AUG 5 - 28 OPENING RECEPTION/ Solo and Group Exhibitions @ TAG Gallery

AUG 5 - 28 EXHIBITIONS AUG 8, 5 - 8 PM: OPENING RECEPTION August at TAG Gallery is an invitation to take a seat at the table, follow the path of light, and embrace moments of transformation. From a landmark collaborative installation celebrating inclusion and shared histories to exhibitions that examine the power of visual immediacy, the shifting nature of light, the fragile space before change, the return to lifelong creative passions, and the enduring presence of water, each exhibition offers a distinct perspective while inviting thoughtful reflection. Together, these diverse voices demonstrate the richness of contemporary art and the many ways artists continue to illuminate the human experience. EXHIBITION DATES: Wednesday, August 5 - 28 OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, August 8, 5 - 8 PM Solo Artists: Jaime Coffey, Garo and Gary Polonsky Group Shows: SCWCA (Souther California Women's Caucus for the Art): A Place at the Table, Short and Sweet: Art That Makes an Immediate Impact, TAG presents Water SCWCA PRESENTS A PLACE AT THE TABLE A Place at the Table Inspired by Judy Chicago’s famous Dinner Party [https://www. brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party]installation which honored women throughout history, SCWCA's Place at the Table collaborative installation is the keystone project of it’s 50th Anniversary celebration. This exhibition reimagines the symbolic act of “taking a seat” through the creation of individual place settings that together form a unified installation. Each participating artist has designed and constructed a single place setting, contributing to a collective table that reflects diverse perspectives on inclusion, identity, memory, and belonging. This exhibition explores themes of inclusion, visibility, equity, and the ongoing reexamination of historical and cultural narratives. SCWCA covers the greater Southern California region and are one of 24 chapters of the Women’s Caucus for Art, the leading national organization for women actively engaged in the visual arts professions, an affiliated society of the College Art Association and a founding partner of The Feminist Art Project. TAG PRESENTS SHORT AND SWEET: ART THAT MAKES AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT This group exhibition, juried by Adria Becker, features art that speaks clearly, powerfully, and without hesitation. Sometimes the strongest statement is also the shortest and sweetest. JUROR: Adria Becker Adria Becker is a native Californian, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She teaches the Artist Co-op7 Figure Drawing Class, currently on Zoom, and previously at the American Jewish University and the San Fernando Valley Arts and Cultural Center. Additionally, she teaches private painting classes in and around the Los Angeles area. Becker's paintings and collages have been exhibited locally and collected worldwide. Her work has been accepted into many juried shows and public spaces, including St. Joseph Hospital in Burbank, CA, and the Brentwood Library in Brentwood, CA. She has painted live during a local theater performance and her work has appeared in several movies. LIGHT PATH: REFRACTIONS "... I was first excited by “Sunstars”, where spiky beams of light radiated from the sun in photographs I took, then to small orbs, or “Ghosting,” all from the camera lens creating lens flares. I found myself drawn to moments where light shifts or bends. In very simple terms, “Refraction” is the bending of light as it passes from one transparentmedium to another, which makes the light change speed, and the light can split into a spectrum of colors. A camera lens can create lens flare, while a rainbow is created by light refracting through atmospheric water droplets. While revisiting older photographs I had taken, I realized that rainbows appeared in many of them. I was hesitant to paint them at first, as I was trying to understand why I was so drawn to them. Then my grandmother passed away, and I saw the most magnificent rainbow the next day. I felt like it was a message from her to enjoy this gift of painting, and I leapt into painting rainbows as well." JAIME COFFEY Jaime Coffey is a Los Angeles-based contemporary painter whose work merges environmental, climate, and personal narratives into vibrant visual journeys. Originally from Oregon, she earned her degree in painting from the Pacific Northwest College of Art before embarking on extensive international travel, during which she developed a passion for studying light. In her studio, Coffey cuts, crops, and rearranges photographic references from her travels and local walks, translating them into intricate, multi-layered egg tempera paintings (a traditional mixture of egg yolk, dry pigment, and water). Coffey prefers this medium for its exceptional nuances in tone, transparency, and vibrancy. Coffey’s newest body of work focuses on the sun, moon, and sky. BEFORE THE ENTROPY IS A SEARCH OF A SPACE AND TIME IN ACTION….. This exhibition is an exploration of the fragile -space - between order and dissolution…..These paintings inhabit the -moments- before certainty breaks apart ….. before the loss of identities …..before dreams fade…… before suffering transforms us, and before the structures we depend on surrender to no time. The exhibition asks a simple question: What remains of us in the moment just before everything changes…?. What remains of us before we fall apart? What remains of us real before entropy? Garo Born in Lebanon, Garo began creating art at an early age. While many pursuits evolved over time, painting remained the one enduring passion that carried through every stage of life. Now based in Los Angeles, Garo maintains a dual practice as both an artist and a dentist, balancing a scientific profession with a deeply intuitive creative process. His work reflects a lifelong commitment to painting as a means of exploration, expression, and continuity. FULL CIRCLE After more than 50 years, my adventure in create arts has come full circle. From my adolescence, drawing and model making, were my creative outlets. Time and exploration have lead me to various other types of artwork, involving vastly different materials and constructions methods. Unique challenges... something to embrace every day. Abstract expressionism presents to the viewer an enticement to use your imagination, to create a context for the objection the wall…, what do you see? Art is therapy, and so much more…, find your own expression. Enjoy! Gary Polonsky Born and raised is Los Angeles, Gary Polonsky went to Santa Monica City College and then on to Art Center College of Design (then on 3rd street in LA). It seems, even early on, that he was always interested in art, drawing cars, building models, looking at art with more than just a passing interest. A turning point for Gary was the work of Jackson Pollack and the abstract expressionists. It looked, and was, a very creative, and satisfying experience. That was the spring board by which he began his serious venture into the art world. Find Gary Polonsky’s collections by searching for keywords, for example, tree, stamp, food… TAG ARTISTS PRESENT WATER PRESENTED IN THE SKY GALLERY AT TAG WATER is an open-themed exhibition inviting artists in all mediums to consider the many dimensions of water—as life-giving, fluid, tranquil and powerful, familiar and mysterious. Whether approached literally, symbolically, abstractly, or conceptually, wide interpretations of the theme are explored. EXHIBITION DATES: Wednesday, August 5 - 28 OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, August 8, 5 - 8 PM