Jeremy has just finished our newest video to accompany our upcoming exhibit: Edgar Ewing - The Later Works. The show doesn’t open until this Thursday, July 2nd, but by watching the video you can get a sneak preview of the show as well as some wonderful background into this important LA Modernist’s life and work.

You can view the video by clicking here.

Or, you can watch the video on your mobile device by clicking here.

This weekend Nathan finished a new video for our SGTV web page. This video focuses on one of the most important paintings in the gallery’s collection, Colin Campbell Cooper’s Beauvais Cathedral from 1926. Nathan gives a brief overview of Cooper’s fascination with architecture and culture, which provides the context for understanding the significance of Beauvais Cathedral.

To watch the video click here.

You can also watch the video on your mobile device by clicking here.

If you would like to make an appointment to see the painting in person, you can contact the gallery at 805-730-1460 or email us at sales@sullivangoss.com.

To coincide with the beautiful Santa Barbara summer, Susan has put together a wonderful selection of beach scenes from the gallery’s collection. The paintings range over the passed 100 years and provide a intriguing look at the history and evolution of the beach paintings.

The show opens this Thursday, July 2nd, but you can get a sneak preview of the show on our website by clicking here.

Then make sure to visit us on the 2nd for First Thursday to be there for the opening of this great summertime exhibit.

Finally, please post your comments on the blog to let us know what you think of the show.

There is a new “An Unlikely Pair” up in the gallery and this time Edgard Rincon had the opportunity to make the selection. You can read Edgard’s explanation of this pair below. Remember these pairs are only on display for two weeks before the next couple goes up. So come in often to check out each set.

Please let us know what you think of the project by posting your comments.

SIDNEY GORDIN Untitled Wood Relief	John McCracken 5A - 82

“When artists blend child-like creativity with a sophisticated approach, they not only provide us with a joyful experience, but also open a door into the sublime.”

-Edgard

The opera season has just started at our Arts and Letters Cafe. Every Thursday night from now until the beginning of September, the cafe hosts two shows of live opera with a three course meal served during each. This week Jamie Chamberlain and Carol Ann Manzi will be performing Puccini and Soprano duets. The first show, which begins at 6:00, is already sold out for this week, but there are tables left for the 8:15 show.

To see the full season’s schedule of performances, click here.

Tickets for the performance and three course dinner are $70. To purchase tickets for this week’s show or for any of the other shows this season you can call the cafe at 805-730-1463.

If you were able to attend last week’s opening performance, please post your comments here to let us know what you thought.

Last week Charles Donelan published a review of our LA Noir show in the Independent. Mr. Donelan had some very nice things to say about the show. You can find the article by clicking here. We’d love to know what you think of the exhibit as well. Once you read the article, come in to the gallery to see the show. Then post your comments on this blog to give us your opinion.

Click on the image below to check out our webpage for the exhibit.

The opening of Angela Perko’s exhibit of new paintings was a huge success last week. The event was very well attended, as many people took advantage of the great weather to come in and see this wonderful local artist’s work.  We also managed to take in over 20 pounds of food through “Art Helps” for the Unity Shoppe, and we’d like to thank all of you who brought in beans and rice to contribute to the cause.

Above you see the artist (left) talking to some of her newest fans.

This was our new chef, Erick Simmons’, first First Thursday and he put out an impressive spread of delicious food for the visitors to the gallery.

If you haven’t had a chance to see the show yet, please come in and we’ll be happy to show you around. Then come back to the blog and post your comments to let us know what you think.

On June 1st a wonderful interview with Sullivan Goss artist Alia El-Bermani appeared on the “Painting Perceptions” website. The interview provides substantial insight into the artist’s process, palette, and choice of subject matter. You can find the website with the interview by clicking here.

You can learn more about the artist and see images of her work by visiting her page on our website.

1st Thursday was shut down last month by the Jesusita Fire, but we are going to have another go at it this week. Hopefully, the June Gloom will lift in time for our event. It should be a great night either way… we’re having an opening for ANGELA PERKO!

SULLIVAN GOSS – An American Gallery, ARTAMO Gallery, PEREGRINE Galleries and FASTFRAME would like to remind you that ART HELPS. ART HELPS is a new program uniting art patronage with charitable giving in the Santa Barbara community.  These businesses have partnered with Santa Barbara’s UNITY SHOPPE on each First Thursday to collect a specific, essential item for local families in need.

This First Thursday’s item is Rice and Beans.  The art-going community and friends of the Unity Shoppe are asked to bring a new, unopened package of rice and a can of beans to a participating gallery.  In return for this donation, each participant will receive a campaign button signaling membership in the ART HELPS program.  On First Thursdays, ART HELPS participants will receive a discount on any purchase of art that they make that evening.  Participating galleries will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Unity Shoppe from each sale to a member of the ART HELPS program.

