Fresh(AIR): Artist in Residence
with Julie Beloussow & Karina Vazquez
Saturday August 31 & Sunday September 1 | 12-5 PM
Our Artist in Residency weekend is back! Every exhibition, the Brea Gallery aims to highlight some of our artists by hosting a weekend residency called Fresh(AIR). For two days, an artist will come in to work on a piece of art in the gallery. Our goal is to remove some of the barriers and understanding of the art process by allowing visitors to engage with working artists, ask questions, and see art being created before their very eyes! This installment features two talented women artists that you might recognize: Julie Beloussow and Karina Vazquez! Both of these ladies were part of our Made in California 2023 Exhibition!
Julie Beloussow is a visual artist based in Long Beach, CA. Her work explores themes of perception, neurodiversity, and self-identity. Motivated by a desire to raise awareness of neurological deviation, her contemporary psychedelic artwork is guided by her own story of living with conditions such as ADHD and Autism. Beloussow uses acrylic paint and ink in a range of unusual colors to evoke the otherworldly. Enigmatic purples dominate her palette, eliciting the color’s association with mysticism and its rarity in nature. Fields of pattern collapse and distort boundaries. Fasciation, a genetic mutation that alters the appearance of plants, is depicted in floral elements as a mirror to the anomaly of neurodivergence. Recent works highlight the ambiguity of the boundary between disorder and identity. A parallel is made of the neurodivergent condition to the psychedelic experience as the core of both illuminate a flexible reality formed from the mind. Beloussow invites the viewer to reflect upon their own psychic landscape as they step into hers.
Karina Vazquez is a Mexican born, self-taught visual artist based in Long Beach, CA. Her artistic journey began in street photography, but decided to explore mediums that allowed her to stay indoors. Vazquez has spent the majority of her artistic practice analyzing the work of artists that she admires and countless hours in her sketchbook refining her skills. Inspiration is sourced from all aspects of life; relationships, nature, her personal encounters and perceptions as an immigrant, and the overall human experience. Plant life is used in order to denote the symbiosis between humanity and the natural world. This is articulated through delicate graphite shading, loose painterly marks, and a subdued color palette. She hopes that her work can provide a moment of pause and reflection for the viewer. Vazquez has participated in various group exhibitions including “Filling the Void” by Munzón Gallery and “There from Here” by Art Share LA. She was awarded a grant from the Los Angeles Lakers “In The Paint” program, and has worked with phone accessories retailer CASETiFY to create a large scale mural in honor of Women’s History month. Her work can presently be seen at the Long Beach Airport as a part of a public art installation in collaboration with the Long Beach Arts Council.
Don't miss your chance to see these two talented ladies creating art live in gallery! Fresh(AIR) Weekend is FREE to visitors who mention "Fresh(AIR)" at the front desk!