“Up to Now,” featuring works by painter Debbi Green and ceramist Susan Nissman is on display at the Topanga Canyon Gallery through Nov. 21. A reception for the artists will take place on Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Green has been a member of the Topanga Canyon Gallery for seven years and this will be her fourth show. For this show, she is using larger canvases and bolder strokes to create her expressionistic style that is influenced by the brilliant and clear colors of the sunlight, the cool subtlety of shadows and the innocent and humorous antics of her nonhuman subjects.
Nissman, whose day job is Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s regional representative, began her career in art almost three decades ago, gravitating almost immediately to hand-building her pieces from clay slab. She uses high-fire clays and glazing techniques to bring out the shapes and textures she incorporates into her non-traditional pieces. Like Green, much of her inspiration derives from her natural surroundings, but she is more intrigued with the patterns and impressions she sees in the canyon and mountain landscapes.
“I have a bit of an aboriginal nature, but live in modern times, so with clay I try and capture the deeper, layered sense of place while still playing with contemporary contexts,” Nissman said.
The Topanga Canyon Gallery is located at 120 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Pine Tree Circle No. 109 in Topanga.