Intern Ruby Todd recently wrote monographs on artists Charles Payzant and Joseph Weisman for the Gallery’s AAMP. They are excellent reads that also provide some insight into the California Regionalist movement that took flight during the 1930s and 1940s.

As many of our interns are graduating in June, I suggest that any upper-division art history students who are interested in interning with the gallery contact me as soon as possible. I will be taking on a new group beginning this summer and will be sending a call out to the local universities early next week. More information about interning at Sullivan Goss can be found on the AAMP web page or by contacting me via e-mail at danielle@sullivangoss.com.

Contemporary Curator, Susan Bush has finished a new video to accompany our upcoming solo show of paintings by Angela Perko. In the video Susan uses a musical analogy to explain the appeal of Angela’s wonderfully vibrant and unique work.

The show opens this Thursday, June 4th during First Thursday. Take a look at the video to get a sneak peak of the show, then come in on the 4th to see these wonderful paintings in person. Finally, make sure to post your comments here to let us know what you think.

You can find the video by clicking here.

You can also watch the video on your mobile device from our YouTube page by clicking here.

Recently the gallery was contacted by Mrs. Jimmie Jeannette Bauer who was the neighbor of the artists Ben and Velma Messick in the early seventies. Ben Messick’s work is frequently displayed in the gallery, and is currently included in our “She’s the One”,”L.A. Noir” and “American Moxie” exhibits. We asked Mrs. Bauer if she would be willing to write down some of her memories of the Messicks to share of the blog. You can read what she had to say below the picture of Ben Messick’s “From an Elephant’s Eye”.

This was in 1975. They were my neighbors. They were not wealthy, living in a very small apartment. Ben was of frail health, but always stood tall and had a proud carriage. He  was always enthusiastic about his past career and of his painting. He had many circus and clown paintings hanging in the apartment. He was painting circus pictures. His favorite themes were painting figures in the shadows of the circus tent. The flap was drawn back and you could see the center ring. A clown’s profile was half way visible, he was not what you call friendly looking. In the folds of the tent figures lurked, you really had to look hard to see that it was a shadowy figure there. There were many figures in the shadows. This was my favorite picture and the one that I wanted to see again.

Velma was an abstract painter. She went through the 1917-1918 Spanish flu epidemic. She was scarred from the fever that she had. She told me that she was in a coma and the paintings where what she remembered of the  dreams she had.

I thought Ben told me that he had been recognized by an American Clown Association but I don’t remember which one. He was a cartoonist for Walt Disney Studios and had boxes of the cellophane pane with all the old Disney characters which he worked on.

I do know that Ben and Velma were inseparable and their love was profound. I don’t remember which of them died first, but the other one died within a day or two. Tall Ben and very short Velma. I wish I had been older to appreciate all that they had to say. Just like all artists, he was most famous after his death. Its not much, and it is hard to convey just sitting in their living room, having them talk about their paintings, the visits have remained in my mind and I can picture them both to this day.

-Jimmie Jeanette Bauer

We’d like to thank Mrs. Bauer for her time and for adding to our understanding and appreciation of these artists’ lives.

If you have any stories that you would like to share about these artists or any of the artists we feature regularly at the gallery, please post your comments here or send an email to: nathan@sullivangoss.com.

The newest couple in our “An Unlikely Pair” series is up and this time Nathan Vonk had the opportunity to make the selection. You can read Nathan’s explanation of this pair below. Remember these pairs are only on display for two weeks before the next couple goes up. So come in often to check out each set.

Please let us know what you think of the project by posting your comments.

SERGEI BONGART Artichoke Flowers, 1960s	MAX ERNST Cactus - Bunny

“These two artists came to the southwest United States after narrowly escaping persecution during the second world war. Ernst was well established and would be remembered as one of the twentieth century’s most important artists. Bongart built a strong regional reputation over the years as in influential teacher in the art school he established in Los Angeles. Both artists were masters in their own right.”

-Nathan

Jeremy recently finished a new video for the show “LA Noir”. In the video, Jeremy give an enlightening explanation of his thoughts and motivations for bringing together this collection of work. It is a wonderful and dramatic show, and we hope that you will let us know what you think of it by posting your comments here.

You can find the video by clicking here.

For those of you with a mobile internet device like an iPhone, you can watch all of our videos on the go or as you stroll through the gallery on our YouTube channel.

After the events of last week, things are slowly getting back to normal at the gallery. Our two new shows, American Moxie and LA Noir, are finally open. We’d like to invite you all to come to see these great shows and take some time to relax while looking at some  beautiful paintings.

To see the exhibit page for American Moxie, click here.

To see the exhibit page for LA Noir, click here.

