• Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum || EXHIBITIONS •

Dreamtigers: University of California, Santa Barbara MFA Exhibition
Co-curated by CAF Executive Director Miki Garcia and Artist and Professor in the Department of Art, UCSB, Jane Callister

Organized by CAF Executive Director, Miki Garcia and Artist and UCSB Department of Art Professor, Jane Callister, Dreamtigers according to Callister is “the product of diligent organization, many studio visits, and conversations with the artists leading to what we expect will be a lively and varied aesthetic showcase of UCSB's outstanding student artists.” The title borrows from a Jorge Luis Borges’ work of the same name. Considered one of his most personal works, the book comprises a collection of poems, parables, and short stories that at first glance seem dissimilar, but taken together form a subtly cohesive portrait of the author. Adopting this framework, this exhibition at CAF also offers a range of distinct artistic practices and expression from the five MFA graduates. Altogether, Dreamtigers is a unified presentation of emerging artists working in the field today.

Thank you to all the faculty and staff of the University of California, Santa Barbara Department of Art–especially Colin Gardner, Department Chair and Jane Callister, Professor of Art and Graduate Committee Chair. Special thanks to David Marshall, Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts and the Executive Dean of the College of Letters and Sciences. The Department of Art would like to also thank Julie and David Broida for their support of our students. This exhibition has been made possible in part by the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Blue Agave, Santa Barbara, CA.

Press Release

Stephanie Mansolf & Kat Trajano
Acid Lovechild

UCSB alumnae, Mansolf and Trajano will occupy the Charles Bloom Foundation and Glass Box Window galleries with their installation, Acid Lovechild. Inspired by influences as diverse as the domestic realm, Victorian-era crafts, and campy horror flicks, the artists will convert the CAF’s galleries into a scene of glittery bedlam. Signs of a passionate crime interlaced with florid and feminine imagery will reveal a couple’s love nest fraught with turmoil.

Both Mansolf and Trajano recently received wide acclaim in the local arts community when–as undergraduates–they were commissioned by the chic Presidio Motel to transform their business into an avant-garde and eclectic art motel. Mansolf is currently pursuing her MFA at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, CA. Trajano works/lives in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, CA.

about the BLOOM PROJECTS series

Acid Lovechild, 2009

This exhibition has been made possible in part by the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Press Release