9:20am | On the South side of Broadway, two blocks West of Redondo, is Les Jolis Tresors, a small, unassuming art gallery run by Annie Clavel. A new show, Atmospheres, is opening this Saturday, from 6:00-9:00pm, and will feature paintings by Don Crocker and Dawn Quinones, and ceramic animals by M.C Armstrong. Clavel’s own paintings, vivid explosions of vaguely floral abstraction, will also be on display, and for sale.
Annie is from Paris, and lived in Tunisia and Germany at times, but now calls Long Beach her home. I asked her how she developed an interest in art.
Annie: I began painting with watercolors 30 years ago. A friend of mine told me what I should buy to begin painting. I was I mathematics teacher at that time. I began with representational images, and didn’t have any art classes. My father was an architect, and I loved seeing him working.
I began using acrylic in workshops in Paris 25 years ago. I still painted in a representionnal way. The artist who was teaching the workshop was an abstract painter, and I tried to paint in an abstract style for the first time with him. I learned composition and color with him. Then, when I arrived in the US 4 years ago, I learned different techniques with Dael Patton, a teacher at the Palos Verdes Art Center. That’s why now I use mixed media techniques too.
Sander: What inspired you to start a gallery?
Annie: Since my arrival in California I have been more and more active with artists’ co-ops and organisations, including The Artists’ Studio of Palos Verdes, Long Beach Arts, and the 2nd City Council Art Gallery. I wanted to take a personal part in promoting Southern Californian art.
Sander: Tell me about the show that’s opening this weekend?
Annie: This exhibit is about Atmosphere: Brilliant landscape with breaking dawns, orange sunset from Don Crocker, abstract paintings with interlaced patterns and a luminous glow, and hand painted silks from Dawn Quinones, and an atmosphere of humor with ceramic animals from M.C Armstrong. I am part of the show, too, with very small paintings telling short stories, and other, larger ones.
Sander: Is there a market for the work you exhibit?
Annie: It’s not easy, and I started less than one year ago in a bad economy, but if we are looking at the turnout of our openings, and the growth of our customer base, even if it is slow, we are encouraged to go on.
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Les Jolis Tresors is located at 3223 East Broadway, right next to Cafe Piccolo. Regular hours are Wednesday through Sunday, from 2 – PM. Saturday’s reception runs from 6 to 9 PM. More information can be found at LesJolisTresors.com