Upfront and personal
Scratching the itch for contemporary art in Ventura
By Claudia Pardo McFadyen 10/22/2009
“SNATCH, Coming Soon”— read the banner for Upfront Gallery’s premiere exhibit in 2005. Yet, to the amazement of gallery owner Carolyn Friend, Ventura didn’t even take notice of the provocative title. “The city slept through it,” she jokes.
Despite the deliberate intent of the title, she wasn’t bombed or pitchforked for the controversial first show; in fact, it was well received, especially for an erotic show of such risqué content. Since that time, Friend has continued to push the envelope. “The contemporary artists need a voice,” she offers.
After six years of continuous rotating exhibits, Upfront Gallery went “dark,” closing its doors for a year — much needed time off for a personal and creative reboot. “So many people asked me when I was coming back,” Friend says. That is precisely what has prompted the reopening of the gallery, and the resumption of her mission to bring quality contemporary artwork to the community. She rejects the idea of being in this business simply for profit; her priority, she says, is to provide an alternative space for artists to achieve their own creative vision, and to bring culture to the lives of her visitors.
Saturday, Oct. 24, will see the gallery’s grand reopening with “Phenomenological,” a unique exhibit by Ventura native Elissa Batchley that challenges traditional notions of sculptural installation and display. Her work conveys a very tangible tension, evident in the contrasting impression of both gravity and weightlessness of her melted glass sculptures — the result of a process of putting together recycled glass in hand-made wire cages and suspending it inside a kiln to be fired. The glass melts into the cage, oozing through the gaps of the “mesh” and settling into organic, abstract effigies, cradled in surprising grace and weightiness. When the piece acquires a satisfactory shape, the artist removes it and chills it. “The glass is frozen in that particular moment of change,” she explains.
Though Upfront has consistently offered exhibits of high caliber, the challenges of showing cutting-edge art are daunting. “Contemporary art is a hard sell anywhere you are,” says Friend, “even in L.A. and San Francisco.” Typically, in Ventura, the artist finds emotional support and camaraderie from other artists. The irony is that, even though the genre is widely overlooked, its importance is unequivocal. In fact, contemporary art has long been the natural driving force for new expression and understanding: “If Mozart were alive, he’d be rapping,” she says. “If Van Gogh were alive, he wouldn’t be doing lovely landscapes; he was contemporary! The impressionists were radical for their time.”
An advocate for more relevant public art, Friend is a firm believer that the city needs more exposure to thought-provoking, stimulating art that is accessible to the community at large. “If we are to become the New Art City,” she notes, “we need to at least be able to provide a contemporary class and get people excited about it.”
“Maybe art isn’t for everyone,” she concludes, “but it is for anybody.” Upfront Gallery’s intrinsic value to the community goes beyond pretty pictures. It provides thought-provoking and stimulating contemporary art to those who are willing to meet art halfway.
“Phenomenological” opens on Saturday, Oct. 24, with a reception from 6-9 p.m. It runs through Dec. 4. 267 S. Laurel St., Ventura. 340-1448, www.upfrontgallery.org.
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