Clare Brown Art Exhibit, "Evoke," Jan. 19 - 26

 

IMAGE COURTESY OF CLARE BROWN Clare Brown's first one-woman show opens at The 1909 with an opening reception on Jan. 19 and is open by appointment only Jan. 21-26.

The 1909, one of Topanga’s latest community events venues, presents "Evoke," an exhibit of 22 paintings by Topanga artist Clare Brown in her first one-woman show. The opening reception will be held on Jan. 19, from 6 to 11 p.m., and can be seen by appointment from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Jan. 21-26.

Brown uses imagery and symbolism to evoke powerful feelings through color to convey a message, story or lesson.

"My art is really about the miracles of life and the unseen," says Brown. "My mother lost her sight when I was a baby, so she taught me to 'see' what isn't seen, since she could feel her surroundings and feel colors."

Brown was inspired by Theo Gimble, the world renown color theorist who worked with some 800 blindpeople to uncover the power that color has on the body and emotions.

"He had a profound impact on my mum, and consequently on my work," says Brown. "I met him several times while accompanying my mother to his home and lab in Gloucestershire, England, in the late '60s."

Gimble's garden had seven molded egg-shaped structures. Each "egg" was a color—red, blue, yellow, etc. Each had a curved entrance and a molded seat inside.

"Once inside, all you could see was the bright primary color of the egg. I spent hours bathed in colors and remember yellow days, green feelings and red emotions, which left such an impression on me."

Gimble's work parallels the ancient Buddhist and Hindu recognition of the color energy areas within the body known as chakras, and commonly used today by metaphysical light workers.

Deeply understanding this resonance, Brown's work is a carefully chosen collage of color, photography, computer graphics and acrylic paint that stays within a specific scale of hues. Her work creates a dream-like world to deeply affect the viewer. Manipulating shapes, familiar images and textures that she has taken out of context, Brown's work contains surprises as new images reveal themselves.

Multi-layered imagery, soft lines and color theory lets each p iece "evoke" a response in the viewer and endeavors to penetrate the environment in which the painting is placed. In addition, her work has hidden messages, such as reminders of our beginnings, values, the scale and magic of life.

For more information: (310) 455-1115; (310) 405-2856; clareink.com.

The 1909 is located at 1909 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290.