Camarillo, Calif. The Black Board Gallery at Studio Channel Islands, 2222 East Ventura Blvd., Camarillo, will host an opening reception, 4 to 6 p.m., May 5, for two new exhibitions featuring the work of east coast artists Gale Fulton Ross (Boston) and Linda Stein (New York).

Inspired by the 2016 book, Before I Forget, which details the journey of B. Smith and her husband following her diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s, the exhibition features sixteen artworks from artist Fulton Ross’s KEEP-SAKE series comprised of large paintings of small universally-nostalgic keep-sakes–part of an ongoing body of work dedicated to people suffering from memory loss and stroke. One of the things B. Smith’s husband describes is the closeness that they felt when she held a keep-sake as they spoke; “it helped her to bridge the gap between them,” said Fulton Ross.  

The gallery also showcases the work of New York artist Linda Stein’s series, The Fluidity of Gender, a traveling event comprising thirteen sculptures, seven limited-edition prints and four film works that explore the continuum between the binaries of masculinity and femininity.

“These two exhibitions are both deeply personal while also addressing universal themes of courage, identity and loss,” said SCI Executive Director Peter Tyas. Linda’s exhibition is a call to action, a reminder that it is we who make the world around us, that it is up to each of us to stand up for the things that we believe in. Gale’s exhibition is a meditation on the meaning of memory and the tragedy of losing those parts of who we once were. Both exhibitions remind us that we have a part to play in our community, as active participants, helping one another and understanding that everyone is on their own journey through life.”

During the KEEP-SAKE exhibition Studio Channel Islands invites everyone with a special keep-sake to bring it into the gallery and draw a picture of that item within a sketchbook. “We invite everyone to write a few lines to describe that meaning of that object for them and the memory that it holds,” said Tyas. On June 2 Studio Channel Islands will a host a ‘Memory Café’ in partnership with Camarillo Health Care District and on June 21 Studio Channel Islands will work with the Alzheimer’s Association to promote the dementia friendly movement in our community.

Gale Fulton Ross

Linda Stein