Porterville College Art Gallery

11/22/2019

November show at the Porterville College Art Gallery....

The public is invited to see the exhibition “Notes and Narratives: Collage works by Diran Lyons” at the Porterville College Art Gallery. The reception for the artist is Wednesday evening, November 13th, from 5-7 pm.

04/11/2019

The Porterville College Art Department invites the public to come view its Student Art Exhibition from April 15 to May 2, 2019. The sho features the best work of over 60 current PC art students in a variety of media from photography, painting, drawing, digital art, sculpture and more. The public is also invited to the reception on Thursday, April 11th from 5-7pm, where refreshments will be served.
Gallery hours: Mon-Thurs from 12–2 pm and 4–6 pm.
Parking is unrestricted during the time of the reception. For other times, contact the front desk when you arrive to visit the show for a free temporary parking permit.

Please contact Jim Entz at 791-2257 with any questions.

04/05/2019

Message from Page Admin, Elsah Cort: I am so very sorry I missed posting about the March 2019 exhibit at the Porterville College Art Gallery. I post about shows here when I see the press release on the collage website. I admin this page as a volunteer service to this special gallery space. If you know about shows or other art events happening at the gallery, please message me here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The public is invited to see the Paintings of Jim Campbell at the Porterville College Art Gallery. The exhibition runs from March 11 – 28, 2019. The public is also invited to the opening reception of his show, which is for Thursday evening, March 7th, 5-7 pm, at the Portervil...

01/28/2019

New show "The art of Ren Lee"
Feb 11 – 28, 2019. The public is also invited to the Opening reception: Feb 7 from 5-7 pm
Porterville College Art Gallery
Hours: Mon - Thurs from 12 to 2 pm and 4 to 6 pm

What follows is Ren Lee’s discussion of her work:

"My sculptures are entirely hand-built, usually beginning with slabs, sometimes with coiled or pinched forms, in a variety of cone 10 clay bodies varying in color but all with compatible shrinkage rates--sometimes blended or marbled for textural and color effects. I am interested in coaxing depth and drama from the clay itself, with limited use of glaze for accents. My subject matter is mostly presences felt in dream states or altered states of consciousness.

Other areas of exploration include myth and historical folklore. Most of my work is designed to be wall-mounted. Occasionally I explore these themes as interpretations in vessel form or as a free-standing sculpture. My juju wall pieces are conceived as gestural, simplified, and impressionistic—reminiscent of unformed presences in dreams; my celestial and mythical pieces are more detailed and attitudinal, with distinct faces and discernable moods.

All of my work is created to receive and hold the hopes and aspirations and memories of the people who give them forever homes. They are vessels for dreams, evocative of dreams, and receivers of dreams.

I am the child of an art director and an architect, born to be an artist. I started drawing before I could talk. Later, it turned out I was good at academics and was encouraged to pursue academically respectable vocations, like being a biologist, managing corporate projects, and teaching college. It took a long time between abandoning art as a daily practice and taking it up again full time, but I finally made it. I work in the studio every day, including weekends and holidays.

I have worked professionally as a graphic designer, creative director, and have experience in illustration, silkscreen techniques, photography, typography, painting and digital art. While I am still competent in those areas, I choose to work in clay. I am very much a pilgrim on a quest to understand the nature of clay, how to work it, how to bring it back to life."

Parking is unrestricted during the time of the reception. For other times, contact the front desk when you arrive to visit the show for a free temporary parking permit.

For more info, contact Jim Entz at (559) 791-2257.

[image © Ren Lee]

11/02/2018

November 5-29...Art exhibition with Porterville College art faculty: Mark Eaton, Jim Entz, Glenn Hill, Tom Howell, Kirsten Kempfer and Diran Lyons.

Thursday, November 8 from 5-7 pm—Reception with the artists

Each artist has a unique background and many different experiences. The exhibition will reveal just how wide-ranging art can be. A broad range of creations, from paintings to photographs to sculptures to videos and more, will be on display. Though all the artists have exhibited their work regionally and some nationally, they have formerly worked in such diverse occupations as animator, art therapist, freelance illustrator, graphic designer, magazine art director, photographer, stained-glass artist, television director, videographer and military veteran.

“Most of these pieces deal with texture and the element of chance,” Eaton said. In discussing his artistic process, Entz said, “Over the years, I continue to be aware of several big problems that appear unsolvable, such as our alienation from nature and our alienation from others. But rather than despair at these seemingly insurmountable problems, I have chosen to connect in the world to people and nature and then come back to my studio to engage with ideas that arise out of these experiences.

Gallery hours: Mon-Thurs 12-2 pm and 4-6 .
Parking is free during the time of the reception. People who plan to see the exhibition at a time other than the reception can stop by PC’s information desk to receive a free temporary parking permit.

For more info and, contact Jim Entz at 559-791-2257.

10/01/2018

The Art of Diego Gutiérrez Monterrubio
October 1-25, 2018
Porterville College Art Gallery
Artist reception on October 4 from 5-7 pm

The show will feature paintings created by Monterrubio over the course of his 25-year career as an artist and educator in the San Joaquin Valley.

From the artist, ”I have been graciously invited to exhibit my art work in a solo show at my alma mater, Porterville College, as an alumni, as a working artist, as an artist of the Central Valley, and as a young boy from Lindsay, California with big dreams that went off and got an MFA and eventually became a Professor of Art.

I believe my artworks are ambassadors from the little misunderstood realm of my imagination and in this realm my images materialize and exist in my work and heart. They are my offspring. This reflective and chronological body of work is of a journey started as a child and growing into adulthood with many learning experiences – some good and some heartbreaking. Life teaches us lessons. We must accept. We must learn. We must grow.”

