Enchantment

In 1999 I curated an art-in-nature exhibition at Escondido Phoenix Ranch Retreat in Escondido Canyon, Malibu. It was developed as a 10-day residency with ten artists creating site works along a mile trail. The works were reviewed in Sculpture magazine by Collette Chattopadhyay and over a three-day Memorial weekend some 300+ people came to view the installations. 

While at Paramount Ranch 3 art fair this past January I was thinking it would be fun to do another site project in the Santa Monica Mountains. The next thing you know, I was invited to curate at Peter Strauss Ranch in Agoura Hills by the National Park Service! Of course, I wish the budget were bigger and I could invite more artists to participate, but I think we have a sweet show, pulled together very quickly over the last two months. 

The works will remain up through the summer and we will do a closing performance on September 10th. With additional funding we can add a few more installations in June and August, fingers crossed. 

Artists include: Ben Allanoff, Faith Purvey, Karen Reitzel, and Minoosh Zomorodinia.

Opening reception/talk with artists on June 5th, Sunday at 2pm
Performance Saturday September 10th  5 to 6pm

“The Moving Clouds” is a performance work by Iranian artist Minoosh Raheleh Zomorodinia. The ritual portrays various actions in repetition—walking, marching and jumping—to express the artists’ feelings encountered in response to global warming and the migration crisis. A reflective material is used to visually connect with nature, land, and the physicality of the human body, while re-creating the sounds of the ocean.

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