GDCA Gallery & Dale Youngman / ArtExcellence proudly announce their JANUARY,  2025 Exhibition:  "Journeys In Abstraction".

MARK BROSMER

"The places I’ve created in my paintings are representative of our earth as we know it, yet more distant than we would care to imagine. My work lives in a silent environment where time fails to exist, where focus is shared between symbols and their surrounding areas." - Mark Brosmer

KAREN HANSEN

“Years ago my painting practice melded with my meditation so that the very act of painting has become my meditation. As I work, I ease into a clear, quiet space in my mind. The paintings then evolve through intuition, improvisation, experimentation and revision. I seek radiance, nuance, depth, elegance and mystery in each piece. Their subtle complexity is created by layering transparent and translucent veils of color. The results are lyrical and luminous atmospheric abstractions. They are reflections of the rhythms and quiet mysteries of our lives.” - Karen Hansen

ADRIAN HUTH

"Sky To A Machine” is the original text I typed into the prompt of a visual AI tool just to see how it would render back images to me. I refined the prompt with additional modifiers until I reached a composition which became the source material and eventual painting. For myself it represents our own navigation of how technology impacts the human condition.

This is inspired by a quote from Joan Mitchell who once said "Abstract is not a style. I Simply want to make surface work". This quote has always stuck with me and in another song I admire (a lot of my work is inspired from music) the artist sings "You Get No Points For Style". I believe he is talking about fashion but I like how it compliments the Mitchell quote in the art world. The painting is a representation of playing with this theme and maybe a little poke at the art world that thinks of Abstract work as a style.

"For Your Will"

It is inspired by a song of the same name which I think is a clever antithesis to the common phrase "against your will". The song is about relationships interactions and the painting represents two figures intertwined in the same way. 

CHERYL HRUDKA & STAN LEY JOHNSON

Where We Were….

There is definitely an evolutionary process to being an artist. Somewhere along the line, we each picked up a camera and started taking photos of what we each thought was interesting. With each photograph we learned what we enjoyed and practiced our techniques, especially in Street Photography. With each day spent in our darkrooms, we learned the excitement of developing those photographs, as well as the art of manipulation. Eventually, we took our photographs and started manipulating them on the computer. Our abstracts were created, and another step in the evolution process was embraced. From using our photographs, to creating an abstraction from scratch was a logical progression. With the vast array of computer art software, we have evolved from ‘where we were’, to ‘where we are’. For each of us the evolution of our abstract images continues and shows no signs of slowing down.

CHERYL HRUDKA & STAN LEY JOHNSON 

“My work is personal, poetic and lyrical. Emphasis is given to form, texture and color. Each field, the figure and the ground, is meticulously arranged for maximum effect. It is my goal to elicit a familiar and pronounced mood in each of my viewers.” - Cheryl Hrudka

“I am a structural expressionist. At first, the two concepts seem ill suited. This awkward synthesis creates a dynamic tension in my work. By alternating structure (expression) in the figure and expression (structure) in the ground, the forces at play." - Stanley Johnson

Cheryl Hrudka & Stan Johnson

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS LLC / HJ Gallery

KRISTIN BRIN

CECILIA CRESTO

A San Diego native, I grew up surrounded by creativity but only recently made art a primary focus in my life. After completing a six-month mentorship with artist Sheila Daube, I embraced the evolving nature of my craft, experimenting daily and taking creative risks. For me, art is more than a visual expression—it's a means of forging emotional connections and communicating the ineffable. My work blends spontaneity with precision, reflecting both light and shadow, as I continually explore and evolve as an artist.

SHEILA DAUBE

Sheila Daube is an abstract artist from Southern California, drawing inspiration from the mid-century American School and her years as a preschool teacher. “I’ve been trying to paint like a five-year-old for years, striving to return to my original reaction to color and line,” she says. Sheila’s work explores timeless themes from mythology while incorporating unique mediums like foil and powdered pigments. Her art has been featured in national exhibitions, is held in private collections worldwide.

