We’re Open, And We Have Some Great Art For You!

June 16 - July 11*

Katie Crown - Really Big Drawings | Sally Jacobs - California Grown
Shelley Lazarus - Mostly H2O | Toni Reinis - Moral Stain | Go Figure

*Due to county guidelines and policies, no reception will be held.

Katie Crown - Really Big Drawings

TAG Gallery is proud to present Really Big Drawings, a solo exhibition of  large scale “metal drawings” by artist Katie Crown. The exhibition will now run from June 16 – July 11. Crown’s newest body of work accentuates her drawing skills, with subject matter jolted from her sketchbooks. In this endeavor, the artist looks to billboard-esque, metallic wall sculpture to investigate the roles that both humor and horror occupy in the hustle and bustle of everyday life while poking fun at coping mechanisms we form to get through each day. The figures depicted can be seen experiencing pancake induced anxiety episodes, depressive bike rides, and uncomfortable therapy sessions.

Humor has often been an element in Crown’s practice. These new works take it to a more exaggerated, cartoonish mode. In addition to their linear aspects, the pieces include planes of pattern and color. The style amplifies the humor of each situation depicted. “With all the problems in the world, we need humor to survive.” – Katie Crown.

Katie Crown graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Tufts University. Her artwork has been exhibited in museums and galleries in 12 states and Washington, D.C.

Sally Jacobs - California Grown

Sally Jacobs is a watercolor artist and a farmers market devotee -- she combines her love for her art and the bounty of the markets in her contemporary botanical watercolor paintings. Each weekend she is at vendor stalls, ready to select her picks of the week for her kitchen and studio easel. 

In her latest exhibit, California Grown, Jacobs, zooms in, portraying flowers and vegetables with dramatic precision unique for a watercolorist. She transforms a vegetable we choose for dinner or a flower for display, rendering its structure eye-catching and explicit, causing viewers to catch their breath in wonder at the feats of nature.

Jacobs has exhibited in numerous juried shows in New York and San Francisco, and at museums in New York, Minneapolis and Phoenix. She was an award winner at the Brand 37 Works on Paper exhibit and is one of the artists included in “Todays Botanical Artists,” a publication of well-known nature artists.

Jacobs has taught botanical art at The Getty Center, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles Arboretum, and the annual meeting of the American Society of Botanical Art. Currently she is teaching at the Brentwood Art Center in Los Angeles.

Shelley Lazarus - Mostly H2O

TAG Gallery is pleased to present Mostly H20, a solo exhibition by watercolorist Shelley Lazarus. The proceeds of this show will go to the Robert David Lazarus Pulmonary Rehabilitation Unit at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in memory of her son Robert. Shelley Lazarus was born and educated in New York, where as a teenager she attended Pratt College. She later attended Syracuse University studying fine arts and at the Parsons School of Design.

Living in a crowded city she became infatuated with the buildings around her. The urban landscapes that she captures in this series of paintings are from sketches she made while on location or peering out of windows. Never a purist watercolor artist, she renders her works with her signature style incorporating these works with pencils, pens, crayons, and different mediums.

Lazarus is a founding member of TAG Gallery and has served on its board since its inception. She has taught watercolor medium at the Brentwood Art Center for over 26 years. Her award winning works and can be found in both private and corporate sector collections domestic and abroad. Lazarus is also a member of various art related organizations including the Watercolor Honor Society.

Toni Reinis - Moral Stain / Go Figure

TAG Gallery is proud to present two bodies of work from contemporary figurative sculptor Toni Reinis. The bodies of work, respectively titled Moral Stain and Go Figure! will be on display in TAG’s south gallery. The exhibitions will run June 16 - July 11.

Striving for equality, a civil society and social justice has been a great part of sculptor Toni Reinis’ adult life. Toni will stir your emotions and challenge you to ACT. “ It is up to the people of this nation to stand up, because Washington leadership is deft to our voices”. 
 
Toni reminds us that America has a long history of moral stains. African Americans have endured slavery, Japanese Americans have endured internment, civil rights abuses are repeated decade after decade, voter suppression, homelessness, segregation, and caging of small children. During the Trump administration, there has been a greater decline in social justice, a horrifying lack of decency, lies and immorality to an extent never seen before. I Matter, was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement that campaigns against violence and systemic racism. The sculpture is a fired clay portrait with a layered patina.  It is mounted on bullet casings.
 
This is about humanity, is an example of one of the many Moral Stains we are now living with. Children separated from parents at the boarder and kept in cages is one of the worst stains we have witnessed.  In this sculpture of a caged child, the portrait is made of plaster and paper clay. This is about humanity is also the name of a new organization that has made 16 trips to the Mexican boarder bringing supplies, food, clothing and toys to families looking for a better life for their children. Donations welcome.