The Santa Monica College Pete & Susan Barrett Art Gallery will present the SMC Art Mentor Program Exhibit, themed "Well Fed," from May 19 through May 30. A free gallery reception will be held Thursday, May 21, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The gallery is located at the SMC Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th Street at Santa Monica Boulevard.
"Electric, searching, and unapologetically alive, the Art Mentor Exhibition highlights a group of artists actively building their own visual languages," said Barrett Gallery Director Emily Silver, who leads the SMC Art Mentor Program. "What emerges is an exhibition rooted in curiosity and transformation: works that wrestle with material, identity, memory, humor, politics, intimacy, and the strange poetics of becoming. The work on view challenges the rigid systems that confine us: conventional expression, rampant consumerism, technological encroachment, and informational overload."
The exhibition features work by Ava Baroni, Duncan Bielman, Alex Cruz, Charlie Danger, Caleb Deal, Louie Esteem, Kim Farbota, Jeffrey Heimer, Kate McGinnis, Ernie Mcpeek, Jenny Park, Alejandre Rodriguez, sarah k. skogland, Kaili Stafford, April Vásquez and Ira Zimmerman.
"'Well Fed' rewrites the antiquated 'starving artist' myth," said Kim Garcia, who teaches SMC's Art 80, 82 and 84 Gallery Exhibition & Display course. "This exhibition is a testament to what can be created when artists are nourished through creative and intellectual exchange." The exhibition was curated by students in Garcia's course.
The SMC Art Mentor Program is designed for art students building portfolios with the goal of transferring to four-year arts programs. The program offers in-depth studio discourse, individual studio visits, professional artist presentations and group critiques. SMC Art Department faculty invite students with exceptional talent and a strong academic record to join the program.
SMC's Art 80, 82 and 84 course offers hands-on experience in exhibition planning, research, operation and management of exhibition spaces.
For gallery hours and more information, call 310-434-4165. Gallery activities are subject to change or cancellation without notice.
Edited by SMDP Staff