Catching the big wave: Surf’s up for VEFA Gallery curator Delia Cabral

by Bondo Wyszpolski

It’s largely in the presentation, and early this past November, when VEFA Gallery opened to the public, the presentation was well-nigh perfect.

The acronym stands for Visual Effects Fine Art, and the spacious standalone on Hawthorne Blvd, across from Del Amo Mall in Torrance, is suddenly the most dazzling art venue in the South Bay. Located in a former bank building and renovated to feature art in several partitioned rooms, VEFA was several years in the design and development stage, financed and owned by the Anderson family of Palos Verdes.

The inaugural show, “The Art of Surf,” was proposed and organized by Delia Cabral, hired to be the gallery’s lead curator. Cabral has extensive experience as an arts writer and art dealer, and for several years ran her own gallery up the coast in Venice. We secluded ourselves in a quiet space and Cabral began to explain how she first encountered the Andersons, and what led to this unexpected stint in Torrance — unexpected because she now lives overseas.

“About a year ago my attorney Michael said there’s this wonderful family that’s opening an art gallery in Los Angeles, and would I be interested? And I said, No. I’m living in Europe, I love my international life, and no, I’m not interested.”

But Michael persisted. I really have a good feeling, he informed her, that you guys would be a good match. Would you at least do a Zoom?

With no expectations, and perhaps more as a favor to her attorney, Cabral relented. “I just thought, I’ll do the Zoom, find out about the family, and see if I can point them in the right direction. My mantra is that in the art world I don’t necessarily have to be everything for everyone, but it is my intention that I will at least point them further along.” And that’s what she planned to do.

However, Cabral soon found herself in front of the entire Anderson clan, eight people total, “and all of them firing a bunch of questions at me about the art world. I’m fairly confident, I live and breathe art, I’m obsessed with art, so (she told them) ‘Fire away!’ In the process, I discovered that we have a lot in common.”

What bridged the gap was when Cabral found out the Andersons were in the South Bay.

“I was married and had my first son in the South Bay, in Redondo Beach,” Cabral says. “I had almost a complete life there,” she told them. “I lived on Ruby Street.”

Furthermore, Jonathan Anderson, the VEFA gallery director, is the same age as Cabral’s son, and “those two children were playing at the same park at the same time, though we didn’t know each other.

“So that immediately endeared me to this family,” Cabral says. “And I thought, Okay, I’ll see how this goes. We just had the same family core values deep down — and that’s why I started working with them.”

Art of surf curator Delia Cabral in front of the video installation by John De-
Temple. Photo by Bondo Wyszpolski

Art obsessive

Delia Cabral was born in Northern California, to “Mexican parents, so I’m ethnically Mexican.” Besides being fluent in Spanish she’s fluent in Swedish because she married a Swede. After 16 years, her husband left her. “And that,” she says, “is how I got into art.”

Presumably the backstory could be amplified, for Cabral does have a BA in Fine Art and Linguistics from UCLA. Nonetheless, in the early 2000s she dove right in and opened DCA Fine Art in Venice and made a name for herself as an arts dealer, art critic and arts writer. She’s definitely not shy about revealing her credentials, and her website sparkles with milestones and accomplishments. Well, this is what art dealers have to do if they intend to wallow through the occasional nasty business of the art world. It’s the shingle you hang outside the front door.

As an art gallerist and dealer, Cabral continues, “I branded out into international discourse where I’m interested in bridging cultural gaps and appreciating international cultures and celebrating differences, and about eight years ago I moved to England.

“I gravitated to the UK because the art market is largely centered there, and my access to the rest of the world is really good from there. If I want to go to Geneva, if I want to go to an exhibition in Paris, it’s all two hours away. Everything’s two hours away.”

One can spend a lifetime in Europe’s museums, Cabral says, “and that’s what I wanted to do. I want to center my life in art. I’m obsessed with art. I’m reading about art, I’m studying art,” and currently she’s attending courses at the university in Surrey, working towards a masters in ceramics with porcelain as her specialty.

Artists HTJ, Dennis Jarvis and John DeTemple. Photo by Kevin Cody

Why here? Why in Torrance?

