Extra Sensory Perception
Catya Plate

DIRECTOR’S FOREWORD

Our tradition of presenting contemporary art at the Robert
V. Fullerton Art Museum has been strengthened by work shown in several recent exhibition seasons, 2000-2003. The group presentations of contemporary art include James Gobel's 21 exhibition, Eva Kirsch's and Sant Khalsa's Mirror of the Invisible and Susan Joyce's Out of Context and Eye Candy. Many of the recent individual exhibitions at the museum featured Southern California artists (Marsia Alexander-Clarke, Pierre Picot, Nancy Braver, Margaret Morgan and Susan Silton). But artists from other U.S. regions and from abroad also made presentations. These include Raul Cordero from Cuba, Thomas Emde from Germany and Marcelo Pombo from Argentina. Major group exhibitions dedicated to foreign art have included
Polish Art 1955-85 in Southern California Collections and Graphics from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Our newest artist, Catya Plate, is originally from Europe. Born in Barcelona, Spain, and educated in Germany, Plate now lives and works in New York. She exhibits extensively in Europe and on the East Coast, but recently she received some initial recognition in California by participating in a group exhibition in Los Angeles. We are pleased to host her first one-person show, Extra Sensory Perception, on the West Coast and also the first presentation of this particular body of work. We hope that our presentation will spur the process of introducing Plate's work to viewers on the West Coast.

Plate's bizarrely fascinating, elaborate art demonstrates an intriguing fusion of her sensual Catalonian soul and traditionally disciplined German education with her American experience. A series of large, mixed-media, multi-paneled, interactive paintings engage different human senses in the process of perception. Because Plate’s paintings can be smelled, touched, tasted, heard and otherwise perceived, they challenge viewers and force them to break away from the conventional way of experiencing art.

I would like to thank Susan Joyce and Catya Plate for bringing this intriguing exhibition to San Bernardino. As always, many others have contributed to the success of the project and they deserve the greatest appreciation: Norma Markley and Catya's husband, Todd Aven, for the catalog's design and production, John Fleeman for the professional installation of the show and Sharidy Cunningham, Cathy Aurora, Megan DeWitt and Angie Nellas for their help with many aspects of the exhibition.

The exhibition and catalog have been funded by Instructionally-Related Programs and the Board of Associated Students, Inc. at California State University, San Bernardino, the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum and private contributions. The Friends of the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum sponsored the gallery event and opening reception. Arrowhead Credit Union has been sponsoring the museum's ongoing project of remodeling the
exhibition space.

THANK YOU ALL.
Eva Kirsch, Director

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