A Spring Awakening at Destination: Art
“Red Shirt,” by Al Hagan
“Colors of the South Bay” blooms at Destination: Art
Finding it increasingly difficult to have their work shown in venues once more accommodating, such as the Palos Verdes Art Center and the Torrance Art Museum, a small group of local artists took matters in their own hands and formed Destination: Art. That was about three years ago, and today the collective of about 20 artists has its own showroom as well as several semi-private studios in an office complex in Old Torrance. Mostly they’re middle-aged and the women seem to outnumber the men three to one, but what unites them is their love of painting. When they mount a show it’s a warm and welcoming event.
“Neon Queen,” by Darcy Roberts
The group has its first exhibition of 2017 opening this Saturday, with the spring- or summer-ish title “The Colors of the South Bay.”
A few days ago, two mainstays of Destination: Art, Margaret Lindsey and David Wolfram, were eager to talk about what’s in store for us.
“We picked ‘The Colors of the South Bay,’” Wolfram says, “because all of the artists are from the South Bay.” Better yet, he adds, “every painting in the show will have a color in the title.”
The group seems partial to themed shows, having previously held one dedicated just to beach or coastal scenes, and another devoted to sights and sites in Torrance.
“Our first show, in our first year,” Lindsey says, “was ‘Historical Sites of Torrance.’”
But this year, Wolfram says, they chose not to make the theme so restrictive and to leave it open-ended.
Apparently there are 21 artists in the new show, but at press time the exact number of pieces could only be estimated.
“We’re asking for three works of art (from each artist), and hopefully we’ll get them,” Wolfram says. “Some people are more likely to participate than others, [but] if needed we could always find a few more pieces around.” Then he mentions what seems like a show within a show.
A postcard from the coast guard
Many galleries often feature what is commonly referred to as a “Small Treasures” show, he explains, which often consist of works with limited height and width requirements.
David Wolfram and Margaret Lindsey. Photo
“So, we’re doing what we’re calling the “Postcard Views of the South Bay,” Wolfram says, “and it’s all 6”x9” paintings.” Why six by nine inches? Because that’s the size of a large-format postcard.
In most cases, Wolfram continues, “Small Treasures” shows tend to have a wide range of frames, but in order to encourage a bit of collectibility the frames on this occasion will be identical and not simply fraternal.
“Cadmium & Orange Sunset,” by David Wolfram
“By having a unifying format,” he says, “it will look better as a group,” with the aim that people may be tempted to buy two or three or four pictures as a set, even if the works are by different artists.
Wolfram says he himself has postcards from Hermosa Beach going back to the early 1900s, and that in themselves postcards “are sort of this moment in time.” To give an example, he points to his easel where he’s got one such work in progress, a depiction of the old entrance to the Hermosa Beach Pier, which was removed in or around 1960. And it wasn’t just an entry arch; there was an aquarium on the premises as well.
“Seafoam Lavender,” by Margaret Lindsey
Each of the postcard-sized paintings are priced at $125 each.
“When visitors go someplace,” Lindsey says, often “they like to collect art to take home as a souvenir. Discover Torrance came in and filmed the other day. It’s an organization that works with the hotels in Torrance, so we’re hoping to attract visitors to Torrance to collect the art.”
The next day, in an email, Lindsey mentions that she “just found out that Destination: Art will be awarded an Honorable Mention in the Celebration of Community awards from the Kiwanis Club of Torrance. That is part of our mission – to enrich the community with art!”
The Colors of the South Bay opens Saturday with a reception from 4 to 8 p.m. at Destination: Art, 1815 W. 213th St., #135, Torrance. The show runs through May, and features work by Lorene Barker, Kathleen Bergstrom, Bonny Botello, Jean Comings, Catherine Cunningham, Dolores Garren, Suzanne Kuuskmae, Susan Lilly, Margaret Lindsey, Lois Olsen, Darcy Roberts, Vickie Sekits, Erika Snow Robinson, Linda Thompson, Julia Ward, Anna Yu, Kyle Boone, Al Hagen, Larry Manning, Richard Stephens, and Dave Wolfram. (310) 742-3192 or go to destination-art.net. ER