Interior Space Takes Shape

Montecito’s only annual juried art exhibition opens with a reception Thursday, May 21, 4-6 p.m. in Reynolds Gallery. Views and Visions: Interior Space, on display May 21 through June 26, gathers submissions from artists throughout Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The reception will include an awards ceremony announcing winners of the $1,000 first prize and other cash awards, chosen by juror Elyse Gonzales.

Photographer Cheyenne Ellis is the featured artist of the exhibition. After graduating from Westmont in 2000, she studied at Brooks Institute of Photography before apprenticing under established photographers in Los Angeles and New York. Since 2005 she has worked independently shooting catalog and editorial images for clients including Volcom, New Line Cinema and Entertainment Weekly. For this exhibition she photographed outdoor spaces in Argentina, Louisiana, New York and elsewhere that convey a sense of interior enclosure.

Gonzales is the curator of exhibitions at the University Art Museum at UC Santa Barbara. Prior to coming to UCSB in May 2008, Gonzales was the assistant curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania. She will consider broad interpretations of the theme from literal building interiors to psychological, social or other conceptual forms of space.

“Interior Space” is the fourth annual Views and Visions exhibition, each featuring a Westmont alumnus. This is the third year the exhibition has been juried, and each year has seen increased numbers of participating artists. Previous themes include still life and shoes.

Reynolds Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. For directions to campus, visit the college’s Web site at www.westmont.edu. For more information, contact (805) 565-7140 or nprice@westmont.edu.