The Moraga Art Gallery enters the holiday season with an exciting new show, “Exotic Expressions”, featuring member artists, Pat Prosek, a printmaker influenced by coastal landscapes and her own interpretation of Far Eastern art, and exotic wearable Asian Accents by K DeGroot. Our featured guest artist is Thuy Linh Bennett Kang, born in Vietnam and raised in the United States, whose paintings intertwine a culture of two worlds.
Also on view until December 24: a rich, diverse collection of original artwork by more than a score of gallery members and adjuncts displaying varieties of paintings, jewelry, fine art photography, glasswork, ceramics, silk scarves, prints, woodworking and others.
🎄The gallery will also feature a holiday boutique with artwork for $100 and under. From December 1-24, the gallery will be open daily from 12-5pm. The gallery will be closed December 25-January 1.
SAVE THE DATE: on Saturday, November 21, 5-7pm, the gallery will host a free reception for the public to view the exhibit, mingle with the artists, enjoy light refreshments and live music by Michael Granat, pianist.
Pat Prosek is a printmaker, a medium she has practiced for half of her life. She works primarily with commercial printmaking inks and specialized printmaking paper, sometimes incorporating rice paper, foil paper and textiles.
Much of Pat’s work brings together two important influences: the peaceful coastal landscapes of her childhood and her mother’s extensive collection of Far Eastern art. Pat studied the art of the Ming and Qing dynasties and became fascinated by their designs, water imagery and screens. Combining those influences with her lifelong love of water birds, she developed her own interpretation of Far Eastern art. The crane remains one of her favorite subjects. She is drawn to its elegant form and graceful lines, as well as its symbolism in ancient Chinese culture, where the crane represented purity, grace and immortality.
Inspired by the exotic beads & pendants she discovered during her many years of living & traveling in Asia, K DeGroot. created her one-of-a-kind, cross cultural wearable art collection called “Asian Accents”. She continues to explore local bead bazaars discovering unique treasures from around the globe to incorporate into her distinctive jewelry.
Custom designing for Gallery clients who need something unique for special events is another favorite part of K’s work.
Transforming her collection of exotic beads & pendants into wearable art, brings an international flair to the Lamorinda community.
Through the exploration of the lotus flower, Thuy Linh Bennett Kang explores sentiments of nostalgia, home, and the pursuit of one’s identity. Born in Vietnam and raised in the United States, she intertwines the bicultural of the two worlds. The intersection of memory, migration, and identity is highlighted throughout her paintings with cultural signifiers. The impact of migration and collective identities, the subtleties of language and culture in molding the individual’s experiences of belonging, all serve as a reflection in the canvas. Her works serve as a reminder of our human desire to belong and to recollect.
Visit the Gallery: Open Wednesday through Sunday from 12p-5pm.
Address: 432 Center Street in Moraga’s Rheem Shopping Center, next to Nation’s.
For more information, please visit the gallery’s website: https://moragaartgallery.com or email moragaartgallery@gmail.com or call 925-376-5407.
