Art opening showcases Malibu’s beauty amid ongoing fire recovery
In a display of resilience amid ongoing fire recovery, the artwork of Malibu and Los Angeles area artists is on display at Malibu City Gallery for the show titled “Coastal Reflections.” The exhibition is a beautiful showcase of the splendor Malibu has to offer even as the community recovers from devastating wildfires.
Walking into the gallery at Malibu City Hall, you’ll first encounter a life-like sea lion in a large painting by local artist Carla Bates. Her work “Point Dume Hayday” is Bates’ “fantasy” that evokes the feeling of diving off the coast. The painter explained, “All of my paintings evoke a romanticism of Malibu. I try to capture the environment that we play in, and I don’t have to idealize it much because this is the feeling you get when you’re diving through the kelp. The water is clear and the fish are swimming by. That’s why we’re all in this environment together. It’s really beautiful.”
The biggest piece in the show is “California Sunset” by abstract painter Russ Bryant. The artist created the work after a day at Broad Beach. When returning to his studio in El Segundo, the image from his imagination poured onto the canvas along with the foundational colors in oil and enamel.
Among the 29 works in the show is “Dawn Patrol” by photographer Ben Thomson. His photo captures the interplay of light and water. Using water housing on his camera, Thomson captured a quiet, reflective moment in the ocean.
Ceramicist Monica DeMoulin’s “Birdwalk at Zuma” was inspired by “all those different textures and colors that you see on the beach.” Each piece of her mosaic was hand-crafted separately, sculpted, glazed, fired, and then fused together for a three-dimensional feel. DeMoulin explained, “The sea star, the moss-covered rocks, the sand, the ocean, and the sky, just kind of capture the typical scene at low tide on Zuma Beach.”
Denise Peak recreated a collage she made earlier that was burned in the Woolsey Fire. From memory and a photo, she painted images of her son Skylar surfing, a plumeria farm her family had on Molokai, a lotus flower, Wylie’s Bait Shop, and more. “I’ve always loved the bait shack and ironically, I did this before it burned down,” Peak detailed.
“Malibu Sunset” by Osunga Okello is a vibrant abstract sunset watercolor painting. The artist explained, “It was just one of those things that happened in terms of the color and the vibrance of the sky that was veering towards the positive in an absolutely catastrophic situation. I had the magic of the horizon and the calm blue waters and it just happened in a relatively short time.” This showing is Okello’s “professional debut” after painting smaller pieces for 20 years. The Los Angeles artist was urged by a framer to submit his work. Okello said he was excited to join Malibu’s artistic community.
Linda Vaccaro painted “My View of this Splendid Beach” although she wouldn’t divulge which “secret” beach so painted.“I’m happy to have it in the show,” she said.
Artist Gay Summer Rick lost her Malibu home and studio, damaged in the Palisades Fire. But, she said, “I keep thinking about of all of this beauty in Malibu and how the hills are becoming green again. I can see the ocean and the colors are kind of dreamlike. My work is dreamlike, yet familiar. It’s kind of representational abstract. It’s much more abstract than usual. I think that’s because of what we’ve been going through. I want to paint more about the natural beauty where we are. And that’s what this exhibit is about, our beautiful city by the sea.” Her piece is titled “The Golden Sun.”
Longtime Malibu resident, veterinarian and known photographer Marc Bittan captured the exhibition’s promotional piece. Bittan is fairly new to painting. “I love doing landscape photography and going to the beach,” he said. “Then when COVID hit, I wasn’t really able to go out and do any photography. So, I started painting, never had any lessons. I just bought some painting books.” After reading the books and watching a friend paint he started with acrylics. Less than a year ago Bittan started with oils. His featured work is titled “Sunrise at Surfrider.”
With so many talented artists in Malibu, Bittan says he was very pleasantly surprised and excited about it his featured painting. “It feels great,” he said. “Everybody should try art. It makes you feel good while you’re doing it and it’s just so rewarding when you really like what you’re doing.”
“Coastal Reflections” at Malibu City Gallery at City Hall runs through Aug. 22.
