Well it’s gonna be a wild weekend here in LA with the Oscars…see my Oscar viewing party choices on Sunday. There’s also tons of art openings….remember to check out the new Event Review page. 

Also see this week’s Santa Monica Mirror for my column, “Talk of the Town” and I give tips on how date on the cheap. Believe me I should know, I’ve been doing it for years!

Don’t forget the Pick of the Week is this Saturday, at Bergamot Station.  Skidmore Contemporary Art (D-2) holds an opening reception for artist, Jennifer Bain this Saturday from 5:00 pm till 7:00 pm. Several other galleries will be open the same evening, so make sure to stay for a while and enjoy the evening at Bergamot.

Jennifer Bain’s art uses contrasts and dualities within a botanical theme. Her larger works are rendered on Kaolin clay (fresco-like) covered panels whose soft ivory background is strongly reminiscent of parchment and vellum of the past. Intended as anod of reverence to botanical artists such as Maria Sibylla Merian of the 17th century.

Bain talks about her creative process, “The genesis of each painting differs. I might begin with an idea, specific image, or even simply a color or form (usually from an older work of mine). With this simple beginning I develop the content, paying close attention to shifts in meaning and emotion created by the inclusion and juxtaposition of image and shape. I keep rich sources of imagery to draw from around me, including botanical illustrations, photographs, drawings, graphics, textiles, hand printed papers, and of course my own past works. Also important to this blend are botanical forms I draw and cut out of Mylar (rigid polyester).”

She explains her passion for the art, “The magnetism of painting for me is the mystery of creating ideas, mood or context from images. Since I’m fascinated by many different kinds of visual information, my work is a fusion of all that I see.”

The opening reception will be held from 5:00 pm till 7:00 pm at Skidmore Contemporary Art Gallery (D-2).

Bergamot Arts Station is located at 2525 Michigan Ave. in Santa Monica. In case you have never been, it houses over thirty galleries, a great place to pop into on a Saturday night.

Skidmore Contemporary Art opened in Malibu in 1998. In 2009, the gallery relocated to Bergamot Station in Santa Monica.

Owner and curator, Lia Skidmore has been an art dealer and advisor to art collectors for over twenty-five years. 310-828-5070;  http://skidmorecontemporaryart.com/