Pictured: Yvette Gellis, Green Moment

Curated by Carol Shaw Sutton

This group of artists was chosen because of the sensuously crafted nature of their work, combined with their deep concerns for the future of humanity and the health of our planet. I wanted to include artists living both within and without Ventura County as a way to cross-fertilize and create a diverse dialogue for us all. Media ranges from painting, sculptural installations, photography, ceramics, printmaking, woodworking, ceramic sculpture and fiber.

The title was borrowed from 15th Century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch’s iconic painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights” in which he surrealistically depicts man’s desires and human foibles while leading the viewer to some rather severe consequences of their actions. At that particular time in European history people were simultaneously excited, shocked and dismayed by discoveries of exotic flora, fauna and cultural practices found during global exploration and intervention. Their world was swiftly changing creating intense anxiety with its concurrent longing for certainty and control. This void was quickly filled by Church dogma, economic domination and expanded military ventures.

During our current moment in history we are bombarded with mind bending discoveries from the outer reaches of the universe, to the almost complete global expansion of commerce that is simultaneously annihilating traditions and environments, technology’s rule of our lives, and like before, even though perhaps more intensely, these are challenging the core of human nature and are playing out at in ever more critical ways. Each artist included here, addresses views of paradise, sensuality and/or consequence of our actions. The work is also connected by the common thread of creation and destruction, as is the reoccurring theme of nature. There is a correctness of doing that, which needn’t be explained, but instead felt and known in our hearts. Our role in the natural world is not differentiated from other creatures, except by our free will and for our concern for others and the fate of all life on this planet.

This exhibition was made possible due to the support of: Michael Rohde, Linda Dullam, and Arlene Mead.