Haleh Mashian, Field of Innocence, 2022. Mixed media on canvas, 48 in x 48 in. (Courtesy: Mash Gallery).

The exhibition features both local and international artists. It presents a harmonious yet playful balance of sophistication and simplicity. Each artist in the exhibit showcases an ability to convey their imaginative interpretation of a sense of connection. The works exude the joy of expression, as each artist calls upon the memory of childlike imagination, creating magical and pure work; the pieces depict a blissful, dreamlike world with limitless possibilities. Playfulness and freedom abound in the exhibition, while the viewer is taken through the realms of past and present, a show of spontaneity and imagination. 

WHAT: Field of Innocence, Works by a Collection of Artists

WHEN: Jan 14—Feb 18, 2023

WHERE: Mash Gallery, 812 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Through her fabric collage tapestries, artist Amy Zerner presents the surreal reality and sheer power of the human connection with nature through the lens of ancient metaphysicians. The timelessness of her work is a nostalgic nod to a time where the past, present, and future reside together as one. Love is also omnipresent. Vision Quest and Dance of Life exemplify these ideals. “When we truly understand the nature of innocence and resonate with its energy field, we lessen our fear of life’s harshest realities and open our hearts to the frequency of love that is available to us all when we awaken to the fact that, ultimately, we dwell in the Field of Innocence,” Zerner says. 

Katherine Lodge, City Stroll, 2022. Acrylic on canvas, 47 in x 59 in. (Courtesy: Mash Gallery).

Another artist in the exhibition is Katherine Lodge. Using colorful paints, Lodge draws on her imagination and, with childlike brushstrokes, allows her composition wander. The artist notes, “I use paint like scissors to cut into shapes and give them a fresh cut paper feel. I have a strong imagination, and my paintings work best when my mind is free to wander.” City Stroll demonstrates just that; a wandering route, a meandering city stroll, depicted through acrylic on canvas. 

Jodi Bonassi, Eye of Horu, 2021.  Mixed media on canvas, 24 in x 18 in. (Courtesy: Mash Gallery).

Jodi Bonassi has spent three decades studying the communal exchange of people through careful observation of people in places as they go about daily life. Her work displays the harshness and beauty of that everyday life. Her paintings portray the beauty and purity she witnesses. Her bird series, on view during this exhibit, exudes a bright, bold color palette in a place of joy and safety for these beautiful birds in their natural habitat.

Bonassi says she takes herself back to a place of serene ignorance. “I am happy not knowing,” she says. “I am playing with the flowers, and the trees, adding dragonflies and other bugs that catch my eye. I’m building a safe world for my birds and myself that I can handle. The beauty of nature cushions me. The birds cover me with their feathers, and I am hatchling in the nest of my own making.”

Other artists included are Ian Rayer-Smith, John Monn, Mark Acetelli, and Philip Letsu. Also included is the work of Haleh Mashian, the exhibition’s curator and gallery owner. It’s the show’s titular piece, Field of Innocence, a mixed media piece that highlights the very essence of the exhibit —”I am always fascinated by the innate power of color, energy, and composition that a piece of art can exude, to transport the viewer to a new realm of mystery where everything is real yet imagined,” Mashian says.