Art at the Library

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"Folded-Unfolded" by Raphaële Cohen-Bacry

May 4 - July 5, 2019, Central Library Gallery

The Newport Beach City Arts Commission presents an exhibition of acrylic and mixed media artwork by artist Raphaële Cohen-Bacry, on display at the Newport Beach Central Library gallery.

Raphaële Cohen-Bacry spent the ﬁrst part of her life in Paris, where she learned from some of the best painters in France. She also took numerous printing classes and spent hours of live model sessions at la Grande Chaumière. Still developing her own craft she attended the Ecole de La Rue Blanche, a famous school of performing art in Paris, to satisfy her fascination for theater and set design. She is still passionate about performance and story-telling. It translates in her work: each piece is like a promise for a special encounter, each is an opening towards an inner experience.

She has worked in all media and all formats, with a great interest in action painting and abstract lyricism for many years.

Two years ago Raphaële decided to stop using paint brushes. She wanted to give more room to the medium itself and maintain an innovative approach in all her work. In order to achieve this goal she has to let go of some control but yet stay in charge of the process. She has been developing very personal techniques that allow the paint and the support to get in direct contact without instrument. By a series of folding and dipping, or the use of water as a vector, she creates new interactions between the surface and the medium. For some of the pieces selected for the show, she has been using images from auction magazines as support for her research.

The exhibition will be on display during library operating hours, May 4 through July 5, 2019.

"Sobier Photo Project" by Ed Olen

July 8 - September 6, 2019, Central Library Gallery

The Newport Beach City Arts Commission presents a the "Sobier Photo Project" by celebrated photographer Ed Olen, on display at the Newport Beach Central Library gallery.

Ed Olen has traveled to Haiti with The Heart of Hollywood Foundation on yearly mission trips since 2012. For the past three years the organization has focused on the village of Sobier, which was particularly devastated by the 2010 earthquake. Olen always photographs his trips, but his year he decided to try something new. With the help of strategic and handmade props, Olen juxtaposes a culture of wealth against a community of need.

"It's the village that is being overlooked, " Olen says, "So I decided to do this series to bring attention to them." Ed Olen captures the unique personalities of his subjects, creating striking images that demand attention and evoke reaction. "This village is among the most ravaged we've seen in Haiti, " Olen says, "It's third world poverty 75 minutes from Miami."

The Heart of Hollywood Foundation has begun construction on a clinic for the community, projected to be completed this spring. "Now we want to focus on a well for fresh water because it's a 2-hour plus round-trip for them to get fresh water every day."

Ed Olen spent 10 years shooting food and fashion for local luxury lifestyle publication, Coast Magazine, and currently freelances in the greater Orange County and Los Angeles areas.

The exhibition will be on display during library operating hours, July 8 through September 6, 2019.

Up Next

2019

Special Exhibition: Newport Beach Retrospective: September 9 - November 1
Sherry Marger ("Destination Art", acrylic on canvas): November 4 - January 3, 2020

2020

Gail White ("Shore & Marsh Birds", photography): January 6 - March 6
Lauren Mendelsohn-Bass (oil on canvas): March 9 - May 8
Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs ("Youth Ocean Art", mixed media): May 11 - July 10
William Leung (acrylic on canvas): July 13 - September 4
Agnes Schenk ("Never Stop Blooming", oil on canvas): September 8 - November 6
"Fake or Fortune: Provenances and Attribution" (exhibition and lecture): November 9 - January 8, 2021

To have artwork considered for an exhibition at the Central Library, download and fill out the Application for Consideration Art