Breakthrough

Curated by Ginger Van Hook, Sponsored by the Van Hook Foundation

“BREAKTHROUGH” Curated by Ginger Van Hook,

CURATOR STATEMENT

Breakthrough Exhibition Artist Talk December 2024 - 2025

The March 08th ARTIST TALK WILL ALSO REVEAL AND DISCUSS BREAKTHROUGH MOMENTS IN THE RECENT CALIFORNIA FIRES.

We are grateful to the Fire Fighters who risked their lives to save lives of our residents in the recent disasters affecting the Palisades/Altadena and surrounding areas.

This BREAKTHROUGH Exhibition is now dedicated to support artist victims of the fires through donations at The Van Hook Foundation. wwww.vanhookfoundation.org When you make a donation to VHF through the website, a portion of your donation will go to funding a selected or specific artist or organization like American Red Cross or an artist that is specified by you, the art patron or the current owner of the artwork. You will make your selection communicated by email to gingervanhook@gmail.com … also arrange for pick up of your purchased works at the Gallery or shipping of the works to your location. Details will be arranged in writing through email and phone support will follow to ensure your artwork is confirmed arrived.

This art show explores A BREAKTHROUGH moment in the life of an artist.

Ginger Van Hook

Curator, Photographer~Writer, Los Angeles, Ca

My Breakthrough Statement

My Breakthrough moment was a crossroads between art and engineering.

After my father passed away during the Pandemic, I inherited his machine shop, engineering firm and medical design business. However that had the consequence of focusing me solely on developing and thriving the engineering side of the shop. After a number of years of struggling with the pandemic supply chain issues and the changing landscape of customer orders, I had a revelation that I could also create artwork for my fellow artists with these specialized tools and machines my father had in his shop. I pivoted into separating the shop space into two sides.

The warehouse continues to be for the fabrication of works in metal or plastics of all sizes and shapes, while the front office, which faces the lovely mountains of Duarte and the San Gabriels’ under tall pine trees, I carved out an ART GALLERY space. This pivot impacted my photography displays by giving me a breakthrough moment in the framing of my photos. I was suddenly freed from the traditional square shape black or white frame and explored developing shapes and programming my frames and artwork to become 3D sculptures. I could explore making art with CNC machines, programming or 3D printing.

My first exhibition of this work was in 2023 at the Inglewood Open Studios Tour. Since then, I have continued to explore my new options in 3D printing, while exploring custom made materials to make art and photographic sculptures at Ingels Engineering Services Inc. www.ingelsengineeringservices.com

BREAKTHROUGH EXHIBIT DONATION PRICE LIST Dec 7th, 2024 - 2025, Gallery 1828

Ginger Van Hook

Photography and Sculpture

Tulips and Flowers Colorful sculptures

Individual framed work $750.00 each

Rouzanna Berberian

Artist

My Breakthrough Statement

My current work explores the abstract shapes and patterns present in Armenian rugs and their visual connection to flexible circuit board designs, represented as geometric abstractions. My breakthrough occurred when I integrated elements of contemporary technological circuit designs with the patterns and symbols of traditional Armenian rugs in my paintings. I strongly believe that these meticulously crafted rugs are filled with encoded messages, passed down through generations by our female ancestors. I investigate the convergence of these seemingly unrelated yet conceptually connected ideas. Technology collects and transfers data in a manner similar to how Armenian rugs, with their intricate designs, collect and convey the stories of the Armenian people. By juxtaposing the abstract patterns found in rugs with flexible circuit board designs, I aim to recognize both as conduits of information. This fusion of traditional craftsmanship and innovative technology enables us to decode the hidden messages woven into these rugs, leading to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between tradition and innovation, as well as memory and data.

BREAKTHROUGH EXHIBIT DONATION PRICE LIST Dec 7th, 2024 - 2025, Gallery 1828

Title

“Stay Connected”, Oil and Acrylic Gold on Canvas.

Each piece of this triptych is 8”x8”, 2024 (three pieces)

Title

The diptych is titled “Wired Harmony”, Oil and Acrylic Gold on Canvas, size, 2024, (two pieces)

Pricing available by request.

Steven Fujimoto

Artist, Sculptor, Photographer, Redondo Beach, CA

My Breakthrough Statement

Most artworks capture a moment in time, be it an artist’s creative state while painting an abstract work, the cacophony of traffic during rush hour through the photographer’s lens, or Madam Lisa Giocondo posing for da Vinci. But what about the artist’s physical tools themselves? Is there a continuum associated with their existence, be it time or otherwise? And how much of a factor does or should the physical tool play in the quality of the artwork.

For the past 18 years, I have been exploring intaglio and relief printmaking in its wide variety of forms; from etching and aquatint to engraving, drypoint, photogravure, and lino- and wood-cut techniques. During those years, I have lived with, tolerated, and grown accustomed to the idiosyncrasies of my 'baby' etching press. With one-inch diameter upper and lower rollers, one-to-one gearing, and 11" width bed, it represented the most basic of design. Fussy even on good days, a typical yield would be one good pull for every 3 to 4 prints deemed unacceptable--smeared or stuttered image, creased paper, under-pressed image, etc. With intaglio printing, no two prints are ever identical--but my press redefined the breadth of that spectrum.

In April of 2023, my breakthrough moment occurred when I had the good fortune of stumbling upon artist Steve Hull's Craigslist post for his used Blick model 906 etching press. With a four-inch diameter upper roller, 3.35-to-one gearing reduction, 36" long phenolic bed, and calibrated pressure adjustment design, it was and continues to be a dream come true to me. All of the shortcomings of my baby press are absent with the Blick unit. Also absent are the emotional concerns and apprehensions that surfaced without fail when considering the prospect of using my baby press—particularly for projects when a completion timeline is required.

