Imagine an art gallery dedicated to the artist, a space where, whether you’re established or emerging, you can show your work as long as you have enough to fill the space. Maybe you’ve never had a real art show and you want to test your work on an eclectic audience, maybe you’ve been in multiple shows but now that you’re experimenting with a new style and you need a space to show your pieces.
Whatever the reason may be, The Long Beach Playhouse Gallery continues its fine work of nurturing local artists, now under the curation of Playhouse friend, Greg Fritsche [pictured left].
Along with a committee of local artists, Fritsche—whose own work as a landscape painter has been shown in Long Beach—will be selecting artists and scheduling two-month slots and receptions for whoever applies for the chance. The current exhibition is an all-new show by Marka Burns, a local artist and faculty member at CSULB, starting October 16.
The Marka Burns exhibit, entitled Allegories of Spirit in Nature, will be the first show under Fritsche’s management. Marka Burns’s nature- and spirit-inspired paintings show an altered reality and a fantastical point of view. Painted with the artist’s untamed imagination, Burns’s work may remind you of a scene from Alice in Wonderland that got inserted into Siddhartha, whether you’re thinking of talking flowers or the daydreams of The Buddha.
As a California native, Greg Fritsche has always been inspired by the unique variety and boundless beauty of our coastal, southern landscape. His passion for painting is largely fueled by his reverence for nature and its ever-changing range of colors and moods. Fritsche focuses on capturing specific moments in time when the light and subject strike a perfect balance. He stresses in his work the importance of conservation and protection of our environment. Fritsche also enjoys gardening and landscape design, which explains his accomplished career as a set designer, with over twenty shows to his credit at the Playhouse.
“I think the Gallery is an important part of what we at the Playhouse can offer the community,” said Andrew Vonderschmitt, Executive and Producing Artistic Director of the Playhouse, in a statement. “Many artists can’t get their feet in the door, or just want to show their stuff to a new audience, we can offer that… The only prerequisite to being selected is if you have enough work to fill the room”—the Gallery takes up most of the downstairs space at the Playhouse—”other than that it is up to the curatorial committee to book them accordingly.”
“I am extremely happy and humbled to take on the role of Curator for the Playhouse,” said Fritsche. “Having shown my own work here several times I know how nice it can be to get new audiences for your work.”
Artists who are interested in showing their work can submit on the Playhouse’s website. Local artists who have enough work to utilize the space will be selected. Those who are interested in group shows will also be considered.
The Long Beach Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St.,
The Marka Burns exhibit, Allegories of Spirit in Nature, will open on October 16 at the Long Beach Playhouse, located at 5021 E. Anaheim St., and will run until November 30. The opening wine and cheese reception is on October 16, from 6:00PM to 9:00PM. can be seen during show time hours: Performances are 8:00PM Friday and Saturday and 2:00PM Sunday. The box office is open Wednesday-Saturday from 3:00-8:00PM and Sundays from 1:00-2:00PM on scheduled matinees.
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