'Trancing Out' Art Exhibit

The Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery at Cuesta College is pleased to present Irene Hardwicke Olivieri’s exhibition Trancing Out, a collection of paintings illuminating Olivieri’s connection to the natural world and the subterranean world of the heart. Running February 24 - March 24, the gallery will hold a student reception at 12:00 p.m. on February 24, followed by an opening reception to the public from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., with an artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m. Copies of Olivieri’s book, Closer to Wildness, will be available for sale in the gallery.

According to gallery organizers, the exhibit will feature both recent and older works of Olivieri’s art, which express a deep and meaningful connection to the natural world. “She displays a connection between the earth, dirt, mountains, animal kingdom, and herself,” said Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery Coordinator Emma Saperstein. “In the most genuine way, Olivieri is one with the Earth and its creatures and they are one with her.”

Olivieri studied art in Mexico and Austin, TX, then moved to New York where she received an M.A. from New York University. Eleven years ago, she moved off the grid into the high desert of Oregon, and then recently relocated to Arizona, next to Saguaro National Park. “I’m intensely excited about the wildlife and wild lands around me,” said Olivieri. “My desire is to take experiences and deep primitive feelings and turn them into paintings; taking something that is not visual, making it come alive.”

The Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery is located in room 7170, on the San Luis Obispo campus of Cuesta College. It is open Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and the 1st and 3rd Saturdays from 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, please call (805) 546-3202.