ARTS RWC: "Nude Beach" Opening at The Main Gallery

YO REDWOOD CITY!

It is Summertime and to many of us, that means the Beach.  At The Main Gallery they are in full agreement, and you gotta go see this!

On view August 8th through September 9th is “Nude Beach”, the 12th annual all gallery show.  The Main Gallery is located at 1018 Main Street in Redwood City (in the historic yellow Victorian Cottage) and will host a reception with the artists, serving drinks and hors d'oeuvres on Saturday, August 11th, from 6:00 to 8:00PM.  Be "shore" to join the celebration of summer!

Nude Beach means different things to different people and the Main Gallery artists have translated their view of the theme into their own unique visual format.  Here is a sampling of what to expect;

Susan Wolf, Nina Koepcke, and Doris Fischer-Colbrie, three ceramic artists, focused on different aspects of the theme. Wolf states, “I have made a footed platter with a nude beach on it. It is nude because of the naked little people lying on it, and because it is unglazed, for the most part.” While Koepcke decided to focus on the beach part of the title she made two shore birds that frequent Ocean Beach in San Francisco: Brandt’s Cormorant and the California Gull. “ I also made a small wall piece of dog tracks in the sand by printing my Lab retriever’s paws in the wet clay,” added Koepcke. Doris Fischer-Colbrie takes an interesting twist to the theme by making pieces that have no glaze and are fired in a pit on the beach. She considers the pieces to be “nude” and reach their final state on the beach—in effect they are born on the beach! Colbrie has also made vase forms with a pattern suggesting the rippled sand just beneath the water at an ocean beach, the idea being that the beach itself is nude.

“My reaction to the "Nude Beach" theme was to view the show title within the context of environmental degradation. "Nude Beach" became land that has been denuded of living things.” painter Terri Moore states.  Moore’s piece contrasts the lushness of the natural world with a grey, industrial landscape with the beaches being river beaches that flow into the ocean.

Elizabeth Noerdlinger has been interested in beach scenes for a number of years and has focused on the sky, water and sand in her paintings. She states, “For this show I decided to stay with the purity of the basic elements that comprise a beach. There are no people in my paintings. I think of them as "denuded" of the impurity people tend to bring to a beach!”

The beach scenes that Katinka Hartmetz painted are mounted in vintage window frames. “No naked bathers!” she states. “But don’t be surprised if you find a polka-dot bikini hanging on a peg somewhere in the gallery!”

Don’t miss this unique and thought provoking show at The Main Gallery in Redwood City!  And don't be surprised if you leave with some sand in your shoes! 

The Main Gallery, an artists’ cooperative with some 23 members, showcases the work of some of the best local talent in the Bay Area. The Gallery is located at 1018 Main Street at the corner of Main and Middlefield in the historic yellow Victorian Cottage in Redwood City.  The Gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. For more information, visit www.themaingallery.org or call the Gallery at (650) 701-1018.

Redwood City is becoming a destination for the arts in the Bay Area.  Thanks for your support of Local Art and Artists.  

And remember, to always follow your H'ART!