February 29, 2008 The two concerns have drawn together to present “Across the Board,” a willfully diverse sampler plate of seven artists’ work under the Arts Fund Gallery roof, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Arts Fund’s programming. No prevailing message or medium rules in this show. Variety, it so happens, is the spice and the key in a show which could be viewed as a microcosm of the “open studio” format. Each artist sticks to his or her particular corner, in terms of both style and medium. Karen Fedderson is the veritable representative of the traditional landscape painting, richly embedded in the Santa Barbara art scene. It’s a different story with Joann Dufau’s little bazaar of compact oil-on-linen paintings. In the mix are still-life subjects, a nude, and a nutty monkey image. On the opposite end of the scale spectrum, Dorothy Churchill-Johnson’s expansive canvases, “Falling Stars” and “Five Objects,” consume the wall facing the gallery’s front door, swimming in violet and natural objects writ large. Other artists occupy their own private niches, from John Moses’ mostly abstract monotypes to Polly Griscom’s friendly watercolors and Pam Enticknap’s loosely-drawn and socially-spirited charcoal slices-of-life drawings.
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