New exhibit brings 1960s art movement to Chico
CHICO >> An art movement that sprung to life in San Francisco in the ‘60s and early ‘70s is getting center stage with a new exhibit at the Chico Art Center. The works featured in the show titled “Visionary Art Legacy” are described as being inspired by the psychedelic era, spiritual awakenings and a search for the deeper inner meanings of life.
The show began Aug. 21 and will be open until Sept. 19. Co-produced by husband and wife, Nicolai and Marion Larsen, along with the Chico Art Center, the show features the work of 10 Northern California artists.
Nicolai Larsen, whose work is also featured in the exhibit, said the show had first been planned in 2019 but ended up being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the show was canceled and the art center closed temporarily, Larsen said the show continued to evolve.
“The works geared itself towards kind of a vibration of color,” Nicolai Larsen said. “We wanted it to be uplifting because there’s so many things going on now. Through the show, we can provide happiness to the community and so far it’s been really well received.”
Marion Larsen added with ongoing disasters, specifically the Dixie Fire, she believes art can be a great way to heal.
“One of the things we saw with the ongoing disasters around us is the impact and the anxiety level that it creates for all of us,” Marion Larsen said. “This show is a healing force that can help especially if you spend the time and sit there with just one or two paintings and just receive that in you. It really helps. You come out feeling stronger.”
The artists featured in the show include Susan Cervantes, Geoffrey Chandler, Margaret Daley, Ann Erpino, Gary Graham, Mark Henson, Nicolai Larsen, Garret Moore, Paul Nicholson and Mark Roland.
All artists in the show met while living in San Francisco before individually moving to Northern California. The selection all trained in various forms of classical painting, Marion Larsen said one of the highlights of the showcase is seeing traditional forms of classic paintings blending with the visionary art style.
“The artists either went to their own personal art school like in the case of Paul Nicholson, or they went and studied under a specific master from the previous generations of artists,” Marion Larsen said. “You can see it in the work. The technical ability of each is quite amazing.”
Nicolai Larsen said while the style came out of San Francisco in the late ‘60s, its influence can be seen throughout art history, pointing to 15th Century Dutch-painter Hieronymus Bosch.
“This style has been going on for generations. You can go all the way back to Hieronymus Bosch who was a surrealist but he was also a visionary with ideas that nobody had ever seen before. When you think of a visionary, you think of somebody like Einstein. He was a visionary,” Nicolai
Larsen said. “I myself would never consider myself a visionary but I consider it like school — a style of art. I’m a landscape painter but I also like to incorporate strange, dream-like things — fish flying in the sky. Things that are fantasy.”
One talk has already taken place in support of the show with artists Mark Henson and Mark Roland and is available to be viewed through the Chico Art Center website.
A second talk with Garret Moore and Gary Graham on the importance of being an artist in modern day will take place on Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. and can be viewed via Zoom or be joined by visiting the Chico Art Center website.
The Visionary Art Legacy show will be open until Sunday, Sept. 19 at the Chico Art Center located at 450 Orange St., Suite 6, Chico. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information on the Visionary Art Legacy show or the Chico Art Center call 895-8726 or visit https://chicoartcenter.com.