 The Painter's Room is pleased to announce the inaugural exhibition of paintings by the Independent Painter's Association (IPA DTSA), a group of nine artists who will be running the space in the basement of the historic Santora Arts Building. The exhibition space was previously Basement Projects, run by local artist Christian Ramirez from 2016-2018. Ramirez has now expanded and updated the mission of the space, teaming up with Vonn Sumner, a painter and professor of painting & drawing at Fullerton College, as well as several other painters including: Julia Bass, John Brosio, Randall Cabe, Gabriela Castillo, Annie Compean, John Scane, and Jason Umfress. These painters are diverse in background, experience, and artistic sensibility, but they all share a commitment to the history and contemporary practice of painting. The group meets in the space regularly for discussions, critiques and debates, thus the name of the gallery: The Painter’s Room.  “Roll Call” is an introductory exhibition of paintings by each artist, representing who they are as painters individually, and creating a visual dialogue between them collectively. The show, then, is a visual companion to the ongoing dialogue about painting that the group is having. Unexpected similarities and echoes arise from the installation, exposing the painters’ shared love of the medium while still presenting each of their very distinct artistic personalities. The exhibition is rich and rewarding for painters and those already familiar with the language of painting, as well as accessible and rewarding for the most casual, uninitiated viewer.  We are also proud to present, in collaboration with Martinez Gallery, “Soft Self” featuring new works by Santora artist and IPA member Julia Bass. Julia’s paintings are informed by her relationship to nature, with a process that brings printmaking, painting and collage together to create personal and emotionally affecting works with universal appeal. The Painter's Room will feature an array of diverse exhibitions by artists outside of the IPA group. The space will also host an eclectic range of events and happenings, relating to but not limited to the practice and discourse of painting. Show info: The Painter’s Room: “Roll Call” Martinez Gallery: “Soft Self” New Works by Julia Bass March 2 – March 31 2019 Story and photos submitted by The Painters Room
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 Santa Ana Secret Society is excited to announce an ART & DJ Pop-Up in the basement of the historic Santora Building during the March Artwalk. The event is in collaboration with the art collective IPA (Independent Painters Association) DTSA, who will be hosting exhibitions in the basement at The Painter's Room and Martinez Gallery.  Growing up in Santa Ana is special for the diversity of music that is heard all around the city. In that spirit, we've lined up an eclectic mix of DJs for our first Pop-Up in the basement. Artists include DJ Serrano, who will be spinning a metal mix, DJ CaliSalvi playing 1960’s and 1970’s classic rock and DJ Ayy.2 throwing down his collection of hip hop, dancehall, 90’s R&B, and house music. The Smiths and Morrissey will be in heavy rotation during DJ MachOMenos’ set interspersed with some new wave and post punk. DJ Agüita de Melón will set the pace with some cumbia records, including cuts from Acapulco Tropical, La Luz Roja de San Marcos, Rigo Tovar, La Luz Roja de Acapulco along with classic standards by Juan Gabriel, Los Tigres del Norte, and Garibaldi. And finally, DJ Bian_cuh will get the basement moving with some dance floor hits during her sets. All DJ’s will be playing vinyl only during the DTSA Artwalk, EL DISCO ES CULTURA.     Santa Ana Secret Society will also be hosting a merchandise booth with art prints, enamel pins, shirts, and original art. IPA DTSA will be hosting a group exhibition at The Painter's Room, and local artist, and IPA member, Julia Bass will be showing works at Martinez Gallery.
