The Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) at Finn Center in Mountain View has scheduled an exhibition of metal and mixed-media sculptures by artists Whitney Couch and Nancy Youdelman from Feb. 3 through March 22.
The exhibition, which will feature more than 20 recent works, will open with an artist talk 6-7 p.m. and reception 7-8 p.m. Feb. 3 in Mohr Gallery. The exhibition, artist talk and reception are free and open to the public. Heritage Bank of Commerce presents Mohr Gallery exhibitions.
“Artists Whitney Couch and Nancy Youdelman use very different approaches to accomplish the same end – the elevation of everyday objects into an archetype that challenges the viewer to see the objects in a new way,” said Linda Covello, CSMA visual arts director. “Whitney uses exquisite materials and a keen sense of her craft to transform simple objects into objects of beauty. Nancy puts together found materials to create icons of association out of everyday objects.”
Metalsmith Couch holds a bachelor’s degree in metal arts from the California College of the Arts, Oakland. Her work has been shown in galleries in the United States, including exhibitions in Chicago, New Orleans and San Francisco, as well as abroad in Scotland, Wales and at the Craft Council Gallery of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Couch, who grew up in Los Altos Hills, currently lives in San Francisco.
Couch works in sterling silver, copper, gold and other media. The Mohr Gallery exhibition will feature pieces of jewelry and works from her “Consuming the Divine” series, a group of sculptures embodying the sacred quality of food.
“Food inherently links to the sacred and transcends the ordinary,” Couch said. “To go from hungry to full is heavenly. Flavors, aromas, tastes can be divine.”
Couch noted that unlike past times in history when food was acknowledged as being sacred, today we put our faith in science, often manipulating nature for profit and gain. In so doing, man has altered plants, nature and ourselves.
Her work “Plebian Potato,” a 2-foot sculpture of sterling silver, copper, 22k gold, patina and walnut, represents the historical transformation of this humble vegetable.
Sculptor Youdelman received a master’s degree in fine arts from UCLA and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the California Institute of the Arts. Since 1975, she has shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions. Youdelman has been a faculty member at colleges in Southern California and, since 1999, a lecturer in the Department of Art and Design at Cal State Fresno.
Youdelman creates mixed-media and bronze sculptures combining feminine attire with other nontraditional materials, including photographs, stamps, plant materials, jewelry and buttons. She ingeniously converts clothing into art.
CSMA is located at 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View. Mohr Gallery is open to the public 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
For more information, visit www.arts4all.org or call 917-6800.
