Art is explored as a form of meditation in Rubenstein Chan’s upcoming contemporary art exhibit, Held in Motion. Featuring renowned artists with their own unique takes on the topic, each emerges with bodies of work that surge from a search for harmony and healing.
Based in Laguna Beach, Clara Berta creates large-scale works that evoke the tranquility of the natural world, like the one she is set in. Water is central to her works, linking her Hungarian heritage to her current residence in California — attesting to the enduring relevance of the ocean to her life and work.
Berta’s paintings are constructed through an intricately layered process consisting of airbrush to establish depth and poured and manipulated paint to balance the flow and dynamic movement of the work.
“I add layer upon layer until I reach a compositional harmony between color, form, and negative space,” says Berta.
Exhibited in high-profile contexts such as a Ray-Ban Meta Glasses ad in Super Bowl LIX (view here) Berta has reached international recognition for her unique works.
Berta is joined by Taiwanese-American artist Chenhung Chen, presenting her 2020 Vision series. Inspired by the pandemic, Chen developed a body of collage and mixed-media drawings inspired by the National Audubon Society Guide to Birds.
Her work is grounded in Taoist concepts of Chi and balance between opposing forces, reflecting a process-driven practice that reconciles ancient craft traditions and her contemporary Taiwanese-American identity. This is represented through the fluid movement of her work, mirroring the flow of energy between the self and the world.
“Drawing from my connections with the urban environment and ancient craft traditions, my work negotiates spaces of cultural, environmental, psychological, and temporal change,” Chen says, continuing, “by using an array of commonplace objects, my art seeks to discover the link between one’s personal narrative and our collective humanity.”
Berta and Chen’s work will be on display at Rubenstein Chan Gallery, with an opening reception on January 17 between 2 and 5 p.m. at 410 Palm Avenue, Unit B3 in Carpinteria. The exhibit will thereafter be open to visitors through March 1 by appointment. See rubensteinchan.com for more information.
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