Animals in Japanese art headline spring exhibitions
March 11 - May 23, 2010
Opening reception March 11, 6 p.m.
Free to members, $10 non-members
They Swim, Fly, Wiggle, Walk or Slither: The Hidden Code of Animals in Japanese Art
Presenters: Ginny and Fred Hamisch, Aera Energy LLC
Sponsors: KERO ABC 23, Valley Public Television, Doris and Jack Salter, Susan and Rod Hersberger, David and Catherine Gay
Home Grown by Betty Finch
Sponsors: KERO ABC 23, Joan and Bernie Herman
Everyday Garden by Francis Baker
Sponsors: KERO ABC 23
Works on Paper by Laddie John Dill
From the Bakersfield Museum of Art's Permanent Collection
Presenters: Ginny and Fred Hamisch, Aera Energy LLC
Sponsors: KERO ABC 23, Valley Public Television, Doris and Jack Salter, Susan and Rod Hersberger, David and Catherine Gay
Home Grown by Betty Finch
Sponsors: KERO ABC 23, Joan and Bernie Herman
Everyday Garden by Francis Baker
Sponsors: KERO ABC 23
Works on Paper by Laddie John Dill
From the Bakersfield Museum of Art's Permanent Collection
Four new exhibitions open March 11 at the Bakersfield Museum of Art, including an elegant Japanese depiction in art focusing on animals and their hidden, special meaning in the Japanese culture.
They Swim, Fly, Wiggle, Walk or Slither: The Hidden Code of Animals in Japanese Art is an exhibit from the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture in Hanford. Animals play a significant role in Japanese art, not only in paintings, prints and textiles but also in decorative arts like lacquer ware and ceramics. Japanese fauna is rich with animals like the carp and rooster which carry symbolic significance. This exhibit showcases this fascinating and beautiful depiction of flora and fauna with stunning works focusing on animals that hold special meaning and position in Japanese culture.
In Home Grown by Betty Finch, the Bakersfield-based artist showcases her avid interest in nature and gourds and combines it with her previous training as an FBI forensic artist. Finch’s uniquely styled gourds come to life as delightful people and animals. Trained by master gourd artists in both the U.S. and China, Finch uses her skills as a former homicide detective/forensic artist to craft these amazing gourd pieces.
Everyday Garden by Francis Baker is a series of photographs and three-dimensional pieces that experiment with the casting of roots in the shape of everyday objects. These creations originated after Baker became fascinated while re-potting plants and observed the root structures that formed the cylindrical shape of the pot.
Also opening in the Ann Katherine Brown Gallery, are small pieces by Laddie John Dill. While large-scale pieces are what brought Dill international fame as an artist, these sketches and preparatory drawings from the Museum’s permanent collection give an intimate glimpse into the process of the artist.
Exhibitions run from March 11 – May 23, 2010, with an opening reception on March 11 at 6 p.m. Members are admitted at no charge, non-members are admitted for $10. There will be appetizers and a no-host bar. For more information call 661-323-7219.
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