The Saddleback College Art Gallery is pleased to present …and Sea, a group exhibition featuring the works of three “Sea Faring” artists: Bonnie Neumann, Casey Parlette, and Susan MacLeod.
Photo: Pianoforte by Susan MacLeod
Bonnie Neumann has been making images of her impressions on the effects of light on water and the traces of movement visible within since 2009. Her Sea Cloud series is based on manipulated photographic images which are transferred to silkscreen. The series title comes from the Wallace Stevens poem Sea Surface Full of Clouds, which was an additional inspiration for this body of work. Her meditative line drawings are from personal observation, photographs, and other selected images, manipulated and then transferred to silkscreens, which are used with oil paint in multiple layers on wood panel or on paper.
Southern California native Casey Parlette began sculpting at a young age. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Anthropology, Casey was recruited to work as a commercial diver. For eight months, he lived in the Peruvian Amazon where he discovered two previously unknown species of fish, one of which has been officially classified as Rivulus parlettei. Casey’s adventures and studies have both engendered and influenced his art. He employs traditional blacksmithing techniques for the metalwork in his sculptures and he chooses woods, metals, and stones for their natural patterning, texture and color to express the subject accurately and artistically.
Susan MacLeod is a southern California painter inspired by the shapes, colors, and textures of the twisted masses of kelp on the west coast beaches. Her colorful paintings are balanced with some tension and look almost abstract while being real at the same time. Forms move in and out of the pictures sometimes revealing recognizable shapes. Influenced by her sons’ classes and field trips in marine ecology, Susan became entranced by kelp. She lets Mother Nature do the basic design but she modifies the shapes and colors to make richer bolder canvases. She has been working with scientists and beach professionals in the ocean community to strengthen the content of the work. Her work promotes ocean and beach health and she is a member of the Beach Ecology Coalition.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday-Wednesday-Thursday noon to 4:00 p.m. and Tuesdays, noon to 8:00 p.m. (closed Fridays). The Gallery will also be open Saturday, October 15th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. An Artists’ Reception will be held on Thursday, September 29th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Saddleback College is located at 28000 Marguerite Pkwy in Mission Viejo, just east of Interstate 5 at the Avery Parkway exit. Free parking is available in Lot 12 only the night of the artists’ reception on September 13th. Take Avery Parkway to Marguerite Parkway turn left to the third traffic light, which is Saddleback’s Marguerite entrance. Turn right into the campus and take the third left to “Theatre Circle,” turning right into Lot 12.
Located in Mission Viejo, Saddleback College provides quality higher education and training to the greater south Orange County community. Having served more than 500,000 students since 1968, Saddleback College offers over 300 degree and certificate programs to help students reach their personal, career, and educational goals. For more information, please visit www.saddleback.edu and for Fine Arts information, please visit www.saddleback.edu/arts.
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Photo: Pianoforte by Susan MacLeod
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Submitted By:
Nina Welch
Fine Arts Public Information Officer
