Riverside, Calif., January, 2001-- "Felix Angel: Linocuts and Monotypes" opens at the Brandstater Gallery Visual Arts Center at La Sierra University, during the first two weeks of February. "Tough Boy," "I Do Not See a Thing," "Gang," and "Self Portrait in Flames" are four of the 34 bold prints included in the exhibit.

Felix Angel is a Colombian-born artist who now resides in Washington D.C., where he is the director of the Inter-American Development Bank Cultural Center.

Angel began working with linoleum prints in 1998 because he enjoyed the boldness and graphic strength of the resulting images. The artist hopes the ambiguity of his images opens to the door to questions. "My work has always dealt with the human being, and the unconventional relation with himself and others," says Angel.

From Feb. 26 through March 15, two of La Sierra University's art faculty are exhibiting their work in the Brandstater Gallery. Peter Erhard, MA, MS, professor of art specializing in graphic design and photography, and Beatriz Mejia-Krumbein, associate professor specializing in mixed media painting and textiles, will be honored at a reception on Mar. 12, from 6:00-7:30 p.m.

La Sierra University professors exhibit artwork
Two artists will exhibit recent works that are visually distinct from each other, yet not completely unrelated in theme and intent. Beginning Feb. 26 and running through Feb. 15, La Sierra University (LSU) professors Beatriz Mejia-Krumbein and Peter Erhard will show their independent artwork at the Brandstater Gallery.

Both Mejia-Krumbein and Erhard's work sprouts from observations of culture and society. While Erhard uses black and white photographs to artistically document a transforming Vietnam, Mejia-Krumbein works with mixed media to confront viewers with social issues.

Beatriz Mejia-Krumbein, MA, MS, assistant professor of painting at LSU, says that everyone should be able to relate to her work. She wants to "break the silence" surrounding problems in society such as violence, which often is neglected because of potential unpleasantness of the topic.

Some of Mejia-Krumbein's works are interactive. "The Door," an installation, allows viewers to manipulate pieces of wood that have diverse parts of faces on them. She feels that the viewer‚s ability to manipulate the images initiates a dialogue with the physical work, which can lead to a more intimate grappling with concepts.
Fragments of fabric, pieces of newspaper, broken panels of wood, and collages play a large part in Mejia-Krumbein‚s artwork. These materials--layered, painted on, and sewn together--not only make for rich visual texture, but support the metaphors of life Mejia-Krumbein conveys. Though the work explores individual and communal struggles in many dimensions, the exploration is by no means bleak. Traces of hope, intimacy, protection, and unity are present in the way Mejia-Krumbein joins pieces together.

When Peter Erhard, MA, MS, La Sierra associate professor of photography and graphic design, talks about his photographs, he says he wants viewers to, "in some way, share my unique experience." The experience he refers to is a 10-week, 5,000-mile motorcycle trip he took in Vietnam. During this trip, Erhard shot over 130 rolls of film, from which the black and white photographs in this show were selected.

Erhard began his projects to document an evolving Vietnam seven years ago. "I knew when I first visited Vietnam in 1991 that significant social and economic changes would soon transform its face." Erhard interacts with and records people, places, things, activities, and experiences that show common people going about the business of life in another country.

Erhard calls Vietnam a "young, old country." He explains that "it is alive and rebuilding its infrastructure to benefit economy and citizens." The black and white images he captures hint at these very aspects of Vietnam's rapid changes and how they affect the basic lives of people.

Mejia-Krumbein says that social commentary and documentation are strong themes in the show. Erhard sees the connection in their work as stemming from their concern for human subjects and their experiences. The contrasting images approach life from two paths, yet allow the viewer to consider similar universal questions of how humans fit into society on an everyday basis and in struggles.

Brandstater Gallery is located on the campus of La Sierra University in Riverside. The gallery hours are Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Fri., 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Sun. 2-5 p.m. and is closed all university holidays.

Beatriz Mejia-Krumbein will also participate in a three-woman show at Self-Help Graphics in Los Angeles during the month of March. The show is about the transformation of woman.

April 9-26, Student Show; Reception: Monday April 9, 6-7:30 May 3-17, Lisa Cortez, Solo Senior Show; Reception: May 14, 6-7:30 p.m. May 29-June 17, Group Senior Show; Reception: June 4, 6-7:30 p.m. The Gallery will be open graduation day immediately after the commencement ceremonies.

Brandstater Gallery hours are: Mon.-Thur.: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Fri.: 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Sun.: 2-5 p.m. There is no admission charge.

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