By Hamp Simmons The Art Palette
YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE GOTTEN DIAMONDS AND RUBIES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY, but you have a real gem of a weekend here in Santa Monica with plenty of opportunities to take your sweetie on a belated Valentine’s art date or to contemplate the joys of single life while immersed in artworks.
Admittedly, cruising the galleries is not as instantly gratifying as wolfing down bonbons, but the after-effects are so much healthier. So, whether you’re out with the love of your life or flying solo, go love some art.
The City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division and The Miles Memorial Playhouse present this 4th annual celebration of local choreographers. The evening features an eclectic mix of styles and is the perfect family outing in the park. Don’t miss it!
FireWorks is an installation composed of the remains from the Santa Monica studio fire of artist Paul Bob Velick. The exhibition will feature a selection of the surviving works from more than 500 collected paintings, drawings, collages on wood, texts and photographs that were in the studio during the fire.
Also at Bergamot, the Mark Moore Gallery has a collection of new paintings from Los Angeles-based artist Allison Schulnik. Her distinctive style is formed through the use of old, worn brushes and thick globs of paint, the resulting canvases depicting a world of controlled chaos in which her images reside.
One of Santa Monica’s most established galleries can be found, not at Bergamot Station, but on Broadway. Currently, the Bill Lowe Gallery is displaying work by LA-based figurative painter Rimi Yang which captures the spirit and energy of the human form. Stop by Back on Broadway for lunch and then pay a visit to the Lowe Gallery for a very intriguing new look at the Infanta Dona Margarita from the famed Velazquez painting.
The draft Creative Capital plan is going to be presented to the Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 27. The Arts Commission will be hosting a small reception that evening in the lobby of City Hall, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
HAMP SIMMONS is the cultural affairs coordinator for the City of Santa Monica. Send comments or suggestions for the Palette to
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 16, 2007. Read the original PDF.