Once you’ve come in to see the shows, please post a comment to let us know what you think.

Because of the Jesusita Fire, the gallery will be closed today and will not be open for First Thursday tonight. Our thoughts are with those effected by the fire and our hopes are with those who are working to protect us from further losses.

This Thursday we will be opening a new show entitled “American Moxie”, which will highlight works that emphasize a particularly American spirit. The show brings together an exceptional group of paintings and drawings from the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, all of which capture a bit of the fortitude and determination that defines this country’s history.

The show opens on May 7th (First Thursday), so mark your calendars and make sure to be here on opening night to see this great exhibit.

Please post your comments here to let us know what you think of the show

Our very own Edgard Rincon has just finished a wonderful new Audio Visual Brochure on “La Bamba” by Jesus Helguera, the Mexican master painter. Edgard’s AVB gives a short history of Helguera and demonstrates the artist’s place among the greats within the very rich tradition of Mexican painting.

To watch the AVB in English click here.

To watch the AVB in Español click here.

Our current show “Museum Suite: New Paintings by Michael Dvortcsak” has been incredibly popular, with many people coming back to show their friends and families these paintings of people looking at paintings. Last week, Roya Mokhtari was in with her son Kian Strenn. When we saw Kian looking at Dvortcsack’s “Las Meninas” we knew we had to capture a picture for the blog. The result speaks for itself.

We’d like to thank Roya and Kian for sending in the picture.

If you haven’t been in to see the exhibit yet, it will be up until May 31st. So, hurry in because you only have one more month to see this great show.

You can find the Audio/Visual Brochure that accompanies the show by clicking here.

Make sure to post your comments here to let us know what you think.

Last Thursday, Martha Sadler of the Independent wrote a nice review of our contemporary ceramics show, “Strange Clays”. The show ran concurrently with the Contemporary Art Forum’s ceramics show “Expanded Fields of Possibilities”. You can read the review of both shows here.

You can view the video we produced for the show by clicking here.

As promised last week, we have produced a new AVB to accompany the salon exhibit “She’s the One” currently on display in our Vollmer gallery. In the AVB curator, Susan Bush, explains the inspiration behind her selections for this wonderful collection.

Click here to watch the AVB, then come back to the blog to post your comments and let us know what you think.

In 2004, Sullivan Goss created an internship program designed to foster an academic interest in modern American artists by providing a way for young scholars to gain experience in the professional art world.  In particular, our Amercian Artist Monograph Project gives interns an opportunity to contribute to the scholarship on modern American artists and provides them with a credited publication.

We thought that the blog would be a great place to help get the word out about this program to other young art scholars who might be interested in participating. Sandra Arteaga, a student at UCSB who recently finished the program, had this to say about her experience:

“Researching about the life and art of Helen Lundeberg and Conrad Buff was very exciting since both of these artists lived for some time in the city of Pasadena which is very close to my hometown. It was interesting learning about the early history of the city as well as the art scene. In addition, I enjoyed learning about Helen Lundeberg’s life since I was able to relate to her childhood experiences and appreciation for art. On the other hand, I was intrigued by Conrad Buff’s amazing life story and his journey in reaching the American Dream.”

Sullivan Goss accepts around 15 qualified interns each year from schools all over the country. If you think you would be interested in the program you can click here to learn more.

In celebration of our artist, Jack R. Smith’s collection Portraits of American Poets, we have put together a new AVB written by Robyn Allers. The AVB highlights the paintings, as well as the poets and poetry which inspired the work. The exhibit began its US tour in the Cornell Museum of Fine Arts at Rollins College in January.

Click on the picture above to watch the AVB. Then come back here to let us know what you think.

This month Curator Susan Bush has put together an impressive salon of female portraits in our Vollmer gallery. The collection is comprised of works produced over the last 90 years and includes a range of different approaches in  a variety of media. When Frank saw the exhibit for the first time he thought it was such a stunning collection that we needed to put together an AVB to accompany the show in order to get Susan’s thought behind her selections. 

This AVB is currently in the works, so stay tuned to the blog this week when we will announce the launch of the newest addition to SGTV. In the mean time, come in and see then show. Then, let us know what you think.

It was a delightful experience to immerse myself into the world of Nell Brooker Mayhew again after several years. Sitting over a bookshelf in our bedroom at home, there is a beautiful color etching by the artist. It helps make the bedroom more tranquil and it positively radiates in dim light.

For our new exhibition, Nell Brooker Mayhew: In Quiet Communion, the gallery has selected a number of the artist’s finest works and we have produced a new AVB. I believe that Mayhew’s little meditations on the spiritual aspects of nature are the perfect medicine for these troubling times.

What do you think? Do you like the work? How about the AVB?

You can also download the AVB into iTunes.