BENEATH THE SURFACE:
Roots, Dreams, Fears, and Fantasies

October 11 - November 2, 2003

Avenue 50 Studio

Highland Park, CA 90042

This SCWCA sponsored exhibition was open to all women artists in Southern California. The juror for the exhibition was Christina Ochoa, Gallery Director, Galeria Otra Vez, Self-Help Graphics, Los Angeles.

Twenty-four artists were selected from seventy-three entries, by juror Christina Ochoa. Those chosen were images which she personally felt expressed the four themes of the exhibition.

Robin V. Adsit, Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlain, Janice Deloof, Eliana Domniquez, Susan Elizalde-Holler, Jackie Nach, and Robin B. Roy.

Ione W. Citrin, Elizabeth Mary Gonzalez, Gina Gulotta, Crystal Yachin Lee, Rosalyn Mesquita, Muriel Olguin, and Rita Stern.

Linda Arreola, Eva Kolosvary-Stupler, Beatriz Mejia Krumbein, Lori Minick, and Cathy Salser.

Carolyn Applegate, Karen Emmett, Pamela Keilson, Barbara Margolies, and Allison Schulnick.

The opening reception was well attended as was the closing reception. SCWCA President, Ann Isolde, had the following to say about the closing event:

The closing with artists telling stories about their work for Beneath the Surface: Roots, Dreams Fears and Fantasies at Avenue 50 Studio was captivating, inspiring, and revealing. The gallery was filled with many of the artists, friends, husbands, SCWCA members, and a small group of Cal State Los Angeles students who were doing a project on social protest/affirmation. It was so different than just picking up your work at the end of a show and heading home alone. Instead, there was a real feeling of sharing and camaraderie that brought the exhibition to life in a very communal way.

One by one, each artist stood next to her work and described the personal meaning, symbolism, and technique embodied in it. Various themes emerged as they talked and answered questions from the audience. One concerned the representation of the female body and different phases of life. Another related to things not said. Linda Arreola's abstract painting titled What I Did Not Say, resonated with Lori Minick's Bad Secrets and Cathy Salser's The Last Time, which focused on healing the emotional and physical wounds of battered women. Another theme related to reinterpreting stereotypical images. Beatriz Mejia-Krumbein transformed the wicked image of Eve into a strong woman offering a luminous golden apple as a symbol of fruitfulness. Ione Citrin represented the Pygmalion myth from a female perspective in Impossible Dream. Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin and Eliana Domniquez explored their Latino cultural roots. All in all, it was a very special event which SCWCA was proud to sponsor.

Images from the opening reception:

Avenue 50 Gallery
Barbara Margolies- Juror's First Prize	Muriel Olguin
Robin V. Adsit, Juror's second prize	Crystal Yachin Lee
Member, Barbara Margolies	Elizabeth Mary Gonzalez
Guests enjoy the opening reception	Members, Sandra Mueller and Linda Arreola
Juror, Christina Ochoa	Guests enjoy the reception
Juror, Christina Ochoa presenting award to Barabra Margolies	Juror, Christina Ochoa presenting award to Robin V. Adsit
Robin B. Roy	Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin with grand-daughter pointing at her grandmother's work
Beatriz Mejia-Krumbein	Carolyn Applegate
Susan Elizalde- Holler	Jackie Nach
Cathy Salser	Eliana Dominquez, Juror's third prize winner
Juror Christina Ochoa presenting award to Eliana Dominquez	Linda Arreola
Tina Gulotta	Eva Kolosvary-Stupler