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OILS - PRINTS

The Independent

Thursday, February 5, 2009

By Heather Jeno

Center of Calm

As a full service spa, Qui Si Bella has been pampering Santa Barbara residents for the last few years with its calm spaces and relaxing treatments. To increase its ambient effect, the spa is currently making double use of its space by exhibiting abstract monotype prints and collographs by printmaker Avie Guttman. The artist has chosen works from her "Fantasy" series, in which swirling, bright colors float across the surface to create miniature, abstracted landscapes. Texture is a key element to Guttman's work, as she uses strategic brushstrokes to give her pieces a unique, multidimensional quality. In "Indigo," for example, Guttman has divided the surface into two planes, each with its own distinguishing textural characteristics, to create a decorative motif in various tones of blues. Guttman's ability to capture subtlety is the perfect complement to the Zen-inspired space.