“I was very aware of the South Bay not being an art destination,” Cabral says. “But, looking at the big picture, it’s poised between Orange County and Los Angeles. It’s an area that’s easily accessible from LAX. So if you’re really thinking on a global perspective, not thinking about where the art neighborhoods are, this Torrance location is ideal.

“It’s easy to get to, there’s parking, you can have access to a building of this size — which you couldn’t be able to have so easily in Los Angeles. Also, it’s a safe area, a safe haven for people to come. The other thing is that because this is not an art destination there are people around here who are not familiar with the art world, that are not comfortable with the art world, that we would like to invite into the art world, that we would like to invite into the art conversation.”

Cabral explains that she curated “The Art of Surf” so that those of us who frequent museums will feel at ease. “But,” she adds, “if you’re somebody that’s next door at Chick-fil-A, and you feel the art world is off-limits to you, I’m hoping you’ll come in: we have explanations clearly listed next to each painting… so you don’t have to feel intimidated. It’s very welcoming.

“And surf,” she adds, “is something everybody in Southern California has some connection to. So it’s my invitation to the art establishment and to the population at large, but also paying homage to our cultural roots here in the South Bay.

“Our opening was really well attended. People were delighted, and I’m very proud that we have the approval of both the art establishment and the local public. We want to invite everybody to live in art, to make art a part of their lives — and we’re also hoping to program events that are educational, that are entertaining, where you have a good time and you learn at the same time, and also contributing back to the community and finding art as a vehicle for positive change.”

There’s a welcome sense of optimism in what Cabral is saying, but her words also come across as slightly condescending, as if the South Bay doesn’t already have venues that showcase art, and often very good art, too, whether it’s the Torrance Art Museum, the Manhattan Beach Art Center, or the Palos Verdes Art Center, not to mention notable art galleries over the hill in San Pedro or by the beach, Gallery of Hermosa and ShockBoxx among them. People in the South Bay are largely affluent and many are quite knowledgeable about art and do not hesitate to drive out of their enclave to enjoy it. There’s also a well-connected art community here, as those with an interest in art are aware.

Greg Browning (second from right) with brother Jeff, son Parker and mom Dinah in front of surfboards auctioned at VEFA on Sunday, December 15 to raise funds for Greg’s medical care. The former pro surfer and filmmaker was diagnosed with ALS a year ago. The boards were shaped by Spyder Surf’s Dennis Jarvis and painted by (left to right) Jarvis (“Yorick’s Session”), John De Temple (“Mother Board”), Walter Hubert (“Blue Expression Board”), David Krovlit (“Venus Rising”), Ben Thouard (“Vortex Board”), Risk Rock (“Peaceful Warrior Monarch Board”), Debbie Daniels (“Ocean Blue Board”) and Jud Hogan (“Sunset Splash Board”). Photo by Kevin Cody

Putting on a show

One reason for our meeting up was, of course, to let Cabral explain about how “The Art of Surf” came about. She’s absolutely right when she says that all of us in the South Bay have some connection, however tenuous, to surf culture. If we lived in the Alps we’d have some connection, slight though it may be, to mountain climbing or skiing. And so…

“I proposed ‘The Art of Surf’ as the inaugural exhibition because of my experience as an art dealer and curator, and as a native Californian living abroad.” As to how she planned and organized the show:

“I like the holistic approach to art. I do a lot of research, study art history, and find the historical context for our artists. I’m also interested in the cultural context.” Or, in a nutshell: “‘The Art of Surf’ is an exhibition that comes from the idea of surf culture being rooted in Southern California, how people view surf culture internationally, and how this has inspired surfers to become artists — the type of artists that these surfers are. And also how the surf aesthetic has influenced contemporary art at large. So I really like to look at it from all angles.”

What exactly is the surf aesthetic? Is it one of those things we can’t pinpoint but know it when we see it? The VEFA press release for the show suggests that it emerged from the graffiti movement of the 1960s and ‘70s, and then mentions Keith Haring (b.1958) and Jean-Michel Basquiat (b.1960), two New York-based artists who certainly weren’t around while we were listening to Dick Dale and Brian Wilson or when John Van Hamerveld was creating his “Endless Summer” poster (all three of whom, by the way, I’ve interviewed for Easy Reader). So, again, where do the influences meet and connect? It can be an open question.

