Undercurrents

Ben Bridgers, Alisa Gabrielle, Nguyen Ly, Marianne Magne On View: December 19, 2009 - January 29, 2010 Reception: Saturday, December 19, 6-9 p.m. Postcard Photos from the Opening Reception Read Melonie Magruder's review in the Glendale News Press Return to Brand Library Art Galleries Schedule page

The works on view in Undercurrents share a visual aesthetic that conjures both mystery and metamorphosis. Working in a variety of media, including video and multi-media installation, drawing, printmaking and painting, Los Angeles area artists Ben Bridgers, Alisa Gabrielle, Nguyen Ly and Marianne Magne explore themes related to human biology, psychology and experience. The exhibition title Undercurrents alludes to the meaning and significance that roils beneath the surface of these works of art; if viewers are willing to sound the depths the reward will be a rich and memorable encounter. These artists also share an interest in the process of making art, its physicality as well as its temporal, fluid and evolutionary characteristics. Ly is drawn to drypoint printmaking because of the process itself, which with its gouging, scratching and drilling is overtly physical in its execution and combines sculptural and painterly techniques. Magne’s work mimics the process of natural selection with new bodies of work branching off and evolving from a single earlier work. Gabrielle creates drawings whose imagery develops gradually according to her subconscious and instinct. In flux until the end, Bridgers’ oil paintings progress as layers of paint create new images on top of old. These artists’ creations, as they evolve and become more complex over time, are reminiscent of the life cycle itself.

Ben Bridgers (Redlands, CA) earned an MFA in drawing and painting from the University of Georgia and a BFA from Barton College in North Carolina. An assistant professor of art at The University of Redlands, Bridgers has also served on the faculty at Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Wyoming. His experiences living and working in various parts of the United States as well as in Italy, Russia and The Netherlands have had a tremendous impact on his work and the way he approaches the process of painting. He has lectured as a visiting artist at numerous colleges and universities, including the University of Nebraska and McDaniel College in Maryland. He exhibits his work regularly, most recently in the faculty show at Peppers Art Gallery at The University of Redlands. Recent solo exhibitions include the Holy Aiken / Stitch Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina and the M. Louise Aughinbaugh Gallery at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania.	Ben Bridgers Harvest charcoal on paper, 22" x 30"
Alisa Gabrielle (Woodland Hills, CA) studied painting and drawing with Cynthia Ebin and Lula Flores in Los Angeles as well as sculpture in Italy. Her master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Southern California influences the themes and subject matter of her work. She has exhibited extensively in the Los Angeles area at venues including the Latino Art Museum, Pomona, Gallery 825, Topganga Canyon Gallery, Track 16 and many others. Her sculpture has also been exhibited at Gallery Galeotti and Gallery Paoli in Pietrasanta, Italy. More information about Gabrielle’s work can be found on her website.	Alisa Gabrielle Life-Giver charcoal and mixed media on canvas, 40" x 30"
Nguyen Ly (Whittier, CA) received his MFA at California State University, Fullerton with an emphasis in drawing, painting, and printmaking. He earned his BA with a fine arts emphasis at the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. He recently had a solo exhibition at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center and has been included in many group shows including Sweet Subversives: Contemporary California Drawings at the Long Beach Museum of Art, and exhibitions at Barnsdall Art Center, Studio Channel Islands Art Center, and the Springfield Museum of Art, Missouri. He has been honored with both a purchase award and an honorable mention from the prestigious Ink and Clay exhibition at California State Polytechnic University’s Kellogg Art Gallery.	Nguyen Ly Untitled drypoint, 30" x 24"
Marianne Magne (Venice, CA) was born in Paris and relocated to Southern California where she has lived and worked since 1991. She earned an MFA from La Sorbonne university in Paris and has pursued independent study at Santa Monica Community College in digital media, Cibachrome printing, and sculpture. Magne’s experimental short films have been screened throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North America and her prose writing and essays have been published in literary magazines in Europe and by the Belgian publisher Les Éditions de l’Heure. She has had solo shows at California State University, Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana, Crazy Space in Santa Monica, and a 1999 exhibition at the Brand Library Art Galleries that was very favorably reviewed by Josef Woodward in the Los Angeles Times. Recent group exhibitions that have featured her mixed media work include the L.A. Center for Digital Arts, Create:Fixate, Track 16, and the Palos Verdes Art Center, as well as numerous galleries in Paris. More information about Magne's work can be found on her website.	Marianne Magne anamorphosis botanica cibachrome print mounted on aluminum, 72" x 50"

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