Between three upcoming exhibitions at Morro Bay’s Gallery at Marina Square, the venue will showcase nine different artists as part of its January programming.
These exhibits—two solo shows, and one group show—mark the gallery’s first displays of the new year. Each will open on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, and remain on view through Thursday, Jan. 30, while a joint reception to celebrate all three showcases will take place on Saturday, Jan. 11, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Focus on Birds, the gallery’s upcoming group photography exhibit, will feature pieces from participating photographers Alice Cahill, Gregory Siragusa, Jessica Weiss, Cathy Russ, Grant Kreinberg, Karen Peterson, and Dominic Hartman.
Photos on display in the show range from portraits of birds to landscapes of bird habitats, including countryside and oceanside settings—”all the places where our wildlife friends live and thrive, hunt and sing,” according to press materials.
One of the gallery’s January solo exhibits highlights small works and book projects by painter and crafter Ardella Swanberg, while the other showcases mixed media abstracts by painter Brian Johnson.
Originally from Garden Grove, Swanberg relocated to the Central Coast about 25 years ago, according to press materials. Many of her paintings are inspired by the places she’s resided over the years, from a cattle ranch north of Cayucos to a seaside residence near Morro Bay’s harbor.
Swanberg recently moved to Seattle, Washington, where she continues to paint and craft. Examples of both disciplines she works in will be on display in her solo show at Gallery at Marina Square.
According to press materials, Johnson’s abstract mixed media paintings culminate his pursuit of achieving the sublime, or “the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic. … A greatness beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement, or imitation.”
Known for abstracting reality in his artworks, Johnson approaches painting in a distinct and unusual way, by not starting from a blank slate, “unlike most abstract artists,” according to press materials. Although he’s goal-oriented when painting, he’s open to experimenting “in order to reach surprising and interesting enigmatic, artistic ends.”
To find out more about all three of Gallery at Marina Square’s upcoming January exhibits, call (805) 772-1068 or visit galleryatmarinasquare.com. Gallery at Marina Square is located at 601 Embarcadero, suite 10, Morro Bay. The venue is open daily, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Δ
This article appears in Year in Review 2024.