The Valley Chronicle - MSJC Art Gallery launches ‘Brace Yourself’ exhi

■ Mt. San Jacinto College / Contributed The Mt. San Jacinto College Art Gallery is excited to announce the new exhibition “Brace Yourself,” which launched on Mar. 4 and runs through April 18 on the San Jacinto Campus. This exhibit, from guest curator and MSJC Associate Professor of Art Eileen Doktorski, brings together a collection of figurative works representing portraiture, architectural environments, hybrid images and performance art, each conveying a unique expression of human emotion. This power of art to elicit an emotional response, inspired the organization of this exhibition and catalog. Doktorski states in the catalog, “The artist’s work imprints something of itself into our experience.” She describes the intention of these works as “to stir you from your current state of being and engage you in an intimate and subtle dialogue of feeling.” Six artists are represented in the gallery exhibit: Timothy Burica, Eileen Doktorski, Romina Del Castillo, Barbara Milliorn, Chaz Maviyane-Davies and Nick Potter. A free public reception will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 28, featuring a curator and artist talk with Eileen Doktorski and Nick Potter, and a performance led by artist Barbara Milliorn. Regular gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The public is welcome to join. The six participating artists were selected from a wide geographical range that includes England, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon and California. Doktorski organized this exhibit as an intercollegiate project with Elena Harvey-Collins, Curator of Art Space Gallery at Fresno City College, and John Knuth, Curator of the Art Gallery at Mt. San Jacinto College. “Brace Yourself” became a catalyst for creative interchange between the two colleges that involved faculty, staff and students from both institutions. MSJC student Brooke Bunte served as Assistant Curator on the project. A special exhibition catalog was designed and printed with support by the Mt. San Jacinto College Foundation. For more information, please contact MSJC Art Gallery Curator John Knuth at jknuth@msjc.edu or by phone at (951) 487-3585.