: “Oceans,” Shana Mabari
Where: Porch Gallery, 310 E. Matilija St., Ojai, CA 93023
Website: https://porchgalleryojai.com https://www.shanamabari.com/