In the 2012 season, the popular Artists & Scholars-In-Residence Series at Monteverdi will feature a variety of celebrated figures and cultural luminaries in the fields of art, music, drama, as well as from the wine and culinary worlds. As of this writing, they include:
- Maja Ruznic
(05/13 – 05/26)
Born Bosnia & Hercegovina in 1983, Maja Ruznic studied Psychology and Art at UCBerkeley and received her MFA from the California College of the Arts in 2009. She came to the United States as a refugee in 1992 and currently lives and works in San Francisco. Ruznic’s paintings, drawings and performances explore memory and how it shapes our understanding of reality.
- Kenny Harris and Judy Nimtz
(5/26-6/16)
Both trained in traditional painting techniques, Kenny and Judy gather inspiration for new work from the places they visit —Istanbul, France, China, and Italy. For noted Los Angeles painter Kenny Harris the theme of light is paramount – and plays off every surface. His travels have led him to South and Central America where he found subject matter in the nightclubs of Buenos Aires, the mists of the Inca Trail and the interiors of old Havana, and valleys of Copán, Honduras. Such dramatic landscapes allow him ample opportunity to focus both on detail and panoramic vista, in the tradition the great American landscape painters. Judy Nimtz , born in Taiwan and raised on the island of O’ahu in Hawai’i, made Southern California her home. When working on studio paintings, the conception is entirely Judy’s own. Which is different from painting en plain air, where her surroundings have a say in the imagery, narrative, and composition. In both she attempts to capture a likeness of a location or subject, but also something intangible. The way light falls and creates shadows, or air particles accumulate over a distance and shimmer, or an unanticipated pose struck by the model, all affects her experiences as she works and the outcome of each painting.
- Kelly Fajack
(06/16 – 06/30)
Kelly Fajack was raised in Southern California. His career as a professional photographer began at the age of 13 when he sold an image to Surfing Magazine for $15. Since then his camera has taken him to over 40 countries on 6 continents. Fajack’s easy-going professionalism and focus has earned him international advertising clients like AOL, Neutrogena, Fiat and Fujitsu Siemens. His work has recently been published in magazines like Men’s Journal, Shape, Tavel+Leisure, Time and Grazia. He has also had the honor of photographing two American Presidents, having his work displayed in Italian museums and printed on African Currency. In 2012 Kelly has two gallery shows, is releasing his new book “Earth” and will be the Artist in Residence at Monteverdi Tuscany in Tuscany, Italy, for the second half of June.
