Search the Archive

Gallerist
Khaled Al Awar, a 1970 emigrant from Lebanon, moved to Ojai in 1982 from Chicago with his wife, Sheryl. He established the Primavera Gallery which featured international and local artists, both individually and in group shows.

Painter/Set Designer
“Richard Amend believes in the transporting pleasure of beauty. His paintings and drawings embody the sublime ‘essence’ of Nature, abstracted and amplified,” writes art critic Jo Lauria.

Mad Magazine Cartoonist
Sergio Aragonés considers himself just a regular guy with a great job, even though illustrating for Mad Magazine since 1962 has earned him numerous accolades, tremendous respect, and considerable notoriety.

Painter
Dawn Arrowsmith’s paintings are meditations in color. It has been said that each is a kind of minimalist luxury – pure, distilled, economical, but also rich, luscious, erotic. Her work is intuitive, greatly…

Painter
Santa Monica-based portrait artist Don Bachardy studied at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and the Slade School of Art in London. Bachardy’s decades-long relationship with writer Christopher Isherwood inspired…

Photographer
You’ve seen his work in glossy magazines. Beautiful faces. Couturier fashion. Nameless models or super-celebrities. Since his studio opened in NYC 1962, Neal Barr’s back-story tells you that whoever…

Architect
Barry Berkus (1935 – 2012) Which came first, the architect or the collector? How does art influence architecture? Should a home be designed from the outside in, or the inside out? Barry Berkus was a Santa…

Clarinetist
Emily Bernstein (1959 – 2005) At the time of her death, Emily Bernstein was the principal clarinetist of the Los Angeles Opera. She also played first chair with the Pasadena Symphony under the direction of Jorge Mester

Conductor
Daniel was a student of Miguel del Aguila during the summers of 1997-1999. He is on the brink of a brilliant career. He is fluent in Russian and, in addition to beginning a doctorate program at Northwestern…

Woodworker
In David Blackburn’s own words, “wood art is the tree that never dies.” David’s pathway to exquisite woodworking has not been a straight line. It began as child’s play and grew through a tour in Viet Nam,…

Composer/Conductor
(1925 – 2016) The French conductor and experimental composer Pierre Boulez was known for his carefully crafted, complex compositions, including Pli selon pli, a portrait of the poet Stephane Mallarme for…

Charcoal Painter
Hilary Brace creates other-worldly meteorological landscapes that envelop the viewer. The ethereal, expertly drafted work conjures all the senses. One might, at first, perceive them as photographs, when, in fact, they are charcoal on Mylar (polyester film) drawings.

Painter
Often dreamlike and enigmatic, Christine Brennan’s work features a host of symbolic and allegorical references. Brennan’s images draw from the unconscious leading the viewer into richly-lit narratives that…

Actress/Writer/Director/Educator
Charlotte Bronstein (1918 – 2003) Charlotte Bronstein spent 50 years acting, writing and directing for television, film, radio and the stage in the United States and Canada. Her…

Photographer/Environmentalist
Ernest H. Brooks II, a noted professional photographer, educator and ambassador for the photographic industry, has won international acclaim for underwater photography and audio/visual…

Conductor
Can executives of Fortune 500 companies make beautiful music together? Can a “hog” riding Canadian inspire classical music audiences? We know that the answer is “yes”! Maestro Boris Brott is a recipient of the Order…

Co-Founders Rubicon Theatre
The Rubicon Theatre Company has established itself as a major cultural force in Ventura County and beyond. Respected by audiences and critics alike, the Rubicon stages a rich…

Photographer
Adventure drives the life and photography of Cindy Pitou Burton. She began her career as a photojournalist for the New York Times, soon expanding her contacts to CBS, NBC and PBS and magazines…

Song Byeok was invited to Ventura, CA as a Global Artist of Distinction in 2018, and his story is one of stony resilience in the face of oppression, and art as a form of political protest. Born into a working-class family in a town outside of Pyongyang, North Korea, Song once worked as an official state propaganda artist. His patriotism turned to disillusionment, when the famine of the 1990s hit.