Art Shows Highlight ‘Masters in New Media’

A local art gallery is presenting two shows this weekend highlighting “Masters in New Media.”

Ethos Contemporary Art gallery on the Balboa Peninsula is hosting the pair of shows with an opening reception on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Gerrie Lewis’ “Master of Transformation” exhibition explores the “delicate balance between nature’s encounter with human behavior,” gallery officials announced in a press release this week.

Viewers may not immediately recognize the origin of the “alluring multi-layers” of Lewis’ photographic art.

“In fact, as you explore the photographic layers, the last thing you would recognize is ‘urban decay,’ represented in her elaborate current artworks,” the announcement explains.

Throughout her world travels, Lewis focused her photographic eye on the less obvious and hidden elements of a city: Dying trees, trash, graffiti, and decay.

“Fascinated by earth’s magnificent beauty, Lewis also photographs the ‘wonders of nature,’ her true inspiration and source of artistic color palette,” the message reads.

She co-mingles the conflicting subjects digitally through “thoughtful consideration” until it’s transformed into a “bold and beautiful” work of art that shares the positive message that humans and nature can co-exist in a delicate balance.

“I see beauty in everything, even something discarded,” Lewis said in the prepared statement. “It excites me to transform what others might think is ugly and unwanted into some as desirable as contemporary art.”

Also on display will be artwork from Barbara Strasen’s “On Spec” show.

Strasen is an award winning “trailblazer,” gallery organizers note in the message. She will introduce viewers to her creative process with the gallery’s presentation of eight panels of “Flow and Glimpse” lenticular works from the LAX collection, as well as several other paintings.

Strasen’s main medium is painting, as well as painting combined with collage, and “the use of lenticular process to create art ‘on spec,’ where she follows her hunches or core of ideas,” the announcement explains.

“The result is visual or cognitive connections between unlike images,” the message reads.

Her most recent accomplishments include city of LA Artist Fellowship Award to execute a large lenticular commission for LAX Terminal 2 and solo exhibition at the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Refreshments will be served. Valet parking in front of the gallery will be available during the event.

Ethos Contemporary Art, located at 3405 Newport Blvd., represents numerous established local and international artists. The gallery specializes in large scale paintings, monumental steel, marble and bronze sculpture, museum level art glass, and works on paper.

For more information call (949) 791-8917, email info@ethoscontemporaryart.com, or visit ethoscontemporaryart.com.