In a time in place where we forget our cultural and ethnic identities to fit into society, Lark Gallery Online brings us back to the essence of whom we are and whence we came. The exhibition, “Find Your Roots” is so appropriate in a nomadic world where one rarely lives and where they were born. Like the residents of West Hollywood, the participating artists have their roots in a multiplicity of countries, regions, faiths and ethnic backgrounds, including Russia, Japan, Ukraine, Austria, Germany, Poland, Romania, Great Britain, Armenia, Turkey, Iran, Israel, Serbia, Korea, Italy and the United States. Again, this exhibition is most appropriate as it is on view in the West Hollywood Pop-Up Art Gallery, located in the center of the Russian community and some of the stellar artists are, of course, Russian.
In contrast to the expected, Melissa Ann Lambert is the exhibition First Place Winner. Lambert, who is an all American girl, entry, “On and Off with a Tendency Toward On” seems as if she envisions herself as a deconstructed Firebird, that is radiated out of the female figure that seems to explode in a digital methodology of mixed media.
About: Melissa Ann Lambert is a mixed-media artist whose works include traditional media, being watercolor, pastel, pen and ink, oil and acrylic; digital or new media, including combinations of both. Her upcoming plans are to work with LED panels (backlit) and animation.
Second place winner for his “Winter Thaw” – the expected, but successful Sergey Tivetsky says, “Visual cues function like a language in which visual signs work to suggest non-visual messages.” He brings his heritage and spiritual tradition on to his canvases with contemporary light that is reflective his roots all the way back to Moscow.
About: Born in 1949 in Moscow, Russia, Sergei Tivetsky, he has been living and working in West Los Angeles for more than two decades. Sergei’s unique life experience and great spirituality made him one of the kind artist, capable to express “life of the soul” in colors and rhythms in his enigmatic paintings.
“Beach Rocks XV” nabbed Third place by Young Yun Summers. At the onslaught, she was inspired by rocks she saw in Carlsbad, California. “Submerged in water, they reminded me of strange creatures alive with full spirits. I saw the endless possibilities of reshaping them on my canvas. The idea behind my collages was to bring out the mysteriousness I felt about these rocks and make their strangeness more vivid,” said the artist. Each collage piece has several vignettes generated in the process, either intentionally or incidentally. “They are like mini dramas within a bigger show and when viewed as a whole, it is meant to heighten the surreal feeling,”said Young. She also sees it as a way to express nature, especially the shamanistic spirit in her.
About: Coming from a family that has produced artists and musicians, it was only natural that Young Yun Summers inherit a love of art. Ever since childhood, she knew she wanted to be an artist. Born in Korea, she came to USA as a high school student and went on to University of California, earning a BFA in design in fine arts. Although marriage, motherhood and full-time employment delayed her artistic journey, it has been within the last two years, time has been available for her to create art as well as further her art knowledge, including the creation of collages within the last couple years.
Honorary Mentions went to: Erna Avan, Susanne Belcher, Elize, Erik Fischer, Gregory Hicks, J. Natascha Kostan, Luca Krstich, Linda Kunik, Teresa Lakier, Armineh Temourian and Frank Whipple. And you can view all works at www.larkgalleryonline.com.
Produced in collaboration with the City of West Hollywood Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission, “Find Your Roots” is on view through Sunday, April 27, 2014 at the West Hollywood Pop-Up Art Gallery, located on the second floor at 7362 Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles. For more information on 2014 Portal of Opportunities IV as well as other upcoming competitions, click on this link – http://www.larkgalleryonline.com/contact_us.html – and ask away.
Editor’s note: Like the residents of West Hollywood, the participating artists have their roots in a multiplicity of countries, regions, faiths and ethnic backgrounds, including Russia, Japan, Ukraine, Austria, Germany, Poland, Romania, Great Britain, Armenia, Turkey, Iran, Israel, Serbia, Korea, Italy and the United States.
