Eclectic Exhibits Highlight Our Beautiful World
In “Glorified,” the intense magenta and blue of morning glories almost disappears as the vines clamber and cover, but there is a hidden structure in both their color and rambling habit. View this 24” x 32” acrylic and silkscreen on canvas painting by Bushra Gill of Lafayette in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library.
There’s lots to look at this month in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library, with exhibits ranging from ceramic sculptures to watercolor book edges.
The ceramic sculptures come from Mubarra Ahmadyar, the watercolor book edges come from Hedaya Hasan, but nature prints by Latifat Titilayola Apatira, mixed media by Bushra Gill and geometric patterns by Arshia Saifuddin are also worth some careful viewing.
You can get a preview of the exhibit with one click at lamorindaarts.org/online-galleries/.
In addition, Orinda residents can meet the artists at a reception in their honor Saturday, Feb. 8 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Along with light refreshments, Apatira will give a “Nature Print Demonstration” using ink, paper and fresh, rose-scented geranium leaves at 3:30 p.m.
Apatira’s nature prints use an ancient technique described as “forage plants, add ink, press onto paper, add watercolors.” A member of the international Nature Printing Society and California Society of Printmakers, her work – exhibited throughout Northern California – includes solo exhibitions hosted by the San Francisco Botanical Garden’s Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture. Learn more at titilayola.com.
Ahmadyar’s love for the Islamic arts motivates and inspires her work. The muse for her ceramic sculptures in the show are pomegranates.
“With its tiny crown atop its head, it isn’t just fruit with hidden jewels inside, it represents the symmetry and balance between the struggles, complexities and beauty of life,” she said.
Gill, organizer of the exhibit, is also inspired by Islamic geometric patterns.
“I tessellate images from everyday life into rich and complex surface structures with paint, print and wood collage,” said Gill.
Her acrylic and silkscreen on canvas work, “Glory Spreading,” contains swaths of mosaic-like waves of color. A Pratt Institute graduate, she has worked as a museum educator at the Museum of Modern Art and now serves on the board of Oakland Art Murmur. Visit bushragill.com to see more of her work.
Hasan is a mixed media artist working towards a BFA in pictorial arts at San Jose State University.
“I explore the imagination and the fantastical through watercolor and ink drawings. My work is drawn from my deep connection to storytelling and fantasy literature,” she said. “Some of my earliest and most precious memories are those of my mother reading fairy tales to me before bed.”
Her four side edge painted books, “The Gables,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Little Women” and “The Shire” show her sense of wonder for the ethereal and otherworldly. View more of her work at hedayanur.wixsite.com/hedayanurart.
Saifuddin is an educator and student of sacred geometry. She immerses herself in constructing precise grids, until finally, a mesmerizing, complex pattern emerges.
“The hidden layers are essential, yet aren’t noticed at first, just like all the beauty that surrounds our everyday life,” she said.
Her “Complex Rosette” was created using only a ruler, compass and pencil on watercolor paper with flowy watercolors added.
Visit the Gallery from Feb. 1 to 28 at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Fri.-Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Sundays and Feb. 17. For more information, visit ccclib.org/ or call 925.254.2184.
The Art Gallery at Wilder is currently under reorganization.
This unusual portrayal of what artist Hedaya Hasan describes as ‘fore-edge paintings’ shows four stacked books. Using watercolors, she paints the edge of each book with scenes inspired by stories within. Top to bottom, “The Gables,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Little Women” and “The Shire.” Which one would you choose?