Buddha Abides, presented by Frameworks, at Sullivan Goss Gallery
The Buddha taught that everything is burning, a metaphor that reminds us of the impermanence of everything around us. According to this way of thinking, things that actually burn only manifest this nature more obviously and dramatically than those that don’t. This is probably of little consolation to Christi Westerhouse and David Cort, owners of Caruso-Woods Gallery/Frameworks, which was recently destroyed in a fire.
But they are more likely encouraged by Buddhist notions of inter-being, which emphasize how everything continues throughout space and time, nothing being limited by a separate self. Certainly, this has been the case with their monthly 1st Thursday event and annual benefit, which have, in the wake of the fire, multiplied from a single location on De la Guerra Street to many other locales and events. Buddha Abides, their annual benefit for Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County and Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamsala, appeared at Casa de la Guerra for May’s 1st Thursday, and is now on display at Sullivan Goss. A benefit for the couple and their soon-to-be-born daughter was also held at Haggle on 1st Thursday, and Indigo Interiors hung works donated by more than 30 local artists-including Mary Heebner, Linda Saccoccio, and Marcia Burtt-for a benefit auction held on May 11. This Friday, May 18, a benefit for the fire victims, including the upstairs neighbors, will be held at Casa de la Guerra, with music by Spencer the Gardener.
Meanwhile, Buddha Abides sits quietly at Sullivan Goss, its many Buddha faces smiling with equanimity. As in past years, collage and assemblage are the mediums closest to hand for expressing the multifaceted aesthetic Buddhism seems to invoke. For this reason, works in other mediums stand out, including “Digital Buddha,” a print by Stephen Fields; “Offerings,” a kiln-formed glass by Judith Geiger; and “Mangala, Godess of Long Life” by Susan Seaberry. Several artists whose works were notable in years past reappeared; be sure to catch “Sacred Union,” a provocative watercolor by Meganne Forbes, and “Golden Pavilion,” a gorgeous photograph by Chris Messner. This year’s Buddha Abides is as rich an exhibition as ever, and the title of Lyn Gianni’s acrylic says it all: “There Is No Need for Temples.”
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The benefit concert for Frameworks will be held on Friday, May 18, at Casa de la Guerra (9 E. De la Guerra St.). Tickets are $10, and can be purchased at Haggle (5 E. De la Guerra St.).
