New exhibition showcases natural beauty found just beneath the water’s surface
Husband and wife artist team Nansi Bielanski Gallup and David Gallup share their undersea adventures, and the vital importance of the ecosystems supported by coral reefs
SOLVANG — The staff and board of directors of the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum) are pleased to announce its forthcoming exhibition, A Deeper Love: New Paintings Inspired by Coral Reefs, coming September 14, 2024, with large-scale artwork by artists David Gallup and Nansi Bielanski Gallup.
A Deeper Love will offer an artistic examination into some of the ocean’s most vibrant, ecologically productive, and fragile landscapes throughout the world. In addition to the intrinsic beauty of coral reefs and the equally breathtaking underwater communities that they support, it is
important to note that coral reefs also have a powerful impact on human existence. In fact, it is estimated that up to one billion people currently rely on tropical coral reefs as their primary or sole source of food and income. Many of these reef-reliant peoples are among the world’s poorest and suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate degradation primarily inflicted by industrialized nations.
“While it may be easy for most people to walk outside and appreciate experiencing nature in the hills, forests, or meadows where they live, it is much harder to visit a coral reef fifty feet below the surface of the ocean at the edge of civilization. By sharing what we’ve seen, what we’ve learned, and what has inspired us, we hope to make the world’s coral reefs a little more present in the hearts and minds of our community,” state David & Nansi Gallup. “We humans protect what we love. We hope this show will help us all fall in love with the beauty of our coral reefs a little more, so we’re more
likely to protect them for future generations.”
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For the sake of all life on our Blue Planet, it is clear that we must know, love, and steward coral reefs and other seascapes. Artists Nansi Bielanski Gallup and David Gallup are motivated by these challenges, working collaboratively and individually as
artists to highlight the beauty and importance of
coral reefs and their need for protection.
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 ~ 6:00 – 8:00pm
Fig Mountain Brewing Co., 45 Industrial Way Buellton, CA 93427 | Second Floor
HEADGAMES CORAL REEF TRIVIA NIGHT
Join the California Nature Art Museum and Headgames Trivia for a special bonus round of trivia on coral reefs in celebration of the opening of our latest exhibition, A Deeper Love: New Paintings Inspired by Coral Reefs on September 24, 2024, from 6PM-8PM. Expect a night of colorful competition, fun, and food as we test your knowledge of one of the most precious and in-need-of-protection places in the ocean. Our sponsored bonus round will include two prizes from the Museum gift store and will not affect players’ overall trivia score. Hosted every Tuesday night on the second-floor of Fig Mountain Brewing Co. in Buellton, Headgames Trivia is free to play and covers a wide range of general topics using interactive questions and diverse multimedia. Teams of up to six. Each member of the overall winning team will receive one free 4 oz. pour. No tickets or reservations required. For more information, contact Rachel Metz at rachel@calnatureartmuseum.org.
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“David and Nansi’s work feels important to highlight at the Museum because beyond the striking beauty of it, their work so plainly communicates the complexity of life that reef ecosystems support and protect,” says Assistant Director of California Nature Art Museum, Rachel Metz. “From our first introduction to the Gallups, it was clear to us that the stories and moments they are sharing – glimmers of healthy, high-biodiversity, thriving marine ecosystems – ought to hold space here, as we all continue our collective efforts to promote healthier oceans and cleaner coasts. While primarily depicting seascapes and species not found off the coast of California, our planet is made up of mostly water, and the connectedness of our oceans serve as a powerful reminder of the ecological crises facing them, which negative impacts are not removed from any of us.” |
Coral reefs are very sensitive to changes in ocean conditions and have been documented to be in decline dating as far back as the 1950s. Infectious diseases, warming temperatures, ocean acidification, overfishing, certain types of sunscreens, and water runoff contaminated with pollutants can contribute to the decimation of coral reefs.
“David and Nansi have produced a body of work deserving of a distinguished place in art history. On the surface their paintings make you feel you are in the tropics, inducted into complicated parades of life and color. There, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, we find organisms at their most active,” says accomplished artist Hiro Yamagata.
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Hiro Yamagata is a renowned painter and artist, based in Los Angeles, California, and the former colleague and |
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mentor of David Gallup. As a silkscreen artist, Yamagata is recognized for his use of vivid colors in his pieces and is widely considered a pioneer in the medium. Yamagata is also known for his use of laser and hologram technology in his works. |
Yamagata continues, “Look deeper and you see that these painting ideas convert the challenges facing our oceans into glorious and joyful celebrations of what we have, and what is at stake. By focusing their profound talents on coral reefs, they shine a light on a world many will never see in
person. Their paintings are magnificent essential images of our Blue Planet.”
The media is invited to attend a member’s-only artist reception and first viewing of A Deeper Love: New Paintings Inspired by Coral Reefs by advance arrangement. The event features large-scale paintings, a meet-and-greet with the exhibition’s artists, delicious drinks and light charcuterie. The event is free to attend with active membership and no reservations required.
To schedule interviews with Assistant Director of California Nature Art Museum, Rachel Metz or the artists David Gallup and Nansi Bielanski Gallup, or to request broadcast-quality B-roll and high-res images, please contact Joni Kelly, Communications Specialist at 805-886-1869 or jonikellycomm@gmail.com.
California Nature Art Museum is open weekdays 11am – 4 pm (except Tuesday and Wednesday) and weekends 10am – 5pm and is supported by the generosity of its sponsors and members. For more information, please visit www.calnatureartmuseum.org
ABOUT CALIFORNIA NATURE ART MUSEUM
California Nature Art Museum uses art to educate and inspire people to better understand and care for our dwindling natural and wilderness areas. California Nature Art Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a small staff of 2 full-time and 4 part-time employees, augmented by 35 dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers. The mission of California Nature Art Museum is to inspire our community and visitors to enjoy, value, and conserve wildlife and natural areas through art, and provide artistic, educational, and field experiences of nature for that purpose. Our vision is to be recognized as an exceptional and innovative leader in inspiring our communities and visitors to value wilderness and other natural areas
through the lenses of a diversity of artists. The California Nature Art Museum strives to collaborate with others for the betterment of our communities.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Nansi Bielanski Gallup holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Loyola Marymount University. Before becoming a professional artist, she was a television director and producer of many award- winning television commercials. She lived in Budapest, Hungary for three years, producing over one hundred commercials and several documentaries. In 2003, she left television to dedicate
herself full-time to sculpting and painting. Nansi was selected to be Artist in Residence at the Carnegie Art Museum in 2016 and held a solo exhibition there in 2017.
DavidGallupisagraduateoftheOtisArtInstituteofParsonsSchoolofDesign. In his early career, he was the Chief Studio Assistant for pop art legend Hiro Yamagata, supervising a staff of 30 artists on the Earthly Paradise project. Gallup then spent 15 years as Vice President of the California Art Club, and has had three solo museum exhibitions: California’s Channel Islands at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum in Malibu; Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach; and Beneath the Surface at the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard. In 2018 he realized his dream of marrying Nansi.
Deepening their shared vision, both artists find their greatest inspiration in scuba diving. The coral reefs of our planet sustain us all, and they are as imperiled as they are beautiful. Bielanski and Gallup continue to travel the globe to observe life beneath the surface and have recently purchased a small island in the Coral Sea which they use as a second studio. Their personal observations of the reef system have demonstrated the validity of the concerned voices of ecologists and marine biologists.
Learn more about Nansi Bielanski Gallup and David Gallup and their work at www.GallupContemporary.com, or on Instagram @nansibielanskigallup_artist and @davidcgallup_artist.