Following on the acclaim and success of their Water Works show, the Porch Gallery Ojai and The Venice Institute of Contemporary Art (ViCA) presented Water Works II, an international juried exhibition including works from as far away as China. Water Works II is broadly focused on the myriad issues related to water - from its beauty, its scarcity, its importance to human life, the politics of it, to its environmental issues and beyond.
Spread between the exhibition space at Porch Gallery Ojai and The Ojai Art Center the show featured 70 pieces of work by 54 artists*. In addition to the gallery venues, three commissioned sculptures were installed in and around Ojai by artists KuBo (Besant Hill School), Sonja Schenk (The Farmer and the Cook) and Alberto Bevacqua (Porch Gallery Ojai). The exhibition traveled to the Glendale Community College Art Gallery in September, 2015,
During the opening weekend, on Saturday, May 9th, a panel discussion moderated by ViCA Director Juri Koll regarding water issues was held next to Porch Gallery Ojai at Modern Folk Living from 4-5 p.m. Liam Carpenter-Urquhart, a senior from The Thacher School in Ojai, presented a poem to open the discussion. On Sunday, May 10th, Johnny Fonteyn of Rio Gozo Farms conducted a special tour of his organic farm in upper Ojai at Besant Hill School covering topics such as organic farming in Ojai, water use and conservation in a farm setting, and the farms role and impact on the natural ecosystem.
*Accepted artists:
Richard Amend, Susan Amorde, Nurit Avesar, Vince Baworouski, Bobbi Bennett, MB Boissonnault, Bill Leigh Brewer, Gary Brewer, Patricia Chidlaw, Diane Cockerill, Duane Dammeyer, Bibi Davidson, Lynne Deutch, Bill Dewey, L. Aviva Diamond, Elizabeth Garat, Jack Halbert, Sharon Hardy, Mark Indig, Cynthia James, Amy Kaczur, Colleen M Kelly, J. J. L'heureux, Terri Laine, Campbell Laird, Feng Ling, Daniel Leighton, Daniel Jack Lyons, Aline Mare, Bruce Mcallister, Jim Mcaninch, Mary Mcgill, Wendy Osher, Ann Phong, Osceola Refetoff, Kate Register, Gay Summer Rick, Shawn K. Riley, Lisa Rosel, Karrie Ross, Catherine Ruane, Seda Saar, Jill Shanbrom, Yin Sheng, Joan Scheibel, Wendy Smith, Shyun Song, Caryl St. Ama, Jill Sykes, Mark Tovar, Katie Van Horne, Christine Weir, Tracey Weiss, Gina Yu
SONJA SCHENK - MARKER, 2015