Whether you’re in need of financial advice or not, a quick trip to the Ameriprise Financial branch in Santa Maria is an absolute must for local art lovers. As part of an ongoing exhibition series hosted by the company, several Central Coast-based artists have used the venue to display their works—including Solvang resident Irina Malkmus, whose assortment of multimedia works currently adorn the office walls.
While the artworks range between various media—from oil, acrylic, or watercolor paintings to collage and pebble art—they vary in style as well, from lifelike to surreal. But one theme that unites each piece, Malkmus said, is the ocean.
“I never get bored looking at the waves, or listening to the sounds of the ocean,” said the local artist, discussing her love for the beach and marine life.
Malkmus was born and raised in Ukraine, and relocated to the U.S. with her husband at the time while in her 20s, after graduating from college. The artist never saw a shoreline until moving to California, she said, where her fascination with the sea began, as well as her fear of it.
“I hadn’t seen an ocean until I was 26 years old,” Malkmus told the Sun. “It amazed me, and scared me at first. The more I spent time with it, the more I respected this power, which can both give life or destroy it.”
Eventually settling down in the Santa Ynez Valley, Malkmus and her family (husband and three children) have remained in close proximity to California’s coastline. One of the artist’s favorite things to do at the beach is look for “treasure”—driftwood, sea glass, shells, pebbles, and other objects she can use to create her oceanic art. Malkmus often paints whales, flounder, jellyfish, oysters, and other marine life on the driftwood she collects, and she creates pebble art using rocks and shells she finds along the shore.
The Solvang artist uses sea glass from her treasure hunts to make handcrafted jewelry as well. But even Malkmus’ traditional canvas paintings illustrate her passion for all things nautical—myths, legends, and folklore included. Some of her pieces depict mermaids, while her realistic seascapes capture ordinary slice-of-life scenes—children playing at the beach, a school of fish swimming just below the ocean surface, or waves crashing against the shore just before sunset.
“My work can be termed ‘visual journalism,’ I observe people and nature,” Malkmus said. “I hope the people who look at my art are able to feel the ocean breeze for a moment, or have a nice flashback of their last trip to the beach.”
Malkmus hopes her new exhibition will provide a relaxing, temporary escape, or mini-vacation, for workers and clients at the Ameriprise office, she said. Financial advisor Terry Dworaczyk, curator of the ongoing local art series, invites the public to a free, opening reception for the exhibit on Thursday, March 5. Malkmus will be present to discuss her body of work, as well as her inspirations, background, and artistic process.
Among older works, the new exhibit also showcases a new series of abstract prints by Malkmus, titled Ocean A.M., Ocean Noon, and Ocean P.M. These experimental pieces are combinations of paint, ink, and digital editing.
“I describe art as a personal freedom, a similar feeling of freedom I feel toward the ocean,” said Malkmus, who considers the various art forms she uses as tools to enhance her message, rather than restrict her sensibility to a strict style or tone.
“I enjoy experimenting by combining various elements, styles, and mediums,” she said. “I feel joy when I’m able to unify diverse pieces into a harmonious whole.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood loves when art makes waves. Reach him at [email protected].
