Mike Sciacca Surf City will host one...

Mike Sciacca

Surf City will host one of Orange County’s largest art exhibits

Saturday at the Huntington Beach Art Center, where hundreds of

artists will present their work.

More than 200 regional artists will be on hand along with a few

pieces of their work in a salon-style exhibition titled “Centered on

the Center.”

The seventh annual exhibition, which will be held from 6 to 9

p.m., will involve regional and local artists with a display of

nearly 350 pieces of art. It is expected to draw a full house, says

Darlene DeAngelo, curator of exhibitions and programs at the Downtown

art center.

Last year’s show, she said, drew more than 1,000 visitors.

“It’s been a wonderful event in the past, one that the public has

really come out to support,” DeAngelo said of the exhibition. “We

have so many groups within our community that are very supportive of

the arts, groups such as the Huntington Beach Arts League, and this

exhibition is a way to engage those community groups.”

The event is an open call with no jury panel judging the work,

DeAngelo said. Artists are allowed to choose their own pieces for the

exhibition, and each will stand, in line, displaying their individual

work.

The exhibition’s artwork runs the gamut, from two- and

three-dimensional wall work, sculpture, video and installation

pieces, which will be installed in three main exhibition galleries

and additional public spaces, DeAngelo said.

“We have a very nice and interesting mix of artists at the

exhibition,” she said. “We have artists from all areas of experience,

from the art student to the mid-career artist. Their work is

original, but some of the artists pattern their work after a certain

art movement or famous artist. There’s a little of something here for

everyone.”

Artist Robin Repp will be back for her second consecutive

exhibition.

The Huntington Beach resident, 54, does digital photography and

says that most of her work centers on social commentary.

Repp says she loves the idea of such an exhibition, one that is

open to all artists and is done without a curator.

“It takes a risk-taker to do a show like this, where everyone can

bring their work, and Darlene is a risk-taker,” Repp said. “I commend

her for her vision. This exhibition is a really great opportunity for

any emerging artist -- at any level -- to get their work shown. It

also allows us the opportunity to show work we normally would not get

to show in a curated event. This is just a wonderful idea, and I wish

more places in Orange County would hold something of this nature.”

Repp has had two pieces on display at the art center, both

infra-red photos, one of a satellite, the other of a meteorite.

During last year’s exhibition, Repp was one of five artists

DeAngelo singled out and featured at a monthlong exhibition, “They

Stood in Line for Hours,” which was held at the art center and

concluded in late December.

“This is a fun show, and we’re looking forward to another

wonderful event that will feature some outstanding artists,” DeAngelo

said. “We at the center really enjoy giving these artists the chance

to display their work in an unfiltered, non-juried setting.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at [email protected].