Press Releases
San Clemente, CA – Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, a nonprofit southern California cultural center, is pleased to present a month-long exhibition of recent works by Kevin Short, a Southern California-based painter and printmaker. Short’s plein air paintings, bordering on abstraction, depict the squinting reflections and brilliant, white-out effects of sunlight’s glow and flat on the Southern California coastline and rugged Southwestern vistas.
About Kevin Short
Kevin Short is known as being on the forefront of the modern Coastal Regionalism style of plein air painting. The artist was born in San Diego and raised in Santa Barbara, where his creativity and affinity for the outdoors were nurtured by his artistic family. When he wasn’t drawing or painting, he was sailing, surfing, or fishing. He studied painting at the University of New Mexico and at Pepperdine University, and graduated with honors from the Art Center College of Design.
Short’s paintings and prints are like love letters to the California coastline, exemplifying how artists can draw attention to land use and preservation. An avid surfer, Short frequently depicts the surfing subculture in his subject matter. His landscapes and slice-of-life scenes are vibrant with energetic, out-of-the-tube color: Jean Stern, curator of the Irvine Museum, heralds him as a “gutsy colorist.”
Honors include retrospectives at the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard and at the California Surf Museum in Oceanside. His works were included in the landmark group exhibitions In The Land of Sunshine at the Pasadena Museum of California Art (2016) and 100 Years Of Plein Air Painting at The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine (2014). He has created cover artwork for many national publications and journals, including Los Angeles Times, Surfer’s Journal, and Southwest Art Magazine.
Short’s work is in the permanent collections of The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine; U.S. STEEL, First Foundation Bank, Scripps Cardiac Center, Sprint Fine Art Collection, and private collections around the world. He is the author of “TRESTLES,” a unique pictorial look into one of the most famous stretches of coastline in California, and was the subject of the surf documentary “Documenting the Vibe.”
If you go: Admission to the opening reception of Open Casa: Kevin Short on October 9 is complimentary. To RSVP to the opening reception, visit CasaRomantica.org/Calendar or call (949) 498-2139. During the regular exhibition run, the admission to the gallery is free with $5 general admission to Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens. No advance RSVPs are required for general admission.
Open Casa series
Casa Romantica’s Open Casa series shares outstanding contemporary and historic art from around the world within its unique gallery space. In 2017-18, the gallery presented a large selection of historic California Impressionist works from the prominent private collection of Peter and Gail Ochs, exhibitions of artist/educators from The Netherlands and Rwanda, and recent and commissioned works from three prominent Baja California-based Mexican artists. Other recent exhibitions include the work of Michael Childers, famous celebrity photographer, a commissioned installation of hanging flora by Rebecca Louise Law which received national press; the work of Italian National Geographic photographer Sandro Santioli, the work of award-winning celebrity photographer Douglas Kirkland, and a three-year commitment to the private collection of E. Gene Crain, with oil and watercolor paintings by the California Scene Painters of the 1910s-1960s.
About Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens
Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens maintains a robust series of year-round programs in arts, music, history, horticulture, and literature for all ages. Under the leadership of Executive Director Berenika Schmitz, Casa Romantica has commissioned several critically-acclaimed works, including Casa Theater: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2018; theater), Casa Coastal: Rebecca Louise Law (2017; visual art), Casa Kinetic: Contemporary Dance Collective (2017; contemporary dance), The Beauty of the Butterfly (2017; visual art), Casa Kinetic: Carrie Lee Riggins (2016; contemporary dance), Casa Drama: Slings & Arrows (2015; theater), and Open Casa: The Photographs of Douglas Kirkland (2015; visual art). The 2017-18 Casa Captivating season includes a new jazz series, visual and performing arts commissions, and an enhanced wellness program.
“Casa Romantica strives to be the epicenter for innovative artistic experiences in our southern California community,” says Casa Romantica Executive Director Berenika Schmitz.
Casa Romantica also hosts a variety of free arts education programs for children year-round. The institution’s annual Casa Romantica Music Festival and Academy has received critical praise for its comprehensive two-week music studies program in cello, piano, viola, and violin. Casa Romantica also offers a Summer Dance Workshop, a Spring Break Arts Week, various art, literature, and horticulture events to grades K-12, and welcomes over 2,000 children from the Capistrano Unified School District each year for STEAM-based field trips that examine the history of San Clemente and the coastal environment.
Mission Statement: Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization and is the historic home of the founder of the City of San Clemente. Casa Romantica provides programs for all ages in arts, music, history, and horticulture and is a premier Southern California cultural center.
Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens is located at 415 Avenida Granada, San Clemente, CA 92672. Hours: Tuesday—Thursday 11 am—4 pm; Friday—Sunday 10am—2pm; closed Mondays and holidays. General admission is $5; Casa Members and children under age 13 visit for FREE. For more information, call (949) 498-2139 or visit CasaRomantica.org.
