By Danielle Smith
Executive Arts Editor
“Local Artist’s Night” exposed Manhattan Beach residents to the extremely talented artistic community within the greater South Bay area.
Leadership Manhattan Beach hosted its 17th annual “Local Artist’s Night” on March 5, inviting Manhattan Beach residents to meet local artists and talk about their artwork in an intimate setting.
PHOTOS: Local artist present their artwork at the Leadership Manhattan Beach Local Artist’s Night.
The “Local Artist’s Night” took place at art collectors and Manhattan Beach residents Alan and Candy Duncan’s home. Five local artists including Lyn-Rae Ashley, Christina Centofante, Jacquelyne May, Mario Mirkovich and Muyuki Sena each hung their artwork in various rooms throughout the house.
Visit Leadership Manhattan Beach’s website here for more information regarding the organization.
Attendees of the event were invited to listen to the artists explain their artistic processes and ask questions regarding the artists’ inspirations and careers. Each artist used different mediums to create professional artwork, which was also for sale at the event.
Multiple pieces from different artists were displayed in each room. In contrast to the traditional set-up at art galleries where artists’ pieces are grouped together and hung beside one another, the haphazard display allowed attendees to fully appreciate each piece individually.
The artists’ individual presentations also created a dialogue between the attendees and the artists, an opportunity that is rarely offered in art galleries. This aspect of the event added a personal touch that allowed viewers to understand the artists’ motives behind creating their art and better appreciate the hard work put into creating each piece.
Each featured artist utilizes innovative techniques to create their art. Ashley creates porcelain dishes in a kiln at her home, which she then colors using natural dyes from seaweed found locally. The resulting effect is intriguing, adding a natural, fluid quality to the porcelain pieces, allowing viewers to see how the Manhattan Beach community inspires artwork.
Two of the artists use computer programs to bring a modern touch to their pieces. May uses photoshop to enhance her stunning photos of the Manhattan Beach landscape while Sena uses the same program in an entirely different manner to color her hand-drawn “doodles.” The digital aspect of the art creates clean, pleasing lines and unparalleled vibrant colors.
The only disappointing aspect was that the event space was slightly too small to accommodate all of the attendees. Multiple people were forced to sit or stand on the stairs, unable to fit into the circle of chairs surrounding the presenting artist. Consequently, not everyone was able to observe the artwork up close.
Leadership Manhattan Beach’s “Local Artist’s Night” was an informative and social event that allowed local artists to share their unique talents with the community. The intriguing creative processes each artist uses added to the enjoyability of the event.
“Local Artist’s Night” is an annual event and the next session will occur in winter of 2018.
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