When Cabral is asked how she found her artists she laughs and replies, “Well, I’m a well-known arts curator; I have no trouble finding all the artists. First of all, I make it my life’s mission to see what’s happening in art everywhere in the world.” She then heaps lavish praise on the color-drenched work of Risk Rock, lavishly represented here, whose go-to materials include aerosol and acrylic, and whose somewhat in-your-face approach seems to have been inspired by artists from Andy Warhol to Jasper Johns and clandestine tagging. It’s bold stuff, no two ways about it, both blatant and forceful.

More palatable and reined-in is the work of local artist and surfboard shaper Dennis Jarvis. This includes two “Endless Summer” surfboards which complement Van Hamersveld’s iconic poster, an image now known throughout the world and perhaps the base camp for all surf-related art that has emerged in the 60 years since young John created it for Bruce Brown’s film. It’s only appropriate to see it here, although Van Hamersveld has done so much splendid work since then that it would have been fitting to have one or more recent works in the show. For that matter, although “The Art of Surf” is well conceived and organized, there are still many other local artists, such as Damian Fulton, Alex Weinstein, and Eric Johnson, who could reasonably have been included since each is outstanding in what he creates.

“New Brush” by HTJ.

An ocean of many colors

Cabral seems to have a methodical approach when formulating an art show. “When I curate an exhibition,” she states, “I will think of an idea or concept or I will start with an artist and it’s just like a flood. And then I get to look at all the choices and hone in on the story I want to tell… My art is telling a story with my artists. So, where they’re using colors to put together a painting, for me artists are my palette. I’ve very carefully thought (through) which artist goes where, and that really colors your whole feeling, how you move through the gallery — and we have the space to do that.”

She points out that there is something of a timeline in the show, an evolution that begins with “The Endless Summer” poster and ends up, I’m not sure where, with more or less pure abstraction. The thing is, there’s no set path for the viewer to follow and, besides, most of the work only dates back a few years.

“New Budda” by Rick Rock

Another important question that Cabral addresses at length has to do with the look and color of surf art. This is interesting because the skateboard and graffiti aspects of surf art often seems psychedelic with its brilliant hues (which we see in Rock, Jarvis, and Van Hamersveld), whereas the actual place where surfing occurs — that is to say, the water, the swells, and the breakers — is largely a medium- or dark-toned blue and green. The photorealistic paintings by Debbie Daniels, paired with the swatch-like acrylics of Walter Erra Hubert, are cool and temperate (complementing each other nicely), and the same can be said for the mostly sublime photographs by Ben Thouard and Jud Hogan, the former’s work a deep blue while the latter’s has a golden tinge, his oceanspray images almost resembling magma flung from the inferno of a volcano.

John DeTemple’s lenticular images, and certainly his high-definition motion captures, convey a sense of the ever-restless sea, which culminates with “Liquid Zen,” in which one steps into the former bank vault and is surrounded by video footage of the ocean and ocean environment. It’s also a great place to photograph people, and on opening night there was quite a bit of that, sort of an interactive photobooth. One of the other featured artists, David Krovblit, is represented by a number of delightful mixed media collages, ranging from hula dancers to various sea creatures. Krovblit’s work is appealing because it seems casual, entertaining, with nothing too artsy or pretentious about it.

Lastly, one of the artistic highlights of “The Art of Surf” is the work, on canvas as well as on surfboards, by HTJ, a French artist living in Tahiti that Cabral went across the Pacific to meet and to corral for this show. She rightly points out that many of our images, when we think of surf culture, stem from Hawaii and Polynesia. Well, I don’t think the Beach Boys were necessarily thinking of that, but all of these influences have joined hands together, which is why the genre of surf art can incorporate a Rick Rock and a Dennis Jarvis as well as a Ben Thouard and Jud Hogan. The sea contains all things and, as it turns out, so does “The Art of Surf.”

Next up, “Surreality 101” from Feb. 15 through April 5.

The Art of Surf is on view through Jan. 4 at VEFA Gallery, 21825 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance. Free. Hours, Wed. through Sun., 12 noon to 8 p.m. and by appointment. More at vefagallery.com. Pen