PRESS RELEASES

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Michelle Rosenberg/ Taylor Mosher

Michelle@innermix.com/ Taylor@innermix.com

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BIG BALLIN’:  BIG CANVAS

Sophisticated Elegant Blacks in Art

Karen Lynne Gallery’s third location greets Beverly Hills with a brand new genre of art

           BEVERLY HILLS, CA—May 17, 2005  “Karen Lynne Gallery of Beverly Hills is delighted to bring an exhibition of such significance to Hollywood,” said curator and gallery owner, Karen Asher.  This vibrant, provocative, and incredibly innovative show offers a unique opportunity to view African Americans in contemporary settings on canvas.  Each stroke of the painters’ brush brings to life the beauty of a sophisticated, elegant, modern, upper class African- American.

 The Karen Lynne Gallery is opening its doors with a month long series of soft openings on June 23, 2005, a prelude to the star studded event on July 14^th.  The series consists of approximately 12 events that will include educational tours for children in arts camps, industry night for agents, managers, and publicists, a local’s night for Beverly Hills residents and city officials, as well as many others.

 KLG is confident and optimistic that this newly developed genre will be welcomed, not just in Beverly Hills nor solely by African Americans, but by the world.  SEBA’s significance in Art History is uncanny.  “We are looking to add a new chapter to the books,” states Asher, who herself owns 2 alternate galleries in Boca Raton, FL.  By contracting 14 international artists, many of the worlds finest painters, the SEBA show will not just catch your eye and heart, but allow new emotions to arise that have yet to be tapped into.

 We invite you to participate in the growth and awareness of the ‘Next Big Thing’.  Corporate Sponsorship of SEBA show will place your product and create awareness within the upscale, African American market, which’s yearly spending, is increasing exponentially.  Immediate sponsorship would place your product in the know and in the hands of trendsetters, tastemakers, art collectors and connoisseurs, the fashionistas and the Ballers!

SEBA Curatorial Statement

 SOPHISTICATED ELEGANT BLACKS IN ART (SEBA) is organized around African American figural subjects from myriad artistic styles.  It is not “black” art in the traditional sense of the term since the painters selected represent many cultural and racial backgrounds including that of Black America.  We have selected these artists for their individual talents within specific styles of art: from photo-realism to neo-impressionism to near-abstraction, and chosen pieces that relate to the theme of affluent African American lifestyle.

 There has been an explosion of African American culture: from Hip Hop’s transformation of music to the changing face of movies and the coining of the term “Hollywood Renaissance”.  This reference to the Harlem Renaissance of the early 20^th century is important because it relates to one of the most prolific periods of African American art.  SEBA is about furthering this trend in the visual arts.  Just as artists stretch their canvases, this exhibition seeks to stretch the current boundaries of the art world by providing greater access to varied imagery.

 This show celebrates a culture and the connection that all of the arts have in common.  The paintings on display document diversity and act as a metaphor for the divergent experiences and meanings within African Americana.  Just as the music and entertainment industry have expanded the ways African American culture can resonate with all people, SEBA seeks to further figural painting’s ability to transcend individual backgrounds toward common experience.

 The exhibition is not about promoting a specific point of view or a singular agenda in the world of fine art.   It is about exploring subject matter and style present in American culture.  Our hope is that this exhibition is a beginning for figural artists of all backgrounds to showcase the varied tones of our world.

Walter Meyer,  M.A.

Professor of Art History

Santa Monica College