Santa Maria Sun / Art

Caught in the act

Servando Garcia's latest work focuses on play

BY SHELLY CONE

Work and play Garcia’s work was influenced by 17th century artist Chardin—particularly his paintings of people absorbed in the act of play, as in this painting of Garcia’s wife and daughter, called Searching 1. IMAGE COURTESY SERVANDO GARCIA

Servando Garcia, occasional part-time faculty member at Allan Hancock College, is one of four artists exhibiting work in Echo of the Whole at the Santa Barbara Contemporary Art Forum. His pieces deal with the idea of “play” in its many forms, and specifically the idea of being absorbed in the act of play.

An artist who tends to work in series, Garcia found inspiration for his current work in Chardin’s paintings of people absorbed in their own play activities.

Mother and daughter Much of Garcia’s work is done in series, such as this piece, Searching 2. IMAGE COURTESY SERVANDO GARCIA

Garcia said his paintings have a deeper meaning: The playing people are metaphors for the artist’s own absorption in the act of painting or the viewer being engaged in the painting.

One of his works included in the exhibit is a series called Searching. The repeated image is based on a photo he took of his wife and his daughter playing a game, searching for something around the house. His wife is on her hands and knees, and his daughter is on her back. Each work in the Searching series shows the various styles and techniques Garcia uses, from conventional realism to abstract
representation.

Stylistic range In Searching 3, Garcia’s style evolves from conventional-looking realism to abstract representation. IMAGE COURTESY SERVANDO GARCIA

“The image of my daughter and wife playing seemed as if they were on safari, or an exploration of some kind. I thought this was the perfect subject because I do a lot of experimenting in my work and feel like I’m always searching for the right expression,” Garcia said.

Garcia’s other works showing in the forum include a group of paintings that capture his brother playing Nintendo Wii and a group that depicts a house of cards.

Listen carefully Echo of the Whole is scheduled to run from August through October at the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, 653 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara.

Beyond his work in Echoes of the Whole, Garcia is preparing for a solo show in October at Togonon Gallery in San Francisco and is also scheduled to teach a short-term figure painting course at Hancock.

Arts Editor Shelly Cone believes in all play and a little work. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com..