Artwork for local artist Katina Zinner’s and her mother Christa Zinner’s on display
As attendees at the exhibit’s opening reception eagerly entered MaliBUngalows’ large, embracing exhibit space on Sept. 14, they immediately were immersed in the intriguing, intergenerational passionate creative energy of artist Katina Zinner’s large format, bold oil paintings, whose mesmerizing passionate patterns lovingly lulled them into calm contemplation.
Pausing to reflect, the viewers pondered and wondered about the genesis of the younger Zinner’s joyously rhythmic compositions throughout her works. Beckoned to probe deeper into the details of each dynamic painting, they further explored the alluring exhibit space and closely examined a host of stunning bronzes creatively curated to accompany Katina’s sensationally sensual works. The brilliant bronze sculptures on show are the masterpieces of Katina’s mother, the late Christa Zinner, fashion photographer par excellence!
First internationally admired as the genius behind the images of superstars such as Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Kelly, Ron and Nancy Reagan and so many more in their Golden Age milieu that weregorgeously displayed on the covers of the most iconic publications of her time — publications such as Life, Look, Ebony and Vogue — Christa raised her precocious artistic daughter to be bold and daring, to take on the world by painting through a prism of precision, while concurrently creating compositions freely with unabashed spontaneity.
Wow! The paintings deliver on the dynamic duo’s creative philosophy — be demiurgic, yet not demure, be intriguing and novel, but sycophantic to neither form nor composition. Amazingly, it was not until she was in her 70s, that Christa Zinner decided to segue from photography to creating bronze sculpture, sculptures that capture the essence of her subjects, that gloriously celebrate the human form and that delve into the souls of those who inspired each piece.
When asked what impressed them most about the younger Zinner’s passionate paintings, several attendees discussed how imbued with love the works appear. And, it is with much love that Zinner chose a charity close to her heart to benefit from 20 percent of any sales of the works on exhibit.
Dr. Kevin Shannon reflects on 35 years of Camp del Corazon
“One thing about art is that it can be calming and fulfilling and provide inspiration — that’s exactly what we hope to do at Camp del Corazon, a place for kids who deal with cardiac diseases and conditions to take a vacation from being ‘sick kids,'” said Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. Kevin Shannon, who for his 35-year-long medical career has championed the tireless work of Camp del Corazon, a summer camp providing a sanctuary for children that he and an electrophysiology nurse from UCLA Medical Center founded in 1995.
In addition to the organization’s residential summer camping experience, Camp del Corazon has developed impactful and experiential year-round programs for children and their families living with the challenges of congenital heart disease — the camp provides a home for the entire heart family.
“My mom, Lisa Knight, served as an electrophysiology nurse working with Dr. Shannon to implant pacemakers into pediatric patients,” said Chrissie Endler, executive director of the camp. “They experienced life-changing results — the kids could run and play like all kids. Another element of the children’s healing is that they need a space to feel good about themselves to give them a sense of belonging and purpose.”
Statuesque in presentation and contemplative in expression, he sat quietly amidst attendees at the reception, nodding his head in agreement with Endler’s words, acutely aware of how pivotal the camp experience is to addressing the emotional needs of those grappling with cardiac disease, both patients and their families.
When you’re a kid, all you want to do is to fit in and to be accepted. When you’re a kid, the last thing you want is to stand out as different from your peers, he observed, expressing the emotions inherent in being a young adolescent.
“When you’re a kid, you don’t at first want to go to a camp with kids just like you who suffer from cardiac disease and have undergone medical procedures such as my four open heart surgeries because you don’t like who you are,” said Klever Erazo, who has grappled with congenital cardiac disease for his entire 23 years. “All my friends didn’t have those surgical scars — I was an outcast because of the scars. As an adult, I now know the camp is crucial for all pediatric cardiac patients, and I am very thankful that my father insisted that I go to camp because it was essential for my emotional and mental health.”
The camp made an enormous difference in Erazo’s life and he attests that it has been equally impactful for hundreds of others who have attended the Catalina Island experience. Erazo attended every year from ages 7 to 17 and he now serves as a camp counselor. He also greatly benefitted from participating in the Progressive Adult Cardiac Experience (PACE), the camp’s program that is specially tailored for those in their late teens as they segue from adolescence to adulthood, a journey that is arduous for all young people, but is especially challenging to navigate when one suffers from a congenital disease.
Always intrigued by the visual arts — and, on the night of the exhibit particularly intrigued by the Zinners’ artworks — Erazo was in his creative element, ever thankful to the camp and ever dedicated to helping it succeed however he could and delighting in the reception’s convivial colloquy and in the music of A Call 2Peace, whose instrumental and vocal performances lent a glorious element to a quintessential, balmy, idyllic Malibu evening.
“I live in a world of design and pattern and I love color,” Zinner told attendees. “I’m also passionate about giving back.”
For those who want to view the Flowing Abstracts exhibit and perhaps to give back to those struggling with how to navigate the precarious balance of fulfilling a pediatric cardiac patient’s natural need for normalcy with the demands intrinsically intertwined with dealing with the patient’s sometime arduous courses of treatment, one can go to Malibu Bungalows, 21201 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
The exhibit runs through Sept. 29 and is on show Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. If a reader has queries, he can call (310) 462-9285.
