Official Olympic Artist @ NoHo Gallery LA

Tuesday, February 7 from 6-10PM

Jesse Raudales, an Afro/Latino artist based in North Hollywood, was the one and only minority artist whose artwork was selected for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.  In February, the grand opening of “Peace for the Children of the World,” will open in California, travel to New York and then move to Torino, Italy. See it at NoHo Gallery LA on Tuesday, February 7 from 6-10PM.

NoHo Gallery LA’s featured artist Dr. Allen Bearden has over 30 years of experience as an arts educator and professional developer who has nurtured the career of many artists. Yet, he continued to paint when he could find the time in his busy schedule to do so. He has participated in numerous art shows and art fairs where he has received many accolades and awards concerning his work. Currently, much of his time is spent in his small studio painting, nurturing his own personal art career.

Dr. Bearden’s initial instruction in art was at Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama where he did undergraduate work in Interior Design. After moving to Chicago, he attended Roosevelt University and received a B.A. in Art Education. In June 1975 he received a Master of Science in Visual Design Education from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago, Illinois. At IIT he studied photography and other methods of communicating for use in Chicago Public Schools. His doctorate in Special Education was achieved from Illinois State University January 1993--Dissertation: Effect of Contingent Visual Arts Experiences on Attendance of Students with Behavior Disorders.

Dr. Bearden is currently the president of the Jacqueline B. Vaughn Graduate School for Teacher Leadership.

Among one of his biggest accomplishments is his son, Michael Bearden -  an accomplished musical director / keyboardist / composer for a diverse range of musical superstars!

Noho Gallery LA is honored to debut Metellus Bekens' work in the U.S. His work is currently carried in Canada, Great Britain, France and Italy.

Metellus was enrolled in the Jacmel School of Painting and his talent continued to flourish until economic hardship forced him into exile. In 1996, Metellus crossed the mountains and entered the Dominican Republic. He found himself in the city of Guayacanes where the only work available for an illegal alien was in the sugarcane fields. Work in the sugarcane fields was tortuous; the hours were long, workers were poorly remunerated, and the possibility of fever was a never ending threat. Metellus saw his dream of ever paint again moving further and further away.

More skillful with a paint brush than a machete, Metellus severely lacerated his leg while working in the fields. This unfortunate accident landed him in a Boca Chica hospital for three weeks. Metellus’ spirits sank upon his release from the hospital because he realized that he had lost his only source of income. It was at that time that fate stepped in and he met a fellow painter on the beaches of Boca Chica. He explained his plight to his new friend, and the painter gave him a piece of fabric, some paint, and two paint brushes. Metellus promised himself that day to never be without paint or brushes again.

From that time on Metellus began to seek out a meager living by selling his paintings to tourist who flock to the resorts of Boca Chica. He is still the main source of income for his family in Haiti. When asked where he gets his inspiration for his paintings, Metellus doesn’t hesitate to say that he is inspired by his dreams of his lost island on the other side of the mountain.