Our Pick of the Week is The Beverly Hills artSHOW. This year marks its 40th anniversary. The popular event takes place this Saturday, October 18, and Sunday, October 19, 2014, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Beverly Hills has been celebrating all year…In honor of its 100th anniversary.

It’s a lovely event. I can speak first hand, as I’ve attend many times. The Beverly Hills Gardens Park is a beautiful venue and the art has become more diverse and innovative each year.

The free biannual event will feature a “Time Spent in Dreamland” theme this year. As always, it offers an eclectic mix of mediums from more than 240 artists running along four blocks in the historic park on Santa Monica Boulevard.

“Painting and sculpture are always the two largest categories,” said Karen Mclean, Beverly Hills artSHOW Manager. “But we also have photography, traditional printmaking, and a couple of fine craft categories like ceramics and glass. We now allow some assemblage, which has resulted in some very interesting new art. Geoffrey Kieran and Barbara McIntyre are presenting some pretty quirky pieces at the upcoming show.”

The Beverly Hills artSHOW will spotlight Featured Artists and Assemblage Sculptors from the Los Angeles Art Association. Ruben Acosta and Monica Wyatt, two assemblage sculptors will be featured near the center of the event at the historic Beverly Hills sign and lily pond.

Ruben uses “abandoned objects from a discarded past,” which is a lifelong project he began working on as a child growing up in El Monte, California. His artwork has been showcased in various Southern California fine art galleries, including the Loft at Liz’s and Gallery 825.

See image: Assemblage Sculpture by Monica Wyatt, For Testing Purposes Only

Monica Wyatt is a sculptor and an assemblage artist. “My three-dimensional art reflects the small things in life that have become the big themes in my work.” said the artist.

“I’m interested in themes that are timeless and intimate and hinge on human relationships and experiences, the every day stuff that collectively connects us;  childhood, relationships, time passage, marriage, motherhood, and secrets never told.” In addition to assemblage, Wyatt is an abstract figurative sculptor. “I don’t use models when I sculpt nor am I interested in replicating something that I see. Instead, I draw inspiration from something that happened in my own life, or a gesture that made a lasting impression, or a photo that I can’t get out of my head.”

The “Time Spent in Dreamland” show will include various kinds of art that capture the paradise-like components of Southern California ranging from palm tree-lined streets to pools. The show will also highlight several artists who explore a darker side of those dreams, evoking “noir” Los Angeles.
 
Exhibitors interpreting the Dreamland theme include a roster of accomplished artists ranging from large-scale painters, photographers and masters of drawing to several artists working in fine craft media. Notable artists include photographer Charles Frautschi, who captures radiantly-colored underwater figures in his new media work; Ray Harris and John Kilduff, painters of the idyllic side of the Los Angeles landscape; and dazzling watercolorist James Jones.

Contemporary artist Sona Mirzaei said she was excited to be a part of the event. “The Beverly Hills Art show is special because it gives a lot of LA artists a chance to showcase their talent and the community loves it and come to take part and a wonderful way to build relationships and highlight the diverse range of amazing art in our beautiful city.”

See image: by Sona Mirzaei, Mind Blown – 52×66 – mixed media on canvas.

The artist will be showing an eclectic mix of abstract, mixed media, pop art and more.

“This year it has been my goal to focus just on abstraction and a fun new body of work that reveals what has been lost and found in my creations over the last few years.

Mirzaei is currently preparing for a solo show. She adds, “I keep putting out new works that continue to exude my passion of being an artist, my love of color, texture, details, design, overall productivity of a range of creativity and practice.” For more info about the art of Sona Mirzaei, visit her website at http://www.sonamirzaei.com/

See image: by John Kilduff

Kilduff has been presenting his work at the event since 1987. “Karen is the best! She really runs a great show!” said Kilduff.

Other artists who focus on California’s dream-like environment include Jesse Aldana and Teale Hatheway, who interpret classic Los Angeles monuments and vistas, many from L.A.’s Art Deco period; and two gifted renderers, graphite artist Rene Porter, who won the “Best of Show” award at the May 2014 artSHOW, along with Andrea Hsu Shouten, whose work in the unusual medium of scratchboard captures darker visions in respective black and white media.
 
In addition to Beverly Garden’s winding pathways lined with hundreds of art pieces, the show will also include a wine and beer garden, food trucks, live entertainment, and family art projects. Artists represented at the artSHOW will be on site to talk with visitors and patrons about their work.  All art is for sale and patrons come from Southern California and beyond to shop, collect and to celebrate this art-filled weekend.

The Beverly Hills artSHOW will be held in the Beverly Gardens on Santa Monica Boulevard from Rodeo Drive to Rexford Drive.  This is a FREE event. For more info, call 310 285-6830, or visit the Beverly Hills artSHOW website.