On January 20, 2023 Painted Brain had its first art show of the new year. It was a very successful art show at Painted Brain’s Community Center at 5980 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. The art exhibition was called Beyond the Surface and it had quite a turn out. Along with the featured artists and general public, Painted Brain’s own Adrian Alfaro, Alfred Coles, Raevaughn Short, Melissa Hernandez, and Kevin Jokipii attended the event. A good amount of people who attended the event gave donations, which Painted Brain appreciates very much. People could donate when they RSVP’d online or at the actual event.
Beyond the Service focuses on telling real people’s unknown stories and exploring the journey to wellness. Beyond the Surface digs deeper to uncover the truth, whether beautiful or unpleasant. The artists featured include Simone Clark, John Parcher, Jack Scholfield and Jesse Watt, all participants of Painted Brain’s Community Impact Arts Grant Program.
Simone Clark is a multifaceted visual artist from Compton, CA. She enjoys experimenting and using different mediums for art exploration, but mainly uses acrylic paint for canvas work. The three art pieces that Simone had featured at the exhibition were “Of oneself”, “To Release or To Please”, and “Come again”. “The story behind these pieces I’m presenting are a story of myself and the belonging that I crave. I want to strive to create a sense of calm and help others feel either at ease or community knowing that someone else feels the way they do. No one deserves to feel like they are alone in this world full of life.”
John Parcher is an artist from NYC who combines oil painting on panels and stretched canvases and builds assemblages from it. His latest work “Empathy vs. Entropy” are in reaction to the Ukraine War news feed on his phone as well as the Robert Smithson’s.
Jesse Watt is an artist who grew up in a rich environment of graphic design and fine art. He is able to work in many mediums, but his main preoccupation is collage and assemblage. About the art show, Jesse had this to say, “I feel great. It’s affirming to put something together and see it completed. It’s cool to see my collage buddies show up. I’m really excited to see how the piece changes while people work on it. As far as Painted Brain is concerned, I love this place. Whenever I come here I’m surprised by the things I can learn about myself and the community.”
Jack Schofield is originally from London, but now resides in East Los Angeles. He is an artist interested in portraying intimacy between friends, romantic partners, or different communities. His primary art forms are oil and acrylic paint. About being featured in the art show, Jack had this to say, “It feels rewarding. There are a lot of barriers to show your work so having this space has been great. The team at Painted Brain have been great. They really care about the community.”
Painted Brain is very appreciative of the artists and attendees at the event. Painted Brain creates lasting community-based solutions to mental health challenges and the impact of social injustice through arts, advocacy, and enterprise. They will be having another art show called More Than Words on February 24, 2023 at 6:30 PM. This art show will be happening at the Painted Brain Community Center, and Painted Brain would love for you to come.
