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Well the New Year has started and the Contemporary Arts Collective is ready to share with you the many new and exciting things that are happening over the next 12 months.
First is our new installation titled Observable Inhumanity: A Result of Human Anesthesia and is now up at the CAC gallery, 101 E. Charleston Blvd., Suite 101, Las Vegas. This exhibition is a mixed media event by Artists Jorge Catoni, KD Matheson and Kate Jackson, which will run through February 4, 2006. The artists' exhibition statement states "Human Inhumanity is based on the reflections of reality and falsehoods, perspectives and visions of humanity and its inhumanity." Two of the three artists, Jorge Catoni and KD Matheson, are local artists that have exhibited extensively in the Las Vegas community as well as in other areas of the country. Kate Jackson resides in California but has recently been exhibited several times in the Las Vegas area. Come join us for this important installation. To learn more about the Contemporary Arts Collective or this new installation, call 382-3886 or go to www.cac-lasvegas.org.
The Contemporary Arts Collective would also like to thank Streamline Tower and Deluca Wine and Liquors, Ltd. for their sponsorship. Both of these organizations have a strong desire and history of supporting the arts.
In this month's column, Natalia and I would like to introduce to you two more local artists. These two artists are Manfred O'Hare and Margaret DeClerk.
Manfred O'Hare
Using glass, paper, wood, plastic and whatever else that creates shapes and colorful images, Manfred O'Hare's shadow boxes provide an art form that exhibits free experimentation but at the same time structured and organized. He states, "I usually have a concept to start out with but then I use experimentation in an organized fashion to finish the piece."
O'Hare has an extensive background in music and he says, "For me the association between color and music is extremely important. My pieces hopefully elicit an emotional response that is much the same as in a melody."
In his 3-D works of art you find not only a sense of lyricism but also one of humor and even child-like presentation. There is playfulness in his work that invites the viewer to enter into a fantasy world that is unique with color and shapes, but is also very clear and specific. Individual rods and circles of various materials painted in bright colors bring forth images of roller coasters or Ferris wheels. In several of his shadow boxes this sense of carnival is achieved by not only color and shapes but also by lighting effects.
 When asked if he knows of others that are doing the same thing, O'Hare believes that his work represents something unique to the Las Vegas Community. He underscores his desire to continue his work in shadow boxes but he indicates a need to explore this type of art form in much larger proportions and sizes.
Manfred O'Hare's work is presently being exhibited at the Community Bank here is Las Vegas. Professionally he teaches design and art history in Las Vegas.
Margaret DeClerk
DeClerk doesn't have any huge artistic agenda. Instead she states, "My work is about the image and I hope that the viewer will find it interesting enough that they will like it. That's all."
Her style is detail, realism with a twist of surrealism with very little abstraction. Her work is usually about a portion of an object rather than its whole. DeClerk's work most often starts out with a concept. Many times this concept or reference point is a photo. From there DeClerk focuses on the detail of that image which at times will reflect some experience in her personal life.
She uses several mediums to accomplish her artistic goals—oils, graphite, wood, metal. But DeClerk's favorite medium is the "prismacolor" graphite pencil. She states, "Graphite is the more spontaneous of mediums that I have worked with and is the medium that I will be exploring in more detail in the future."
Her most recognized accomplishment during 2005 was the mural commissioned by the Junior League of Las Vegas to commemorate their achievements and was one of the City's 100 Murals for the centennial.
In addition to her own private work, DeClerk is a graphic designer with the City of Las Vegas, which has helped her to finely tune her own works.
The Contemporary Arts Collective is excited about the New Year. Many installations and exhibits in 2006 will reflect its artist members and their multitude of approaches to Contemporary Art. The field of Contemporary Art in 2006 will be extended to featuring an exhibit that is devoted to promising high school artists and their works. We will provide more detail about this exhibit in future columns.
In ending this month's column, we would like to invite you to become a part of the Contemporary Art experience both locally, regionally and nationally. Visit our Gallery on the "First Friday" of each month and join our membership.
Now on to February's column. May you have a happy and peaceful New Year.
Natalia and Ed
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