The Walls Became the World All Around: New Work Rebekah Bogard and Susan McDonnell
Press Release
OPENING RECEPTION 1st THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 FROM 5-8pm
Between the last moments of consciousness and the first moments of sleep, we enter what is called a hypnagogic state. Half-awake and half-asleep, we pass through what is called “threshold consciousness,” where lucid dreams sometimes happen. The static image here is as powerful as the narrative movie. At some point, we enter the dream world and the realm of possibility expands. Betwixt and between, we find a place that feels oddly familiar in the paintings of L.A.’s SUSAN McDONNELL and the ceramic sculpture of Reno’s REBEKAH BOGARD.
In a new and experimental exhibition format for the Gallery, curators Susan Bush and Jeremy Tessmer brought together two artists who were barely aware of each other’s work for a collaborative exhibition. Both artists are technical virtuosos in their respective media with a natural tendency towards anthropomorphization. Both have M.F.A.s and both teach. Still, putting them together for this extraordinary new exhibition was an act of faith.
The result is marvelous. In this exhibition, it is as though one has walked into a conservationist’s study and fallen asleep. A cabinet of curiosity shifts towards a room of wonder. Then, the walls melt away. The creatures come to life and everything becomes suffused with a preternatural significance.
Susan McDonnell received both her Bachelor of Fine Arts and her Masters of Fine Arts from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. She currently teaches at Mount Saint Mary’s College in Los Angeles. She has shown extensively in Los Angeles and Santa Fe. This will be her third solo exhibition in Santa Barbara. Sullivan Goss is proud to represent the artist.
Rebekah Bogard received both her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Montana at Laramie and her Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. She currently teaches at University of Nevada Reno. She has shown extensively in Wyoming, Nevada, and in several prestigious contemporary galleries and museums in Los Angeles. Rebekah Bogard first joined the gallery in 2007 with DREAMLAND: American Explorations Into Surrealism and was also included in 2009’s STRANGE CLAYS. This will be her most substantial exhibition with the gallery to date.