I went to Bergamot Station by accident. I received a facebook invite from a sort of college acquaintance alerting me to the Cordy Ryman “Hail to the Grid” opening at the Mark Moore Gallery. I noticed that the gallery was located in Santa Monica, my neighborhood, so I decided that the event was a must. Once I realized where I was actually going–Bergamot Station–I was incredibly excited. This cluster of galleries is utter excitement for all of the senses. Minus the funky parking lot, this outing proved to be well worth the night out.
I truly enjoyed the Cordy Ryman show, but the pieces did not have enough life to fill up the gallery. I felt like I was at a show of an interior designer and not a truly talented artist. His pieces packed the corners of the gallery with brightly colored painted wood sculptures. I was intrigued and wanted to leave all at the same time. However, I was in luck. Several of the galleries located in Bergamot Station were open. I wandered around the lot perusing this gallery and that. I saw rather almost-offensive sexually explicit large-scale sketches and architectural, seemingly computer generated planes of space prints displayed in several different colors and sizes, but the gallery that seized my attention was Patrick Painter Inc’s East & West Galleries. The 12 large oval abstract and whimsical Simon Bill paintings that made up Buttercups and Daisies were displayed on the four opposing walls and seemed to permeate the space that was encapsulated by them.
photo taken by Haley Greenwald-Gonella
Each different oval captured a sense of time or season. Each one had an age and element of intelligence. The space was filled with innocence and inevitable aging at the same time. The oval with the green backdrop featuring pink rivers accessorized by 3-dimensional green leaves epitomized springtime and a sense of sexual awareness. “Autumn Textures” featured a pumpkin colored center surrounded by winter white. My personal favorite was the oval painted with various shades of white-on-white. An artist friend of mine in college did a white-on-white study and I learned much about intricacy from it, so Simon’s white-on-white work adorned with sequins felt like a much welcomed throw back to me. This gallery and show are jewels in a tucked away corner of Santa Monica and Bergamot Station is definitely a must-see.
Haley Greenwald-Gonella 
