ATM: Art, Tiles, Mosaics... an adventure in creativity

TAG: You’re It!
TAG stands for The Artists’ Gallery which recently moved from Santa Monica Boulevard to Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, California. Bergamot Station dates from 1875 when the Red Line trolley stopped there on its route from downtown Los Angeles to the Santa Monica Pier. Now it is an eight-acre site housing art galleries and The Santa Monica Museum of Art.

Saturday, January 9, TAG held a reception showing the work of all their member artists. A friend and I were invited by our mutual friend Katherine Kean. I was really looking forward to seeing the new gallery and Katherine’s new piece entitled Clouds Swirling Over the Great Marsh. But it was not meant to be. As soon as we turned off Olympic Boulevard we saw cars stuck in the intersection at Cloverfield and Michigan, the street leading to Bergamot Station. We thought, wow, this TAG show must be really popular. I found out later that THIRTEEN galleries at Bergamot had scheduled opening receptions for that same evening! Guys, you need somebody to coordinate your parties… and guess what, I am available!!!

It took us several lights to turn off Cloverfield on to Michigan. Then we inched along Michigan to the parking lot. Once in the lot we couldn’t move. We just sat there. Eventually we were able to work our way around the other cars but many people had made their own parking spaces and we drove through a forest of cars with only inches to spare. People were backing up without looking and turning around when they should have kept moving forward… It was one of those parking situations I only see in my nightmares. I felt lucky to escape the parking lot alive. But not wanting to disappoint anybody, least of all ourselves, we attempted to find a parking space on the street but we had no luck there either, and as we drove further and further into neighborhoods we were not familiar with, we made the choice to abandon the attempt and drove back to the safety of Culver City and one of our favorite Thai restaurants where we could deflate on brown rice and jasmine tea.

A few days later, on Tuesday to be exact, I had a canceled appointment and decided on the spur of the moment to drive over to TAG when there would be some peace and quiet. As I was getting ready I thought wouldn’t it be wild if Katherine was sitting at the front desk. I had no idea what her schedule was (TAG is a cooperative where the artists take turns working at various tasks, gallery-sitting being one of them). As I walked in the door I only saw another lady who turned out to be the current president. Then Katherine came into view—and I can’t really say I was surprised. She said I must have felt her vibe, and probably I did!

The new space is really lovely with plenty of room to move around. They are busy remodeling an upper level so that all the artists can be represented even when there is a show dedicated to one or two of the members.

The current exhibit showcases one work from each member. As always with that group, I was very impressed with the quality of work. But, of course, my heart will go where my heart will go, and I was pulled towards two pieces in particular by Sue Keane and Joe Pinkelman. Keane’s Untitled (ugh, I’ve commented before on artists calling their work “untitled”… perleeze, give me a break…) is comprised of four undulating glazed ceramic tiles on wood. Pinkelman’s Head Teapot is listed as stoneware, decals, and enamel. You gotta see them in person—I didn’t want to stop looking at either of them and could easily find a spot in my living room for both.

Of course, Katherine Kean’s paintings are always inspiring and I never have to ask which ones are hers. Her style is very distinctive and I always love the subject matter she chooses.
Another of my favorite TAG artists is Anne M. Bray. Her entry in the show is entitled Twilight in pastel on paper (at least I think so as I stupidly wrote my notes in ink on a shiny business card and a day later the ink has smudged and I can barely read anything!). I saw a solo exhibit of hers a while ago and fell in love with her landscapes. Art is an emotional experience for me, sometimes good and sometimes bad, and if I connect with a work of art it doesn’t have to be in any particular medium.

Another familiar name for me at the show was Carole Garland. I was actually surprised by her piece Palming it Off—not what I expected from her. Experimentation is important for an artist and doing the same thing over and over and over again just because you can is not my idea of creativity... so I enjoyed the fact that this was something a little different.

There were many other artists I could comment on. Most of the work was really outstanding and it was a treat to see so much great artwork all in one place. This comprehensive show is on until the end of January, so don’t miss it, you hear?

TAG Gallery
2525 Michigan Avenue, D-3
(Bergamot Station)
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Tel: (310) 829-9556