In talking about his artistic roots, Monterrubio quoted his grandfather, “‘El arte lo tienes en tu sangre’ (‘Art is in your blood’). Those are the words my grandfather, an illustrator for Coca-Cola in Mexico for more than 40 years, bestowed upon me as a child. I didn’t fully understand the phrase, but with time and experience I learned the truth about what he said. When I found the truth of his vision, I discovered a portal to both peace and purpose. Art, for me, is passion. My art comes from within. It comes from what I have seen and digested. It comes from ethereal feelings and surreal moments. It comes from love and pain as well as laughter and tears.”

Gallery hours: noon-2 pm and 4-6 pm Mon-Thurs.
Parking is free during the time of the reception.
People who plan to see the exhibition at a time other than the reception can stop by the college information desk to receive a free parking permit.

For more info, contact Jim Entz at 791-2257.
["Triste Pintor" Acrylic on Canvas 36" × 48" © Diego Gutiérrez Monterrubio, diegomonterrubio.weebly.com]

03/06/2018

The Art of Dixie Salazar:
“...And homeless, near a thousand homes I stood”
—William Wordsworth

March 5 – April 6, 2018

Closing Reception Fri, April 6 from 8-9 pm, in the gallery,
after her poetry reading and talk in the Porterville College Theater from 7–8 pm that evening

Dixie Salazar’s painted collages, photographs, and poetry at the Porterville College Art Gallery focus on the homeless. As Salazar says, “Nothing impedes the American dream more than the current explosion of homelessness. Ongoing trends to cut back on social services, affordable housing and other forms of public assistance have forced more and more people onto the streets.” She continues, “One of my goals as an activist, writer and artist is to re-humanize those who are reduced to cowering in the shadows. My work attempts to present visual reminders of humanity in the midst of chaos, to engage the public in dialogue about the homeless plight and maybe change perceptions along the way.”

Salazar describes her work as, “mostly figurative and expressive.” And goes on to say,“Currently, I am excited about working with collage and have developed a process I call painted collage, using found images from scraps of newspapers, magazines, old scientific journals and my own photos, Xeroxed. After layers of collaged images and scraps are glued down, I try to create cohesion of design and theme by painting with acrylic, watercolors and oils on top. Sometimes other media such as charcoal, pastel or pencil are thrown in. This process is important because it in some ways mirrors the process the homeless use to build and beautify their living spaces, appropriating what is at hand and what works both visually and functionally. Some of the pieces are heavily symbolic and many use irony or humor to explore the ideas behind them.”

Dixie Salazar is a Central Valley artist and writer who has been working in a variety of mediums for the past forty years or more. Her work has been shown extensively in the Central Valley, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York and Merced, at the Merced Multi-cultural Art Museum in 2005 in a one person show, exploring her dual (Hispanic and Anglo) heritage. Other one person shows occurred at Arte Americas in Fresno (where she explored Mayan symbols and history, relating them to contemporary issues), Educational Employees Credit Union in Sacramento, and the Patterson Building in Fresno. Her most recent solo exhibit, “SUMMER 2017- FIRE AND WATER”, just occurred this February at Fig Tree Gallery in Fresno.

Gallery hours: Mon – Thurs from 12–2 pm and 4–6 pm

["Still LIfe with Batteries and Party Hat" © Dixie Salazar]

03/04/2018

The Art of Dixie Salazar:
“...And homeless, near a thousand homes I stood”
—William Wordsworth

March 5 – April 6, 2018

Closing Reception Fri, April 6 from 8-9 pm, in the gallery,
after her poetry reading and talk in the Porterville College Theater from 7–8 pm that evening

Dixie Salazar’s painted collages, photographs, and poetry at the Porterville College Art Gallery focus on the homeless. As Salazar says, “Nothing impedes the American dream more than the current explosion of homelessness. Ongoing trends to cut back on social services, affordable housing and other forms of public assistance have forced more and more people onto the streets.” She continues, “One of my goals as an activist, writer and artist is to re-humanize those who are reduced to cowering in the shadows. My work attempts to present visual reminders of humanity in the midst of chaos, to engage the public in dialogue about the homeless plight and maybe change perceptions along the way.”

Salazar describes her work as, “mostly figurative and expressive.” And goes on to say,“Currently, I am excited about working with collage and have developed a process I call painted collage, using found images from scraps of newspapers, magazines, old scientific journals and my own photos, Xeroxed. After layers of collaged images and scraps are glued down, I try to create cohesion of design and theme by painting with acrylic, watercolors and oils on top. Sometimes other media such as charcoal, pastel or pencil are thrown in. This process is important because it in some ways mirrors the process the homeless use to build and beautify their living spaces, appropriating what is at hand and what works both visually and functionally. Some of the pieces are heavily symbolic and many use irony or humor to explore the ideas behind them.”

Dixie Salazar is a Central Valley artist and writer who has been working in a variety of mediums for the past forty years or more. Her work has been shown extensively in the Central Valley, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York and Merced, at the Merced Multi-cultural Art Museum in 2005 in a one person show, exploring her dual (Hispanic and Anglo) heritage. Other one person shows occurred at Arte Americas in Fresno (where she explored Mayan symbols and history, relating them to contemporary issues), Educational Employees Credit Union in Sacramento, and the Patterson Building in Fresno. Her most recent solo exhibit, “SUMMER 2017- FIRE AND WATER”, just occurred this February at Fig Tree Gallery in Fresno.

Gallery hours: Mon – Thurs from 12–2 pm and 4–6 pm

["Eye Goddess with Stack of Quilts" from the 2016 Self Discovery/Identity Series © Dixie Salazar via dixiesalazar.com]