FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JoAnne Artman Gallery, Presents in the Main Gallery: Girls, Girls, Girls: New Works by Belgium-Born Artist Anja Van Herle April 5, 2012 – May 31, 2012 Opening Reception: April 5th, 2012 from 6-9pm to coincide with Laguna Beach Art Walk Please RSVP: 949.510.5481 by April 1st, 2012 JoAnne Artman Gallery 326 N. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, 92651 Contact: JoAnne Artman Telephone: 949-510-5481 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.joanneartmangallery.com Open Wed-Sunday, 11-5 & by appointment; First Thursday of every month 6-9pm Girls, Girls, Girls: Alluring, Classic, Emotive and Striking. Anja Van Herle specializes in large-scale portraiture featuring beautifully expressive women with a powerfully enticing presence. Anja’s “Girls” originate from the combination of working with models and pure whimsical fantasy, creating women of tangible imagination: beauty that is both born and bred. Born in Belgium in 1969, Anja Van Herle combines a European sense of high fashion in her artwork with an American sense of wonder. Her childhood years were devoted to exploring the fundamentals of her art using crayons, pencils and watercolors. In 1987, she enrolled in Belgium’s Higher Institute for Art Education where she earned a Master’s of Fine Arts in Painting. In 2003, Anja relocated to Los Angeles, where she now concentrates on figurative paintings that are inspired by both classic and contemporary fashion while exploring issues of identity, emotion and human interrelationships. As timelessly chic as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Anja’s women are playfully sexy, and their expressions and eyes tell stories that go far beyond the simple exhibition of fine fashion. “My work is an attempt to capture the complexity of emotions that are conveyed in the human face. I’ve been painting portraits since I was a child, continually drawing closer to the face and eyes in order to explore the emotions they contain. There’s a story behind every face; my paintings are an attempt to tell these stories by capturing delicate facial expressions and juxtaposing them with vibrant color and the dramatic interplay of shadow and light that both inform my subjects and maintain their enigmatic aura. I’m constantly delighted by the various interpretations my work receives. For some, a subject may be pensive, while to others it may be seductive or confrontational. Part of the viewing experience is for a viewer to attach his or her own emotional meaning to a work,” Anja Van Herle. Anja Van Herle’s work will inspire, provoke, engage and mesmerize. JoAnne Artman Gallery is located at 326 N. Coast Highway in Laguna Beach and is open Wednesdays-Sundays from 11-5, and by appointment. Visit the first Thursday from 6-9 pm of any month to coincide with the Laguna Beach Art Walk. Street parking is available directly in front of the Gallery as well as the Downtown Parking structure located at Glenneyre Street. Take a stroll through the galleries and studios. See art come alive in North Laguna!