It’s a Wonderful World curated by Betty Ann Brown – Opening Reception: Saturday, July 8, 6-9 pm

It’s a Wonderful World curated by Betty Ann Brown

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 8, 6:00-9:00 pm
Closing Reception and Curator’s Talk: Saturday, July 22, 4:00-6:00 pm
Exhibition Dates: July 8-23, 2017

Groundspace Project is pleased to present It’s A Wonderful World curated by Betty Ann Brown, including artists Aline Mare, Andrea Bersaglieri, Ann Mitchell, Catherine Ruane, Cheri Gaulke, Courtney Hayes-Sturgeon, Dwora Fried, Erika Lizée, Jill Sykes, Kate Carvellas, Kireilyn Barber, L. Aviva Diamond, Lillian Abel, Linda Sue Price, Maria Larsson, Melissa Reischman, Michelle Rozic, Nancy Mooslin, Roger Gordon, Samuelle Richardson, Sandra Mueller and Susan Sironi. Please join us for the opening reception on Saturday, July 8, 6:00 to 9:00 pm.

Curator’s Statement:
I see trees of green, red roses too.
I see them bloom for me and for you,
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

In this time of global doubt and despair, to focus on the wonder of our world is to turn to the positive and the affirmatively possible. In the Call for Submissions to this exhibition, artist/curator Susan Joseph and I wrote that we were “looking for artists who celebrate the marvelous beauty of our natural and built environments. Such celebrations can be figurative, symbolic or abstract, but should not be simply pretty in a superficial or ‘easy’ way.” I have tried to hold to that statement throughout the jurying process.

We received almost a hundred submissions, most of them truly excellent. The first challenge in the jurying process was to winnow that large number down to a total that would fit in the Groundspace Project gallery. But more important than numbers was the need to select artworks that would “talk” to each other; I sought artworks that, together, would create a cohesive and engaged aesthetic conversation. Several really great pieces were eliminated because they didn’t fit into the exhibition that began to emerge, almost organically, from the submissions.

As it stands, the exhibition features poetic, lyrical work that is often landscape based, with images of plants and pathways, water, smoke, and steam. There are glances into the urban environment, from abandoned back alleys to the architecture of industry. There are ghostly canines wandering through imagined spaces. And there are echoes of Buddhist chants glancing off the ripples of the Mekong River.

Selecting the prize recipients was as challenging as the initial jurying process. In the end, I had to go with the pieces that spoke most clearly to my heart. All of the submissions spoke to me and, frankly, if I were to go through them in a week or a month or a year down the line, I might very well select four other winners.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white,
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night.
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
Song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss,
First performed by Louis Armstrong in 1967

Betty Ann Brown
Art historian, critic and curator

Groundspace Project is an artist-run alternative space located just east of the 4th Street bridge in downtown Los Angeles.
Exhibition hours are Friday and Saturday, 1-6 pm.

1427 E. 4th St. #4
Los Angeles, CA 90033