Artwork in Wonderland

Sullivan Goss’ new exhibition celebrates mid-Spring with a splash of color and a bit of buoyancy, turning the downtown gallery into a Wonderland with both new works by the gallery’s regularly represented artists and pieces from four artists who have never shown there before. The latter group includes Roland Petersen, the Danish-born painter whose works hang at MOMA and the Whitney in New York (among other museums), and international design phenomenon Sami Hayek whose wall-hanging sculpture called Frequency 4 features a biaxially symmetrical shape that comes from an auditory frequency some say helps to eliminate negativity. Philip Kupferschmidt’s ceramic mushrooms, vases, and jars are adorned with “vivid and gloopy glazes over crusty surfaces, with drips and glops that are so exuberant, they can hardly contain themselves.” And L.A. artist John Millei, who moved here a few years ago, was a teacher at the famed Art Center and is shown and collected internationally. 

Several Sullivan-Goss Santa Barbara favorites are also part of the show, including Hank Pitcher, who will be represented by a six-foot-tall by four-foot-wide painting of the aeonium cyclops succulent in full bloom, and Ken Bortolazzo, who will be showing new stainless steel kinetic floral sculptures and a new mobile. Lynda Weinman has forms in ceramic and plastic that recall gardens, while Angela Perko’s painting is called Castor Bean Plant. 

“The whole seed of the show sprung from the opportunity to work with these new artists who are very well known outside Santa Barbara,” explained gallery owner Nathan Vonk. “The concept incorporates all of them and allows us to bring some art that we already have that are also bright, exciting, fun things to create a cohesive room that looks amazing. I think it’s one of my favorites we’ve had in here in a very long time.”

Many of the artists are expected to be on hand for the opening reception at 1st Thursday on May 2, including Phoebe Brunner, whose paintings in the Westward, the Land is Bright exhibition that continues through May 27 could easily fit in with the theme of Wonderland, which shows through June 24. But every other day of the week might give a clearer view of the artwork. 

“Stop by any time,” Vonk said. “You’ll probably have the place to yourself, and you’ll get my undivided attention.”