“Captured Youth!” by the then 11th grader Joseph Pak was voted Best in Show at the 2023 Visual Arts Competition.
Art Gallery at the Orinda Library: Students Rock the Art at VAC
The 21st year of the Lamorinda Arts Council’s (LAC) High School Visual Arts Competition (VAC) features artwork from students living in or attending school in Orinda, Lafayette or Moraga, including all schools in the Acalanes Union High School District.
In addition to the in-person art exhibit, which runs Mar. 4 – Apr. 6, the contest features cash prizes, merit certifications and an online public exhibit on the LAC website, LamorindaArts.org/online-galleries/.
The reception in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library, 26 Orinda Way, begins at 7 p.m. on March 14; the juried awards ceremony runs from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Library Auditorium, where the winners will be announced. For information visit lamorindaarts.org/vac or call 925.359.4490.
The juried show consists of four categories: two-dimensional art, three-dimensional art, photography and digital art. The competition is judged by industry professionals or experts in each medium. Many thanks to Lamorinda Arts Alliance for sponsoring the digital art category and Bentley School, also a generous sponsor.
LAC Board Member Olga Larner, also chair of the event, said, “With art programs often receiving less support in our schools, it is a pleasure to offer this amazing, rare opportunity for our student artists to showcase their talents and have a chance to exhibit their work in a professional gallery.”
Larner expects 250 entries representing 10 schools in and around Lamorinda.
Ali Kozoll, LAC executive director, said, “Celebrating and recognizing young artists encourages their creativity and vision and brings our community together.”
The images in the Lamorinda Arts Alliance digital art category are diverse. From fantasy to figurative, hi-tech to portraits, winter snow to desert sands – the students have truly explored the genre.
Visit the Gallery to view student artwork from Mar. 2 to Apr. 6 at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Mon. – Thu., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fri. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; closed Sundays and Wed. Mar. 20. For more information, call 925.254.2184 or visit http://ccclib.org/. View artwork online at https://lamorindaarts.org/online-galleries/. For questions, call 925.359.9940 or email gallery@LamorindaArts.org.
Shiva Jafarzadeh’s 48” x 36” oil painting “Wet Kiss” with glue and ink depicts a romance poem translated onto canvas, thus: “Oh! The hope. The dream and the trust I built around your wet kiss. You will never know how much I anticipated it.”
Art Gallery at Wilder: Grand Reopening Sunday March 3 Featuring Artist Shiva Jafarzadeh
The Lamorinda Arts Council announces the Grand Reopening of the Art Gallery at Wilder on Sunday, March 3, at a reception from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served, including the bespoke “Wilder Rose” cocktail and mocktail.
Orinda Vice Mayor Latika Malkani will officially open the Art Gallery at Wilder for public viewing Mon. – Fri. from 3 to 5 p.m. LAC Board Member and Curator Bill Carmel will introduce featured artist Shiva Jafarzadeh and her themed artwork, “Paintings and Drawings of Romance, Womanhood, Motherhood & Feminine Poems.”
Jafarzadeh was born in Tehran, Iran, and grew up in a multi-cultural family. As a child she experienced the brutal war between Iran and Iraq, which lasted eight years and left over five million dead. Her first drawings were done in bomb shelters, as her father was in the military. A strong human rights activist, she eventually escaped Iran through Syria and made her way to the United States. She is a single mom who lived in Orinda for many years and currently resides in Lafayette.
Her path to healing trauma and being able to experience motherhood led her to write memoirs and several children’s books. In her pursuit of art, she attained a bachelor’s degree in art history from Tehran University Academy of Art, a liberal arts associate degree from Diablo Valley College and a master of fine arts (illustration) from California College of the Arts. Follow her work at artbyshiva.com.
Artwork on display includes “Blue Ballerina,” a 52” x 24” oil painting on canvas portraying the enchanted Odette, Queen of the Swans, transformed from a swan into a ballerina only for one night in Tchaikovsky’s iconic ballet, “Swan Lake.” “Knitting Love” is a 17” x 20” ink and marker drawing excerpted from her book, “The Orange Blossom” (available on Amazon).
Jafarzadeh’s grandmother knew the secret of enfolding her love in beautiful scarves she knit and gifted to her granddaughters. “Traveling to my grandparents’ orange farm in the mountains from Tehran to Sari every Nowruz, which is the first day of spring, is a memory filled with so much love it reaches to the other side of the globe,” said Jafarzadeh. One of her grandmother’s favorite themes was orange blossoms.
Visit the Art Gallery at Wilder Mon. – Fri. from 3 – 5 p.m. For more information visit LamorindaArts.org/galleries-2, email info@LamorindaArts.org or call 925.359.9940. Be sure and download the PDF with directions if you plan to visit.
