Arts Devo

School of art, continued … Last Thursday (March 7), Chico State was stupid with art, so Arts DEVO took advantage of the break in the winter weather to venture onto campus to devour as much as I could in one afternoon. In addition to the six galleries on campus with current exhibits, this day featured the added attraction of the once-a-semester Open Studios event, composed of several mini exhibits of works by BFA and MFA students throughout both the Arts & Humanities Building and Ayres Hall.

During my rounds, I thoroughly enjoyed the offerings at the University Art Gallery and the Anthropology Museum (see “Put on your art shoes,” for more), but as it usually does, the Open Studios event captured my heart. There’s always work by artists I’ve never seen before, and that’s the stuff for me.

Some of the highlights from the half-dozen or so studios/galleries I visited included the magnetic characters in the incredible paintings of Martin Townsend, Jill Harris’ abstract ceramics, and Kristy Moreno’s sad/sweet little sculpture, “Inadequacy.”

But my favorite of the day, and the year so far, were the fantastic prismacolor drawings by Ryan Ramos. I’ll let his artist statement do the introduction: “A central component of my work is the eroticized male nude, used as an unmistakable assertion of queer power. Nudity can be simultaneously confrontational and vulnerable, a contradiction that I am exploring in my most recent work.”

The works definitely deliver on that intention, with a barrel-chested Latino, a lounging biker and a hairless hulk all shame-free and striking and beautiful in their naked glory. But the beautifully rendered subjects also stand out as well-composed works of poster-style art. The bearded Latino man is featured in several poses among the petals and leaves of five giant blue roses, and the vivid image is both playful and iconic.

I also loved Ramos’ tender self-portrait. More shy than his other subjects, the thin bleached-blond artist looks like a paper doll in his red briefs, black socks and impressive mustache. See the art I can’t show in this space by following Ramos on Instagram @ryan_ramos_art.

Two tickets to Jimmy Kimmel! For its third annual St. Patrick’s Day Gala, the Chico Sunrise Rotary Club has received a donation of two backstage tickets to the filming of an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! The gala is a dinner/auction fundraiser for children struggling with literacy (this year with a focus on those impacted by the Camp Fire), and the two tickets up for grabs include airfare, green room passes and gift certificates for hotel stay. There are a ton of other auction items that you can try to win online (Kings tickets, jewelry, island getaways), but you have to be present at the gala this Saturday (March 16), at Chico State’s BMU Auditorium, to bid on the Kimmel tix. More info at rotarychicosunrise.org