Art at The Aquarium of the Pacific

I said I'd find alternative spaces where art is being put on display and on May 5 - May 6 a relaxed almost home-spun type of exhibit took place at the Aquarium in Long Beach. My friend and classmate was selected to display her work and it was a great opportunity for me to visit a place I had not been to yet in the LA area.

Happy Dominique

Julie, Dominique, and Suzanne

Dominique Ovalle has been studying and painting underwater ocean scenes for at least few months now. I still remember the day she received a huge encyclopedic type volume book of images of the ocean and all it's creatures and Eco-systems. Shortly thereafter her work began to evolve.

Yea! First Place.

Close up

I had seen her apply paint to canvas but never with the same passion that I am seeing now. Her ocean blues and greens pop with really bright orange-red dry pigment loosely applied to the wet surface that at once denotes little ocean swimmers, coral or ocean plant forms that have come to life.

Whether the canvases are big or small or in between the feeling of the precariousness of our oceans is palpable. Ovalle knows how to apply paint in thick swashes or cool glazes, and then just as quickly she may scratch out or erase and rough up the image, just enough to suck you in and make you wonder. Is this real or imagined?

Little Pieces

Along with Ovalle's work were several other artists who's work was on display most of which I found to be uninspiring images in gleece prints, photography and drawings. However, a young artist named Jenny Cao was sitting next to Ovalle while quietly watching visitors with her small paper sculptures in front of her on the table. While the pieces were clearly the work of a young artist they had little spots of hope and detail that caught my eye.

Jenny Cao

She graciously explained to me that she makes all of her own paper for her sculptures and molds it herself, often waiting for just the right time to cut, rip, or shape it just to push the idea a bit further before it fully dries. The results are lovely and understated.

Inside the small Sculpture

After my brief interlude with the ad-hoc art display I went and enjoyed the aquarium exhibits. Since I went on a Saturday afternoon it was quite crowded and noisy with families with young children in all states of experiences from awe to annoyed.

Aquarium Display

The stingray touch-tank was fantastic, while I was hesitant at first, I became reluctant to leave because it seemed these creatures were just as excited about being touched as I was about touching them.

A very feminine creature

The second pleasing experience is that the aquarium dims the lights and plays a video show about once an hour to educate the visitors about all things ocean. Having the huge place go dark slows everyone down and quiets the building briefly, I for one was glad for the break. What this brief darkness did was encourage me to go ahead and see another exhibit.

All in all a pleasant day at the aquarium to visit a friend and her art.