Small Images Exhibition

October 3 - October 31, 2014

Juror's Lecture: Friday, October 3, 4pm (in Administration Building Room 211)

Opening Reception: Friday, October 3, 5-7pm (awards at 5:30pm)

Santa Barbara, CA - The Atkinson Gallery will present the annual Small Images exhibition from October 3-October 31, 2014. A juried competition featuring regional artists working in all media, the exhibition's only constraint is size - all works must be 18" or smaller in every dimension. The diminutive scale of the works necessitates both intimacy and concision resulting in a dynamic exhibit that invites viewers to "take a closer look."

This year, Los Angeles gallerist Tif Sigfrids served as the juror for the exhibition. Living and working in Los Angeles, Sigfrids has a special fondness for small spaces (and the small works that fit inside these spaces). She opened her eponymous gallery in 2013 with an exhibition by Los Angeles based artist Joe Sola titled Portraits: An Exhibition in Tif Sigfrids' Ear. The show was precisely that, six microscopic portraits that fit inside a small gallery nestled in Sigfrids' ear for the duration of the exhibition. Prior to opening her own gallery, Sigfrids was the director of Thomas Solomon Gallery where she initiated the project space, Tif's Desk, which was a series of regularly rotating exhibitions that took place inside of her glass topped desk. Immediately preceding the opening reception, Sigfrids will give a lecture about her work as a gallerist and an artist with special attention to the "small image."

The Atkinson Gallery is tremendously pleased with the enthusiastic response to Small Images from artists this year.  Indeed, the exhibition gathered an unprecedented amount of attention even before opening, as a total of 372 pieces by 177 different local artists were submitted for consideration. This marked as significant increase in participation from the 246 pieces by 121 artists received in 2013.  From these submissions, juror Tif Sigfrids selected 39 works from 29 artists including Esther Alinejad, Adrienne Allebe, Penny Arntz, Pamela Benham, Kit Boise-Cossart, Linda Branch, Phoebe Brunner, Lynn Coleman, Ralph Corners, Rob Decker, Rick Doehring, Benjamin Eckert, Elizabeth Flanagan, Diane Handloser, Holli Harmon, Marilyn Kandus, Fredda Leiter, Sara Lytle, Laurie MacMillan, Patrick McGinnis, George Sanders, Nicole Strasburg, Iben Vestergaard, Tio Vivo, Stephanie Washburn, Dorene White, Bill Woolway, Samah Yasin, and Pamela Zwhel-Burke for display.  Awards, including a $1,000 first prize, will be announced at 5:30pm during the opening reception on the evening of Friday, October 3rd, from 5-7pm. This year's exhibit is made possible with generous support from the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation.

The Atkinson Gallery, Santa Barbara City College Art Department's showcase for the visual arts, hosts six exhibitions of contemporary art each academic year featuring international, national, regional and student artists working in a wide range of styles and media. The gallery is located on SBCC's east campus in room 202 of the Humanities Building. Gallery hours are: M-Th 10am-7pm & Fr-Sa 10am-4pm). All gallery exhibits and lectures are free and open to the public.