A wolf cut from plywood and painted black stands out from the white wall of the gallery. Two pups, one of whom wears a tiny crown, follow their mother. The image is, at first seemingly incongruous, joined by a depiction of the Virgin Mary styled like a contemporary Los Angeles Latina whose halo poses timeless questions: “Are you gone weary of your servants; are you angry at your servants, oh giver of life. The images comprise Oscar Magellanes’ “The Education of Remus and Romolus,” with the title alluding the the mystical founding of of Rome and its empire.
Implied in the title, is the history of power and hierarchies, explained Magellanes whose work centers on Chicano culture. “It is about the dichotomy between our base and better natures that transcends cultures from ancient Rome to the Spanish conquest of Latin America and beyond, about struggles between those in power and the dispossessed,” he said.
This painting won the first prize at a juried, multi-media art show titled “Back To School,” dedicated exclusively to 12 alumni of the Ryman Arts program, many of whom have become professional artists. The show hangs at Salt Fine Art, a supporter of the arts program designed to encourage young artists to hone innate talents in drawing and painting throughout the Los Angeles and Orange County school systems. The program was inspired by Herbert D. Ryman (1910-1989), a Disney designer and imagineer, and founded in 1989 by family and friends.
The exhibition juried by art writer/editor Evan Senn, Cindy Schwarzstein, founder of Cartwheel Art, Ryman Arts board member Robin Kalota and Salt gallery owner and director Carla Arzente and Suzanne Walsh respectively, will run through October.
“We are planning to give Oscar a solo show and to represent him permanently at Salt,” said Walsh. Salt represents artists from Latin America and Mexico and recently added “Raw Salt,” a smaller offspring dedicated to an international roster of mostly young, emerging to mid-career talent.
For the first time, Arzente and Walsh decided to hold a contest, also juried by the group, with the first prize being a solo show to be held next year in the main gallery.
The first runner up, Sally Deng, has been added to the permanent roster of Raw Salt. A Senior at the Pasadena College of Art and Design, her story lines deftly combine aspects of her Los Angeles upbringing and forays into China, her ancestral home. “Natural Unnatural Museum” provokes thoughts on the role of museums with regards of the education of future generations. “In every piece I make, I always try to go for the emotional response first. I want viewers to pause when they look at my art and not know why,” she wrote via e-mail. She went on to say that often she figures out the story as she goes, why it speaks to her and project her desire to communicate with viewers.
What impresses is not only the technical acumen of the artists but their ability to convey messages. Case in point, Bryant Santamaria’s “The Industry,” a finely tuned charcoal drawing showing a young man, crowned by Burger King and surrounded by shopping bags bearing mid-range designer names. Looking somewhat nonplussed one thinks about the the power of advertising transforming everyday shleps into royalty. While not among the prize winners, the drawing bore a coveted red dot. Sold!.
Salt Fine Art Raw Salt, 1492 S. Coast Hwy. Laguna Beach. 949-715-5554 Hours: Wed-Sun. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
