A piece of the whole

FAMILY COLLECTION: In 2005 Berkus donated a large number of artworks from his collection to the county of Santa Barbara through the County Arts Commission, in honor of his wife, with the condition that some portion of the collection be exhibited at least every other year. This piece is by Seyburn Zorthian. Credit: PHOTOS COURTESY ALLAN HANCOCK COLLEGE

There are art lovers and then there are people who really dig art, and their collection shows it.

Barry and Gail Berkus amassed a huge collection of nationally and internationally known artists, and part of that collection will be on display at Foxworthy Gallery. A total of 42 pieces from the Berkus Family Collection representing work from Santa Barbara area artists will be open for public viewing.

COLLECTION ART: A noted architect, art collector, and philanthropist, Barry Berkus bought work from the artists’ studios, galleries, and auctions in the Santa Barbara area. Credit: PHOTOS COURTESY ALLAN HANCOCK COLLEGE

The exhibit is made possible by a bequest to Santa Barbara County through the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission. In 2005 Berkus donated a large number of pieces from his collection, in honor of his wife, to the county. The bequest had the condition that some portion of the collection must be exhibited at least every other year. The latest exhibition is a collaboration between the college and the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, and represents a diverse mix of media including sculpture, drawing, mixed media printmaking, collage, photography, ceramics, and digital media.

CONTEMPORARY ART: Pieces like this one from Anthony Askew show the diversity of media used by the artists in the collection of mostly modern and contemporary works. Credit: PHOTOS COURTESY ALLAN HANCOCK COLLEGE

Berkus, a noted Santa Barbara architect, art collector, and philanthropist, and his late wife, Gail, began collecting art in the 1950s. They were even recognized by Art News magazine as among the top 200 art collectors in the world. Their modern and contemporary collection was noted for its diversity and large-scale artworks by such well-know artists as Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, Frank Stella, Nancy Graves, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Diebenkorn, and Ed Ruscha.

WHAT A COLLECTION: View select works by local artists in the Berkus Family Collection on display at the Foxworthy Gallery, in the Academic Resource Center, building L-South, on the Santa Maria campus of Allan Hancock College. The gallery is open from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays. For more inform-ation, call 922-6966, Ext. 3465 or 3252.

In the early ’70s they began purchasing work from local artists. Though they were recognized for their collection of internationally known artists’ work, they were supportive of local artists, purchasing art from studios, galleries, and auctions.

Among area artists represented are Anthony Askew, Paul Tuttle, Sky Bergman, Michael Dvortcsak, Wayne McCall, Dug Uyesaka, Ginny Brush, Mary Heebner, and Seyburn Zorthian. A color catalog with an essay by Josef Woodard will be available through the college bookstore.

Arts Editor Shelly Cone is a work of art from the early ’70s. These days she can be contacted at scone@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Oct 22-29, 2009.