BILLOW to Open at Santa Monica Art Studios

For Immediate Release: Contact: Laura Grover, for Communication Arts + Design, at 310-994-1690 or LDG@anet.net
Christine Anderson, President, Communication Arts + Design, at 310-869-8597

SCULPTOR AMY JEAN BOEBEL TO DEBUT BILLOW, AN INSTALLATION COMPOSED OF ALUMINUM SCREEN, AT SANTA MONICA ART STUDIOS’ 7TH ANNUAL OPEN STUDIOS EVENT, OCTOBER 15-16, 2011
HOURS ARE 6-9 PM ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15 AND 1-5 PM ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16

LOS ANGELES: Sculptor Amy Jean Boebel will debut Billow, a new installation composed primarily of aluminum screen, in her space at Santa Monica Art Studios for the upcoming 7th Annual Open Studios Event. The weekend event is set for Saturday, October 15 from 6-9 PM, and Sunday, October 16 from 1-5 PM. Home to more than 100 artists, the Santa Monica Art Studios complex occupies an historic 22,000-square-foot airplane hangar inside Santa Monica Airport, located at 3026 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, CA, 90405 (310-397-7449).
Boebel wanders hardware store aisles to find items she can use in her pieces. Recently, she has focused on working with aluminum screen. She achieves the unexpected in her manipulation of a material commonly used as a barrier to keep natural elements at bay in the built environment—pleated, folded, rolled, and deconstructed, screen becomes a fluid and graceful medium for dimensional organic forms, ethereal shapes, and flights of whimsy.

Her immersion in aluminum screen led Boebel to conceive Billow for the Open Studios Event. “Although I am inspired by color, disciplining myself to work in this one material has allowed me to focus on shape and movement,” she says. “The texture and the stiffness provide sculptural inspiration, and the shadows create their own images.” Abstract yet suggestive of familiar objects, Boebel’s pieces and assemblages deliver an unpredictable interplay of motion, contour, and chiaroscuro.
Boebel’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Her latest solo shows were Lost With Words (2011) and ScreenScapes and Shapes (2010), both in Telluride, Colorado. Recent group shows include a 2007 exhibit in association with the Smithsonian’s CultureFest at ArtEgg Studios in New Orleans—Boebel was born in New Orleans, and moved back there for two years following Hurricane Katrina. In addition to her studio practice, Boebel has worked with numerous arts and public organizations and institutions, serving as Executive Director of the San Francisco Parks Trust, Managing Director of the Maryland Ballet, board president for the Randall Museum in San Francisco, co-creator of www.LouisianaRebuilds.info, and board chair for the Telluride Arts Council, among other positions. She has received acclaim for her wearable art sculptures, as well as her conceptual works.
Boebel has studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Tulane University School of Architecture, and holds a Bachelor of Art degree from the University of Maryland. She currently lives and works in Santa Monica, California. She has been exhibiting since 2002.

Quick Info:
Billow, an installation by Amy Jean Boebel at Santa Monica Art Studios (www.santamonicaartstudios.com)
7th Annual Open Studios Event: Saturday, October 15, 6-9PM and Sunday, October 16, 1-5PM  3026 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405, 310.397.7449 (in the Santa Monica Airport)
For more information on Amy Jean Boebel: www.amyjeanboebel.com