Faces from the Southern Ocean — G2 Gallery

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Breathtaking visions of a snowy wilderness, and the sweet faces of the creatures that inhabit it, feature in an exhibition of prints from Antarctica by fine artist and photographer J. J. L”™Heureux, opening at The G2 Gallery in Venice, March 29, 2011.

Report by Pauline Adamek

L”™Heureux has just returned from her eleventh trip to Antarctica in as many years. Once a remote destination, tourism to Antarctica has quadrupled in the last several years; according to a recent piece on KCETs Globe Trekker 46,000 tourists traveled to the fifth continent”™s Southern Ocean in 2008.

J. J. L”™Heureux made her first trip to Antarctica in 2000 where she collected digital images of ice and snow for a white-on-white color field series of “landscape” paintings. During this initial expedition she became fascinated by the wildlife and pristine environment she discovered there.  Penguins, all types of seals, whales and the unique varieties of birdlife found in the Southern Ocean became living models for her in the setting of the vast, wind-swept, icy landscapes of Antarctica.

Regarding the wildlife portraits in Faces, the Venice-based L”™Heureux says, “I want to share my sense of the intimate relationships that come with experiencing this unique continent and its wildlife.  Faces and eyes are among the first thing we register when meeting our fellow human beings.  My intention is to introduce the viewer to the faces and eyes of some of the amazing creatures I met and photographed in Antarctica. Inhabitants like the Southern Royal Albatross, the Antarctic Fur Seal, the Emperor and Macaroni Penguins.”

Since that initial trip, L”™Heureux has returned to Antarctica every year and continues to build her extensive digital database.  She has traveled as a passenger on a Russian icebreaker, as an art and photography lecturer on adventure cruises, and on her own in a small motor sailor, the Golden Fleece.   She also participated in The South African Penguin Study on Robben Island, South Africa, part of a project with The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB).

L”™Heureux”™s book, Faces from the Southern Ocean, accompanies the exhibition and is available in The G2 Gallery Gift Shop and online at Amazon.com

Visit her websites – J. J. L”™Heureux and PenguinSpirit

The G2 Gallery is in itself a story - a green art space, the gallery donates proceeds from all art sales to environmental concerts. A Venice resident, L”™Heureux has exhibited extensively throughout galleries and museums in the United States and abroad.

Faces from the Southern Ocean

A photographic exhibition of thirty-five prints from Antarctica by artist and photographer J. J. L”™Heureux

Exhibition runs until May 8, 2011

The G2 Gallery

1503 Abbot Kinney Boulevard,

Venice, CA 90291-3742

Telephone: (310) 452 2842

Gallery Hours:

Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11a.m.””9 p.m.

Sundays, 11 a.m.””6 p.m.

E-mail: info@theg2gallery.com

Upcoming Events:

Ms. L”™Heureux will give an artist”™s talk at the gallery Friday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m.

A closing reception for Faces will be held Friday, May 6, 6:30-9 p.m.

About The G2 Gallery:

Established in March 2008, The G2 Gallery in Venice, California, is a green art space with a dedicated focus on contemporary nature and wildlife photography. In keeping with G2″™s commitment to supporting arts and the environment, the gallery presents exhibitions with eco-conscious themes, donating the proceeds from all art sales to environmental charities and hosts free concerts and lectures that bring awareness of critical issues to our community.