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# Can we talk? Art exhibition mulls it over
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/can-we-talk-art-exhibition-mulls-it-over/
- Published: 2004-01-31T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:42:34.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Events, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

The art of conversation may be lost, but it will be revisited in an upcoming art exhibition.

The Santa Monica College Pete & Susan Barrett Art Gallery will present “Dialogue: The fine art of conversation,” a premier exhibition of fine art paintings and their relationship to the lost art of letter writing, Feb. 17 through March 26.

“Dialogue” features original paintings, found letters, poems, insights and writings from more than 50 internationally acclaimed artists who have been asked to explore the relationship of the written message to painted, visual narrative. The artwork will be included in a larger exhibit slated to tour the nation in July and will be in a soon-to-be-published book, “Dialogue: The fine art of conversation.”

The opening reception will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 20\. It will be preceded by a 5 p.m. lecture by guest curator Mark Murphy, whose San Diego-based firm, Murphy Design, has authored the exhibition.

“This exhibition allows the public to connect with the artists and their featured letters and provides an opportunity to capture a glimpse of the artist’s vision for his or her individual painting,” Murphy said.

“This exhibit is literally a dialogue in an abstract way,” said Marian Winsryg, SMC Art Gallery director and art professor. “I’ve always been intrigued by unique ways to look at how art is used in our time.”

The artists were assigned to find a written personal document — such as a letter, note, valentine, greeting card, or love letter — and paint a complementary visual narrative.

“The visual can serve as the cause of why the letter had to be written, a result of the letter, a future prognosis of what the letter might have caused, or a visual interpretation of the letter based on (the artist’s) emotion, movement, influence or cause,” Murphy said.

One of the artists in the show is Nathan Ota, an SMC adjunct art professor. The others are Shino Arihara, Stefanie Augustine, Shawn Barber, Melinda Beck, Cathie Bleck, Doug Boehm, Chris Brown, Cynthia Von Buhler, Marc Burckhardt, Steven Carsella, Stephanie Dalton Cowan, Joseph Daniel Fiedler, Ann Field, Barry Fitzgerald, Vivienne Flesher, Douglas Fraser, Arthur Giron, David Goldin, Joseph Hart, Headcase Design, John Hendrix, Jennifer Hewitson, Daniel Hyun Lim, Michelle Hinebrook, Peter Hoey, Jordin Isip, Erik Jahnke, Anita Kunz, Don Kilpatrick, Joshua Krause, Phillipe Lardy, Tim Marrs, Larry Moore, Joel Nakamura, Christopher Silas Neal, Chris Pyle, Tifenn Python, Red Nose Studio, Maria Rendon, Rachel Salomon, Ward Schumaker, Whitney Sherman, Matt Stallings, Ricardo Stampatori, Gary Taxali, Gina Triplett, Ryan Wallace, Gord Wiebe, Nicholas Wilton and Minky Woodcock.

Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The gallery is located at SMC’s Madison campus on Santa Monica Boulevard at 11th Street. The gallery will be closed March 9.

For information, call (310) 434-3434.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 31, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/013104.pdf?ref=smdp.com)