Several artists presented their works at Oxnard College last Thursday in an abstract art show.
An outpour of praise, contemplation and dialogue was exchanged between the three artists at the show as they discussed their vision with students, faculty, and visitors from the community.
“My work is abstract,” said artist Steve Schmidt, who starts most of his paintings by hand and continues them by using power tools. “It may look like the Brooklyn Bridge, or a roller coaster. I am just excited making like a fury of marks. I want to give it some depth-to give it a lasting value. So that each time you look at it, you can find something new.” The Oxnard College McNish Art Gallery presented the “Educational Abstracts” Art Show on March 30, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and will last until April 14. The curator of this show is Oxnard College Art ProfessorChristine Morla.
Another artist featured at the show was Jimmi Gleason, who studied Art at UC Berkeley, and later worked and lived in New York. His work combines the texture of silk screen and photos from a Polaroid camera. “Back in the 1980s, photography was really big in New York,” said Gleason.
“I wanted to introduce photography into my painting. Printing making part was my work. Painting can be changed. It can be twigged. You can make it your own. It’s like a big chess game.” Artist Eric J. Smail’s works included 8 sided and 20 sided basic structure elements that repeat their shapes.
The concept of the “polyhedron” came to him when he was working with used books during his graduate days at Claremont University. He first experimented with making soccer ball out of recycled paper, and most of his structures resemble molecular structures, but scientists would point out that it is not genuine, because they are not 6 sided, said Smail. Hence, his eye-catching, “Scorpic Vernon-a Designer Drug.”