Working class art and paintings of wine country featured in March exhibit

Two outstanding artists will have their works featured at Bakersfield Museum of Art beginning in March.

The trials and tribulations of the working class are the hallmark of a beautiful exhibit of Kamal Youssef’s paintings, featured in the Dezember Gallery.

Egyptian-born Youssef has been painting since the 1940s. In Cairo, he was a member of the Le Groupe de l’Art Contemporain, exhibiting in Paris in 1954. Due to political unrest, Youssef stayed in Paris for two years before moving with his wife, Maria, to Pittsburgh, Penn. He worked for an engineering firm for 27 years, but continued to paint.

Since his beginnings in Cairo, Youssef’s works have depicted social issues, from the struggles of the working poor through his images after 9/11. His works represent concern for justice and peace. Past exhibitions have been held in Egypt, Paris, and the United States, and most recently he was involved in a retrospective at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Museum.

The Ablin Gallery will host Beverly Wilson,  whose brightly colored landscape paintings depict Northern California. She paints vibrant landscapes, capturing the subtle changes of the seasons, temperature and light. Wilson was a student of Richard Diebenkorn in the early 1970s and was drawn to the qualities of the expressionists and colorists.

Holding a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree, Wilson spent a year in Italy developing her passion for painting wine landscapes in Umbria and Tuscany. She moved to Napa Valley in 1983, where she continues to paint her passion: landscapes of California’s wine country.

The exhibit runs March 6 – May 5, 2008.  The opening reception on March 6  will begin at 6 p.m. Members are admitted free to the reception, non-members are $10. Call 661-323-7219 for more information.