CASA MAGAZINE, SANTA BARBARA, AUGUST 1, 2008

Frameworks and Caruso Woods Gallery:
Left Brain Art
By Andria Watson / Casa

Applying left brain concepts to the study and expression of art, three artists, Mel Zaid, Francis Scorzelli, and Jack Mohr, defy stereotypes, pose questions, and explore how the left brain’s systematic communication enhances creative beginnings, in an exhibit that opens 1st Thursday, August 7th, with a reception from 5 to 8pm.

“This show has a different kind of flavor,” shared Zaid. “There are observations that a lot of us think about, but only a few of us know how to express.”

A mixture of media, Left Brain Art, on display at Frameworks & Caruso Woods Gallery August 7th through August 30th, parallels the “Scientific Method.” Scorzelli employs rich, subtle colors that carry a unique, visual language to the viewer, while Zaid plays with mind-constructed alternate universes within his multispace art, using ideas of time and motion. Mohr investigates the simplicity of light and shadow; the relationships of shapes and instability through ceramic pieces.

Zaid, whose talents include sculpture, photography, and engineering, thought up the concept for an art show to explore the possibilities of left-brain influence, rather than settle with the idea that artistic intuition stems only from the right side of the brain.

Most importantly, according to Zaid, the exhibit prompts viewers to think; to see beyond the surface, and delve deeper into a world of science, proving mathematics, logic, and art really can go together.

Scorzelli has been featured in several publications including The Independent, Santa Barbara Magazine, and Art in America. He has participated in group and solo exhibitions in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara. He is currently President of Santa Barbara Studio Artists, and has work in private collections throughout the United States.

Mohr studied graphic design in Germany before moving to the United States. He believes that free form art and graphic design are closely related. Mohr is now concentrating on ceramics and three-dimensional artwork.

“Hopefully,” shared Zaid, “the show is an expansion of fresh thoughts and ideas that can be communicated to the viewer.