The Santa Monica College (SMC) Emeritus Art Gallery will present “Painting Over the Pandemic,” a special exhibition of works by Emeritus painters organized in collaboration with drawing and painting instructor Adam Harrison. The title of the exhibition alludes to the context in which the collection of works was produced and can be read as “painting over the course of the pandemic,” or as “covering it up with paint.” While some of the exhibit’s paintings reference the various physical and emotional ramifications of the recent period, others are more abstract meditations on healing, space, and time. The exhibition will be presented online at smc.edu/emeritusgallery.
A free, live Zoom Virtual Launch Event will be held online from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 20. A link at smc.edu/emeritusgallery — available shortly before the event begins — takes guests directly to the exhibition’s opening reception.
The opening reception — hosted by artist Harrison, Dean of Noncredit and External Programs Dr. Scott Silverman, and Emeritus Art Gallery Curator Jesse Benson — will feature a live scroll through the exhibition and a selection of the featured artists speaking about their work.
To see the artwork online at any time after 5 p.m. on January 20, viewers may go to smc.edu/emeritusgallery and click the exhibition link, available 24 hours a day. The link takes viewers directly to the exhibition album on a Facebook page that is open to public viewing (Facebook account not necessary).
“Over the years, the gallery has received fantastic active support from our brilliant Emeritus faculty,” said Benson. “Skilled painter and dedicated Emeritus instructor Adam Harrison was an ideal curatorial collaborator. His exhibition concept focuses on the transcendent value of art-making during these complex times.”
“The creativity and passion shown by Emeritus students through their artwork is awe-inspiring,” said Silverman. “After a tumultuous couple of years that kept us all socially distant, this is a fun way for us to envision the post-pandemic world.”
The exhibition features art created by Marilyn Alquizola, Parvaneh Bassiri, Judith Claire, Anna Conley, Vicki Fisher-Lerer, Eva Good, Barbara Gordon, Cheryl Lee, Jill Meshkanian, Phyllis Nelson, Darlene Okita, Marlene Power, Larisa Rubinshtein, Cabell D. Smith, Gloria Vitto, Mary Von Aspe, Leslie Wintner, and Lee Zeldon.
SMC’s widely praised Emeritus program — founded by Santa Monica College in 1975 as a noncredit program to serve the lifelong learning interests of older adults — offers more than 120 noncredit adult education classes and special programs that serve more than 3,000 students each year.
More information is available by visiting smc.edu/emeritusgallery, sending email to the gallery’s curator at benson_jesse@smc.edu, or calling 310-434-4306.
Submitted by Grace Smith, SMC