For the Breakthrough exhibit, I plan to submit an etching/aquatint print that was created on my Blick press. Entitled “Kiki Delivers the Out,” it is the first using my new press.

BREAKTHROUGH EXHIBIT DONATION PRICE LIST Dec 7th, 2024 - 2025, Gallery 1828

Work: “Kiki Delivers the Out”

Intaglio and relief printmaking one of a kind print

Framed (One Piece) 20” x 30”

Price $680

Flora Kao

Installation Artist, Photographer, Sculptor

My Breakthrough Statement

Two years ago, I began making large-scale topographic rubbings of White Point Beach and Preserve in San Pedro, Ca. In researching White Point’s history, I learned of the beach’s significance as a center for Japanese American community in the early twentieth century. These cyanotypes are breakthrough creations for a new body of work overlaying historic photographs with Japanese embroidery patterns. This series highlights the Japanese Americans that once flocked to White Point for cultural celebrations and recreation before their immigrant community was decimated by internment and coastal defense policies. I am excited to further experiment with cyanotype and archival research in the new work I am producing for upcoming shows at Angels Gate Cultural Center and the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery.

BREAKTHROUGH EXHIBIT DONATION PRICE LIST Dec 7th, 2024 - 2025, Gallery 1828

Unique One of a kind cyanotype prints on cotton fiber material 8.5” x11”, unframed.

White Point Beach and Preserve Japanese Cultural Activities prior to the internment and coastal defense policies implemented to isolate perceived.

Collection of cyanotype 6 prints $1200

Linda Kunik

Curator, Installation Artist

My Breakthrough Statement

My breakthrough moment came in two parts. Both came about when I decided that I just had to “go for it.” The first breakthrough was combining photography and painting in the same image—a long-time dream of mine. I would actually cut out parts of the photograph and fill the empty space with a photorealistic painting of what was there before.

At the same time, I was given the opportunity to play around with an emulsion technique, and discovered my own version of it, where I hand-separate an ink emulsion image from its original support and float it in a liquid bath. The free floating translucent picture is at once ghostly and textural. Allowing the diaphanous image to take on a life of its own, I gently push the skin onto its new support which solidifies its distortions and ripples.

This second body of work, which is part of this exhibition, explores the intersection of what is planned and what happens accidentally in human experience—the nature of causality. It’s about what is calculated and what is created by accident, turning a photograph, which can be copied over and over again into a unique art piece that cannot be duplicated. Choosing as the subject matter the history and culture of Naples, Italy, I have combined images telling a story of past to present. Eyes over the City.

BREAKTHROUGH EXHIBIT DONATION PRICE LIST Dec 7th, 2024 - 2025, Gallery 1828

a. Still Life

2024

21" x 31"

Emulsion Transfer on Dibond

b. Up Up & Away

2024

21" x 31"

Emulsion Transfer on Dibond

c. Church & State

2024

21" x 31"

Emulsion Transfer on Dibond

d. Gazing Upward

2024

21" x 31"

Emulsion Transfer on Dibond

Price $ 4900 Each (Four pieces individually framed)

Leigh Salgado

Collage Artist, Visual Artist

My Breakthrough Statement

This work is part of my series "As The World Turns.” This was the first time that I made use of a tondo, or circular shape. I had been reflecting on issues that concerned me and that angered me. While I often use my state of mind and feelings to begin working in the studio, I ultimately aspire to make images that work well visually. Orbs have many metaphorical possibilities which were well-suited to what I wanted to convey. I was interested in continuing my use of a feminine visual language and expanding it to reside in a more universal context. This series also has visual layers in the way each piece was constructed, offering hints of metaphysical depth and complexity.

BREAKTHROUGH EXHIBIT DONATION PRICE LIST Dec 7th, 2024 - 2025, Gallery 1828

Cuffed

2021

Hand-cut paper & acrylic on round panel

10 x 10” round

In & Out

2021

Hand-cut paper & acrylic on round panel

10 x 10” round

Plenty

2021

Hand-cut paper & acrylic on round panel

10 x 10” round

Opulent Orb

2021

Hand-cut paper & acrylic on round panel

10 x 10” round

Sweet Spot

2021

Hand-cut paper & acrylic on round panel

10 x 10” round

Uncuffed

2021

Hand-cut paper & acrylic on round panel

10 x 10” round

Pricing available upon request.

Luke VanHook

Painter, Visual Artist, Sculptor

My Breakthrough Statement

I have been working in oil painting at the beginning of my career, when I was given the opportunity to work with my father-in-law in his machine shop. He started teaching me the CNC machining process and allowed me to explore my art direction. I started to learn that I could use the CNC machine to create circles and thus I made a series of works that involved circles. Meanwhile, my own father had given me a burl piece of wood from an old tree in the Pine Nut mountains and thus I experimented with machining circles across both aluminum and wood. I wound up with a breakthrough piece I titled “My Two Dads”. Since that time, both my father, Noah Van Hook and my Father-in-law Luis Ingels, have passed away.

I now have a new appreciation for this art piece, and recognize it as the point at which I had achieved a unique breakthrough.

BREAKTHROUGH EXHIBIT DONATION PRICE LIST Dec 7th, 2024 - 2025, Gallery 1828

Sculpture

Black, Aluminum CNC circle engravings, anodized. $2400.00