Upon entering San Marino Gallery’s new exhibit, Raw- inspired by the use of raw materials within the art pieces, one immediately is affronted and challenged by a completely unprecedented exhibit within Pasadena.  Gone are the days of the little old lady of Pasadena, instead this exhibit is a modern day Mrs. Robinson, seducing the visitor into its complete novelty.  One passes through a pair of rod iron doors and two wall planters directly under an elaborate chandelier, feeling at home in the suburban Pasadena milieu.  But look closer.  Directly over head, the bottom of the aforementioned chandelier has broken- sharp, jagged edges menacingly stare down at you.  A reminder to take caution of this dichotomy, as it seems to influence the entire gallery.  The Mehler piece at the center of four wood composite columns with its undulating sharp corners invites and yet pushes away the viewer.  Sophie deFrancesca’s works are one of the first pieces to strike you, the female figures of chickenwire with their synched waists and hourglass figures are dangerously inviting.  The wire used to create them lurks under the bright paint that covers them, waiting to pounce, like a symbolic Judith waiting for her Holofernes.  Moving further in, one finds what seems to be the accompaniment to those dangerous bodices- small shoes made of sharp glass protected over by animals.  Is the small red velvet rope enough to keep the brooding animals at bay?  The lynx seems to be glowing with an internal fire, and all the animals seem alive with vibrating glass structures.  Small copper wire trees by Chupeau spread their delicate branches like jellyfish tentacle.  The reverse painted glass by Burges provides the swirling almost aquatic backdrop to these jellyfish-like trees.  The glass canvases with the loose application of paint in metallic gold and vibrant colors give the impression that one of the Gods spilled their ambrosia across the glass.  Looking deeper into the polished surface, one can see one’s reflection- we are transformed into a modern Narcissus, staring at our reflection in the beautiful pool.  We turn away less we suffer the same fate and try to find solace in the familiar, Raphael’s School of Athens for example.  Plato, Aristotle and the classical Renaissance architecture are all present, but all color seems void in this harsh world, only to be found in modern day characters that are added into the classic painting.  One now relies on the common, mundane and habitual imagery that has come to define our culture for a breath of color.    Turning we find Dali’s Dali at the Age of Six, when he Thought he was a Girl, Lifting the Skin of the Water to see a Dog Sleeping in the Shade of the Sea 1950.  Barba has moved beyond the surreal, combining modern and older into a composite that is neither dream nor reality.  Again one finds one’s reflection in the glass and one begins to see a barcode forming on their forehead.  Reeling from the new experience, the viewer turns away to be tempted again by the sharp dresses, pricked by the delicate trees, drowned in an iridescent pool, or attacked by the jagged animals.  With the senses fully satiated- one is able to leave the San Marino Gallery content, slightly unsettled and undeniably stripped Raw.

Written by: Brian Evans