The Homeless by Pat Berger

Los Angeles-based artist Pat Berger’s poignant paintings of homelessness were originally inspired by her visit to a food and shelter outreach for the homeless in downtown L.A. around Christmas 1985.

What followed that eye-opening experience were at least five years of activism and a series of 35 paintings and lithographs intended to raise awareness about the plight of the homeless – many of whom shared their stories with Berger.

Her works on the homeless have since been exhibited in venues as different as homeless shelters, universities, museums and even California’s State Capitol Building in Sacramento.

Twelve of Berger’s homeless series paintings are now in the permanent collection of the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Buffalo, N.Y. Another painting is in the permanent collection of Los Angeles’ Skirball Cultural Center.

In Central California, Berger’s work was displayed in 2009-10 at the Bakersfield Museum of Art in an exhibit called “No Place to Go: Paintings of the Homeless.” Berger’s exhibit was one of five homelessness-focused shows happening concurrently, including the main exhibit, “Hobos to Street People: Artists’ Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present.”

-Louis Medina

Mending by Lori Zimmerman

The body of work in this exhibition was inspired by our need as we face life’s challenges to mend ourselves and our obligation to help mend the world. We spend a significant amount of time repairing, stitching, mending the skinned knee, the rent cloth, the aging muscles; clarifying misunderstandings, soothing the broken heart, healing the hurt from misplaced trust; and fighting injustices doled out in the larger world.  With whatever skills we’ve accumulated over the years we take needle and thread, words and actions, alone and in community we attempt to find wholeness, regain functionality, work towards a sense of fairness and justice. We strive to mend ourselves, heal our relationships and repair our society. Nothing stays the same. Nothing defies decay. One stitch, one thought, one action at a time, repeated over and over, time and again, finding wholeness in rhythm, pattern and melody.

About the artist

Lori Zimmerman is an artist working in the Los Angeles area.  Her work explores the beauty inherent in aging; our nature impulse to mend both our lives and our world; and the subtle coloring of flora and nature’s expert patterning.  Her work incorporates painting, photography, collage and freestyle hand embroidery on fabric and paper.

Lori graduated from California College of Art with a BFA in Craft and worked in textile and interior design.  After graduating from USC with an MBA Lori started a career in nonprofit management working in community arts and economic development organizations.  She returned to her art practice in 2009.

Lori has exhibited her work at throughout the United States and Canada including Branch Gallery, Inglewood, CA (2018); Blackboard Gallery, Camarillo, CA (2017); Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA (2016); Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN (2015); Ventura Government Center, Ventura, CA (2015); The Loft at Liz’s, Los Angeles CA (2015, 2013, 2012); Academy of Jewish Religion, Los Angeles, CA (2014), Soka University Founder’s Hall Art Gallery, Aliso Viejo CA (2014); Visions Art Museum, San Diego, CA (2014); Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts Logan Gallery, Ojai CA (2014);Craft in America Study Center, Los Angeles CA (2013); The World of Threads Festival, Oakville, Ontario, Canada (2012); Edward Cella Art & Architecture, Los Angeles CA (2011;) and Yarn Bomb, 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica CA (2011)

EARTH RHYTHMS by Betty Green

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Betty Green is a fine artist whose work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. Green attended Cornell University and UCLA, where she studied painting under Richard Diebenkorn. In addition to painting, Ms. Green has worked as a graphic designer and is the winner of a Primetime Emmy Award for title design, as well as the recipient of an International Clio Award. She has created signature openings for many television and motion picture projects. Her contributions to the arts also include the development of an after school Art Enrichment Program at the Neighborhood Youth Association in Venice, California. She was
awarded The Certificate of Tribute – Accomplishments in the Arts by the City of Los Angeles for her work with these children. Green currently works in her Santa Monica studio where she experiments with a variety of mixed media techniques to create her canvases.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Betty Green’s mixed media series entitled Earth Rhythms presents a series of paintings inspired by the undulating patterns in nature and the pulsing energy connecting all living forms. Using natural and man-made materials, her canvases are layered with heavily textured materials such as sand, cord, wood scraps, steel wool, straw, and wire mesh to create an energetic surface. Color, applied by brush and palette knife, furthers the feeling of vitality. The combined effect creates a visceral liveliness, as shifting patterns play with our inclination to see recognizable objects in abstract shapes. Green’s paintings seek to create excitement and beauty on a tactile and emotional level. Her hope is that viewers will study her artwork and make their own discoveries and connections.

Click here to learn more about Betty Green.