SMC Emeritus Gallery to Host Free Online Opening Reception for Michael Baroff Exhibition

SMC Emeritus Gallery to Host Free Online Opening Reception for Michael Baroff Exhibition September 22

Hybrid Multimedia Exhibition Combines In-Gallery and Online Displays of Still and Video Works

SANTA MONICA, CA — The Santa Monica College (SMC) Emeritus Art Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of creative works by artist Michael Baroff. The exhibition will be presented as a hybrid show, with an in-gallery display of a tightly considered selection of his related abstract paintings, along with an online collection of additional images and video works. This is the gallery's first-ever exhibition to open simultaneously online and within the brick-and-mortar on-campus location.

The exhibition — presented in the Emeritus Art Gallery at 1227 Second St., Santa Monica, and online at smc.edu/emeritusgallery — showcases painted abstractions and figurative studies selected by artist Baroff for viewing in the gallery, and video works and documentations for viewing online.

A free, live Zoom Virtual Launch Event will be held online from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 22. A link at smc.edu/emeritusgallery goes live at event time and takes guests directly to the exhibition’s opening reception.

The opening reception online will be hosted by SMC Dean of Noncredit and External Programs Dr. Scott Silverman and Emeritus Art Gallery Curator Jesse Benson. The event includes a live scroll through the exhibition, a discussion with the artist about selected works, and a Q&A offering guests the chance to ask the artist questions.

In-gallery viewings are available through November 17 during gallery hours, which are posted at smc.edu/emeritusgallery. To see the artwork online at any time after 5 p.m. on September 22, viewers may go to smc.edu/emeritusgallery and click the exhibition link, available 24 hours a day. The link takes viewers directly to the exhibition album on a Facebook page that is open to public viewing (Facebook account not necessary).

“Emeritus artist Michael Baroff’s multimedia production is ideal for presentation across multiple platforms," said Benson. "His abstract paintings will reactivate our long-dormant physical gallery location on campus, and his videos and online presence are naturally at home in our virtual space."

“Artist Michael Baroff has been an Emeritus student and lover of the arts for many years. In addition to his role within the Emeritus Student Advisory Committees and local Arts agencies, he is a dynamic artist in his own right,” said Silverman. “This will be the first hybrid in-person and virtual gallery show.”

SMC’s widely praised Emeritus program — founded by Santa Monica College in 1975 as a noncredit program to serve the lifelong learning interests of older adults — offers more than 120 noncredit adult education classes and special programs that serve more than 3,000 students each year.

More information is available by visiting smc.edu/emeritusgallery or calling 310-434-4306.

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