AMANDA DAVIS

SUKI

Kintsugi

Kintsugi, literally “golden joints”, is the ancestral Japanese art of repairing broken objects by highlighting their cracks with golden resin. Often undertaken as a form of art therapy to encourage resilience, the art of Kintsugi follows a slow and painstaking process that requires patience and concentration. Day after day, week after week, step after step, the object is cleaned, gathered, cared for, mended and celebrated.

Ikebana

At its heart, the Japanese art of Ikebana is about celebrating an intimate connection with nature. To practice Ikebana is to find inspiration in the seasons, favor unassuming blooms and branches, seek balance and simplicity, and remain fully present in the moment. It is a beautiful, pure antidote to our age of distraction and excess.

Artist Statement

The work in this exhibit is true to my devotion to traditional Japanese art forms. I have spent endless hours reading and studying the art of the kimono and devoted my solo show last February to my work in interrupting that form.

This exhibit centers on two little known Japanese art forms, Ikebana, the art of flower arranging and Kintsugi…an art form embracing mending and healing. My interpretation of these art forms is rendered with respect for the cultural heritage of these Japanese treasures.

SUKI October 2024

EVA STENSLAND

"As a multi-meida artist, I am currently focused on acrylic paint with collage elements. Inspired initially by Picasso, DeKooning and Rauschenberg, I am currently most aligned with Kandinsky's theosophy, acquainting myself with the Transcendentalists. Then there is Jung, and the idea of collective consciousness, everything I believe about the nature of reality, consciousness and all, that delicious jazz.
As an artist we become utterly aware of being a specific individual. At the same time I feel I am «an everyone» or universal being... I allow the channeling through both, the very specific “structural receptacle” that I am: sex, age, culture, dna…. My job is to allow my part of "The All" to bloom, and inspire others to do the same. Art is a universal language. Your “life” knows the language. Artists just need to entice it to open some of the sacred secrets in your inner self." - Eva Stensland 

CHRISTINA ILENE THOMAS

“Expansiveness, heart-centered generosity, spirituality, the inexpressible mystery of life, the paradoxical sense of joy and sadness. I hope that my work will elicit a range of emotions in the viewer, to touch or soften people’s lives in some way, no matter how small. My paintings change moods, just as we all do and as nature does. My intuitive, sensitive process takes time to fully express what the painting wishes to be, as I contemplate and listen to each piece. My landscapes are sometimes invitations to stillness and meditation,sometimes expressions of joy, sometimes of drama and mood. I create my titles in hopes that each piece will be further enhanced, the mood, the feeling of it. To me, the titles are just as important as the painting itself."

Christina has a spontaneous approach, experimenting with colors and textures, allowing her to explore the effects of each step taken. In this way, each painting unfolds and evolves in its own way, and her contemplative, interior life is translated onto the canvas.

RICHARD BELL

“MYSTERIES”

Richard Bell is an enigma wrapped in a riddle, with a talent for capturing the mysteries of life through his unique perspective.

Based in the bustling city of Los Angeles, his work delves into the depths of the human psyche, exploring the duality of existence through a monochromatic lens of black, white, and blue. Using a blend of drawing and painting techniques, Bell constructs visually stunning pieces that ignite the imagination and provoke introspection.

Each stroke of his brush or pen reveals a new layer of understanding, urging the viewer to ponder the complexities of the world around us.

With his art, Bell invites us to embrace the unknown and unearth our own inner truths.

TERI DRYDEN

OLD BOYFRIENDS This fun series came from my ongoing commitment to recycling. I salvaged disparate scraps of papers and sewed them together to create one-of-a-kind collages. Metaphorically, they look like a bunch of “old boyfriends” hanging around!

DAY FOR NIGHT When I completed these collages, they brought to mind the moviemaking technique ‘day for night’ where a night scene is shot during the day.

MJ HINSON

Mary Joan has been passionate about oil painting from a young age, honing her craft through studies across the United States, Europe, and the Far East. After a distinguished career as a Professor of Fine Arts and Humanities, she earned her PhD in 2005 and dedicated herself to teaching and exhibiting throughout the eastern United States. In 2020, Mary Joan shifted her focus entirely to her art, quickly gaining recognition with honors such as the Botticelli Award and the 2022 Best Public Art award.

