Lena Rushing and Co. showcase the strange side of storytelling with new Bunker exhibition 

Art is about expression. Ask any painter, craftsman, musician, actor—you name it.

And that's how San Luis Obispo-based artist Lena Rushing sees things.

"As artists, we seek to form a connection between two things—sometimes that's us and the audience and sometimes it's with the art itself," she said. "We get that by sharing something deep and specific about ourselves."

Starting on March 1 at The Bunker SLO art gallery, Rushing will showcase her works and offer them for purchase alongside pieces by fellow artists Mac Wilkinson and Kelsey Amann. The works range from oil paintings to collages and shadow boxes.

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• Image Courtesy Of Lena Rushing
• SHADOWBOX SHOWTIME Bedlam and the Sea by Lena Rushing is just one part of the current showcase at The Bunker SLO called The German Baby Sperm Incident.

Rushing has long been involved in SLO's art scene, contributing oil paintings that typically depict women in strange or singular places.

"I wanted to invite these younger artists to showcase their work as well, since they don't normally have a chance to showcase stuff in this setting," said Rushing, who works alongside the pair at the SLO Museum of Art (SLOMA).

One specific event that happened during work at the museum became the central theme to this Bunker SLO exhibit, which is more unorthodox than Rushing's standard affair.

"You might want to sit down before I tell you the name of this exhibit," Rushing said laughing. "It's called The German Baby Sperm Incident."

The name, according to Rushing, comes from a surreal experience with a SLOMA visitor that involved a rant featuring a quilt, a baby, and the alleged artificial insemination clinic's switcheroo of that baby's origin.

"The whole time I am barely getting any words out [and] have become permanently red in the face and a little sweaty," Wilkinson said. "She was just talking at me."

Wilkinson and Rushing are no strangers to unique conversations like this, especially with the number of visitors SLOMA gets regularly.

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• Image Courtesy Of Kelsey Amann
• AWESOME OIL Red Experiment by Kelsey Amann aims to showcase the vulnerability of artists and the rawness of unique expression.

"Over the years, you get all kinds of people coming through the museum with unique stories and interesting personalities," Rushing said. "This one in particular made such an impression on Mac and me that we felt it was a perfect name for our little showcase."

She said that while the story itself was extremely surreal in the moment, it also revealed something to her about art.

"This exhibition is not about a German baby, it's about the desire to make a connection by sharing something oddly specific and deeply personal with strangers," Rushing said. "The German Baby Sperm Incident is the name of this exhibition because, like art, it's strange, personal, vulnerable, and doesn't always make sense as you expect it to."

All three artists will have their works featured in the corner of The Bunker next to the Nautical Bean coffee shop, where visitors can look at the art while also grabbing a caffeine treat.

"When you are going into a coffee shop, you probably are not expecting an exhibit with a name like this," Rushing said laughing. "But it will stick with you and hopefully inspire people to receive the art in new and exciting ways."

Rushing said that doing this type of exhibit is also a great way for her to showcase the work of her fellow SLOMA coworkers, noting that fresh voices and a nontypical selection of her art should help the exhibit stick out for people.

"Normally I make works that are around 4-feet tall oil paintings, but this time around I am going for smaller, more unorthodox non-oil painting work," Rushing said. "I'm letting the younger artists handle that end of things."

Everything in The German Baby Sperm Incident will be available for purchase.

"This exhibit is all about the give-and-take between artists and audience," Rushing said. "Much like the person who inspired the name, we are coming in and telling this grand, strange tale with our art."

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• Image Courtesy Of Mac Wilkinson
• FABRIC FUN Well Fed by Mac Wilkinson is all about the strange and weird, taking inspiration from a wild story heard while working SLO Museum of Art's front desk.

She wants the exhibit to inspire people to express themselves in less typical ways—whether telling strange tales or anything from life's day-to-day absurdity.

"As artists, we should strive to share something deeply personal," Rushing said. "Put ourselves out there for the public to make sense of what they see—it might be strange and vulnerable, maybe even making a different impression than what you expected, but it's you." Δ

Staff Writer Adrian Vincent Rosas thinks The German Baby Sperm Incident would be a good album name. Reach him at [email protected].