Story and photos provided by Santa Ana Secret Society  In 1999, the City of Santa Ana partnered with California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), alongside local community activist Don Cribb and director of CSUF’s art gallery Mike McGee to convert and refurbish a historic Santa Ana building into a functional year-round art center in the heart of the Artists Village, now known as Grand Central Art Center (GCAC). Now in its twentieth year of existence, GCAC is a renowned and respected force of creativity and innovation, producing four to six exhibitions per year. This art center isn’t an ordinary art gallery. The 45,000 square-foot building is home to three large gallery spaces, as well as a theater space, and rents spaces to third-party businesses like Gypsy Den, Hipcooks, and the Claudia de la Cruz Flamenco Institute. GCAC also offers twenty-six gorgeous apartments of varying sizes and art studios for graduate students in the Art Departments at CSUF. GCAC also offers an exceptional international artist-in-residence program with an apartment and studio space available.  Originally built in 1922, the Grand Central building in downtown Santa Ana was a single-story building between First and Second Street that functioned as a large centrally located marketplace with contained stalls for independent vendors, butchers, and grocers. This was to be a gathering center for the area, with fresh foods and goods available to its community members. In 1924 the building was expanded, adding two additional stories to the Grand Central building and providing a larger main entrance onto the 2nd Street promenade. Although the building was purchased and renovated by the city of Santa Ana hoping to revitalize the downtown area, and in the early 1980s, the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributor to the Downtown Historic District. The building is also listed as a landmark in the California Register as well as the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property. In 1997, the Grand Central building was renovated and improved with the CSUF goals of GCAC, taking on extensive remodeling to the building, structure and offerings, priming it for the greatness that was just around the corner. Exhibitions began in 1999, and with the leadership of a handful of directors, GCAC has proudly continued the mission of the original Grand Central building and market, to provide a hub for the city of Santa—only now, they are a hub for the arts instead of produce. Throughout the lifespan of GCAC, they have produced over 100 exhibitions of fine, performing, visual, and experimental arts. In the early 2000s, GCAC was well-respected and known for being a huge supporting and driving force in the movements of Lowbrow, Pop Surrealism, and cutting-edge subversive arts.  Although the art center shifted its focus to more experimental and relational art movements like Social Practice with the acquisition of John Spiak in 2012, GCAC’s current director, GCAC has maintained an excellent reputation for being a place where innovative and compelling art is shown, supported, and welcomed. Some of the most notorious exhibitions in the history of GCAC have brought amazing art and artists to the art center, but for a long time, the center struggled to integrate into the neighborhood, it stood out as an iconic place for art, but seperate from some aspects of the Santa Ana cultural community. After its first ten years, there was a stronger connection to be forged between Latin arts groups and audiences in downtown Santa Ana and the Artists Village. The Santa Ana community continues to strive to embrace this unique and groundbreaking art center as a place that has not only embraced but also celebrated the native Santa Ana culture, community, and issues. Although many non-artists may be puzzled, at first, by the anti-object nature of relational art, GCAC (and Spiak) have found a beautiful way to explore relevant and thoughtful social issues through a variety of art styles and projects that engage and entertain the masses. Today, GCAC is celebrated for its ability to present fascinating concepts and issues in beautiful and exciting ways that forces visitors—regardless of education level—to confront personal and political issues through visual information and outside-the-box creative expression. It is inspiring to see how much change is possible through community activation, and how diverse and innovative art can be when artists are given the opportunity to think local, global, and personal all at once with the support and space to showcase their thoughts, creations, and talents. With twenty years of exceptional exhibitions under its belt and a drive to connect with people in meaningful ways, this historic space and groundbreaking programming is leading the way for the future of art and art institutions, holding us all accountable for our thoughts and actions, and provoking people to think and feel more genuinely and more compassionately with every new project. Story by Evan Senn Photos by Brian Feinzimer, Robert Gutierrez, Andrea Lisa Lee Harris The Highlight Reel: the author's favorite GCAC Exhibitions Over the YearsBest Intentions: Robert Williams
March 3 – April 29, 2000 The Days of Janice Lowry May 5 – June 24, 2001 Von Dutch: An American Original December 7-January 26, 2003 Modern Myths Ancient Fables: James Lorigan September 6-October 26, 2013 100 Artists See Satan July 3 – Sept 19, 2004 Heaven on Earth: Thomas Kinkade April 3 – June 20, 2004 The Saddest Place on Earth: The Art of Camille Rose Garcia Oct 1 – Dec 18, 2005 Beautiful Mutants: Mark Mothersbaugh Sept 1 – Oct 21, 2007 Original Photography by Andy Warhol April 5 – June 15, 2008 Interruption: Joe Sorren Nov 6 – Dec 31, 2010 Weapons of Mass Delusions: Laurie Lipton May 1 – June 13, 2010 RIDE Nov 5 – Dec 31, 2011 Choas Job: Restrain Order: George Herms Sept 3 – Oct 16, 2011 Empire: Bale Creek Allen May 7 – June 12, 2011 Suggestivism Feb 5 – April 17, 2011 Cheers! And Focus: ISM: 10 Project July 7 – Aug 12, 2012 Cross Cut: Aili Schmeltz Nov 2 – Dec 31, 2013 Flora Kao: Wind House, Abode That A Breath Effaced June 7 – Aug 10, 2014 Kenyatta Hinkle and Tyler Oyer: Exploring the Nowannago Aug – Oct, 2016 Sarah Rafael Garcia: SanTana’s Fairy Tales Feb – April, 2017 Jen Hofer and John Pluecker: AntenaMovil June – January, 2017 Kim Zumpfe: outside the length of a room / OR / diving into the blue sun May 5 – Sept 9, 2018 Rebecca Chernow: #superbloom Nov 4, 2017 – January 14, 2018 McCallium and Tarry: Exchange Mar 3 – May 15, 2018 Yevgeniya Mikhailik: A Slow Conflict Feb 2 – April 14, 2019 |
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