SAMUEL PERRY

Samuel Perry creates dynamic, textural works by engaging with raw, unprimed canvas in an energetic and physical process. Through scuffing, stepping on, and even using the canvas to absorb spilled coffee, Samuel imbues each piece with a sense of lived experience. The canvas is then stapled to the wall, where memories or music inspire abstract forms using drawing materials and gestural paint strokes. Layers of texture, marks, lines, and color build, resulting in expressive, non-repetitive works.

Based in Southern California, Samuel has been an active member of the San Diego art community since 2014. His work has been exhibited in several exhibitions across California and is held in private collections nationwide.

SUKI

The work in this exhibit is true to my devotion to traditional Japanese art forms. I have spent endless hours reading and studying the art of the kimono and devoted my solo show last February to my work in interrupting that form. This exhibit centers on two little known Japanese art forms, Ikebana, the art of flower arranging and Kintsugi…an art form embracing mending and healing. My interpretation of these art forms is rendered with respect for the cultural heritage of these Japanese treasures.

Kintsugi: Kintsugi, literally “golden joints”, is the ancestral Japanese art of repairing broken objects by highlighting their cracks with golden resin. Often undertaken as a form of art therapy to encourage resilience, the art of Kintsugi follows a slow and painstaking process that requires patience and concentration. Day after day, week after week, step after step, the object is cleaned, gathered, cared for, mended and celebrated.

Ikebana: At its heart, the Japanese art of Ikebana is about celebrating an intimate connection with nature. To practice Ikebana is to find inspiration in the seasons, favor unassuming blooms and branches, seek balance and simplicity, and remain fully present in the moment. It is a beautiful, pure antidote to our age of distraction and excess.

SUKI KUSS

“Materiality plays an integral role in my work and often is the driving force narratively. Through careful investigation I found that some of the vintage sheet music that I’ve collected through the years contained handwritten messages and diary like entries written over the notes. Using these stories as a guide, I embedded and intermingled my own personal narrative with the women of the past in an almost melodic and rhythmic fashion. Tapestry is a surgery of sorts, one that finds me patching, revisiting and weaving through my own sense of personal history to connect with the past.” - Suki Kuss

SUSANNE BELCHER

"My floral photo collages in this show are a new, ongoing series called “Secrets In The Garden.” I began photographing the beautiful, floral abundance in my own yard several years ago along with bouquets given to me at special occasions. Many of my images found their way to my heart and I knew that I had to do something new and exciting to honor them. Each flower, each image, seemed to yearn to tell me a secret they were holding dear within their petals. But, their narratives didn’t reveal themselves until I captured a multitude of glitches while watching a movie on TV and began layering, combining, photo collaging them together. I experimented with several different grounds including canvas on which to print them, but they didn’t come alive for me until I installed them on Acrylic. Their stories are magical, dreamlike, spiritual, sensual and romantic along with a bit of vanity and playfulness. However, I defer to the imagination of the viewers to be swept away by the stories they see. – Susanne Belcher

RICHARD BELL 

CAROL CIRILLO STANLEY

"It’s the normal, the unnoticed, the common factors of life that influence my work. I look to elevate those pieces by giving each a look and transformation through the camera. Closer views, more distance, varying angles, address a unique perspective. I have been working in downtown Los Angeles for more than a decade, and during this time I have been able to examine the city, its people and structures..." - CCS

ELIZABETH DECKER

ANDREW EYLER

"There is no empty space. Every thought, every action is inscribed. Each step into another dimension, another reality towards eternity."  - Andrew Eyler

DAVE GRAHAM

I began painting in a Monastery in Ireland, at a time when I believed that this was the life I was meant to live, guided by a deeply spiritual monk who was able to convince me despite my own doubts and insecurities, that artistically, I had a gift which I was obliged to pursue. He was and is the only Art teacher I have ever known.

STEPHEN SCHUBERT

“Day Awakens” (green Flash). I frequently went to Carmel,CA. to deliver my art to a gallery. Making new friends there I was repeatedly invited to walk down Ocean Ave to watch the sun drop below the horizon. A tradition which included wine drinking and cheering when the “green flash” was seen....an optical illusion that appears on a water horizon at sunrise and sunset that truly looks like a green flash." - Stephen Schubert

BILL SHERWOOD