This August, the Artists Gallery (TAG) spotlights figurative sculpture, painting, and mixed media. Featured solo exhibition artists are: Dara Kay Barker, Robert Zent Chew, Lorna Herf, Emil Rutenberg, Bruce Sanders and Lana Shmulevich. TAG is proud to present art works that explore the overlooked materials of everyday life, the beauty of imperfection, the human spirit, memory, and fleeting moments: NOT FADE AWAY .… the 5th sequel This exhibition reflects Emil Rutenberg’s interpretation of the human spirit through the human form—whether in sculpture, sketching, or painting. His work seeks to portray the condition and struggle of man, often in conflict with his environment—and at times, in fleeting moments, in harmony with it. Rutenberg presents the human condition as one shaped by both circumstance and existential reality, yet almost always as something directly or indirectly self-imposed. Born in South Africa, Emil Rutenberg relocated to Los Angeles in 1983, where he established a fashion label under his own name. Under his creative direction, the brand gained a strong international following. Over time, however, Emil’s creative passions evolved, drawing him increasingly toward the world of fine art. He has since held seven successful solo exhibitions in the United States and Cape Town, South Africa, and maintains studios in both Inglewood, California, and Salt River, Cape Town. His work—across all three mediums—can be found in collections throughout the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Africa. Dara Kay Barker In an age defined by speed and disconnection, Stitched + Interwoven is a quiet celebration of the handmade, the heartfelt, and the human. This mother-and-son exhibition brings together two distinct visual languages: Dara Kay Barker’s layered, painterly “textiles” inspired by the fabrics on display, and Andrew Greyson Schwartz’s bold, graphic compositions rendered in tightly limited palettes. What unites their work is a shared desire to weave memory, emotion, and presence into something tactile—something that can be felt as much as seen. Robert Zent Chew "Blink of an Eye, Landscapes & Figures" memorializes fleeting moments in representation and deconstructed landscapes, still life, everyday street scenes and figurative compositions. So often there is a moment where there is a natural composition, a scene in a restaurant, a group of people standing on the corner, an old car passing, sunlight fading against trees or mountainside, and then it passes before us in a blink of an eye. We want to remember these moments. Better, we want to capture them, but they are fleeting. The work in this collection are those moments lost, and remembered, in a blink of any eye. Lorna Herf In "Lost and Found," painter Lorna Herf explores themes of the passage of time, lost moments, and found presence, where each painting carries a deeper story behind the sweetness. Working from a combination of photographs and memories, Lorna brings color and emotion through different periods of the past. Color palettes shift between realistic and monochromatic colors, with soft details to transport the viewer to a dreamy sense of nostalgia. Bruce Sanders "After the Fires: A New Beginning” - is an evocative collection of first pieces produced since Sanders lost his home and body of work to the LA fires. In this solo show, are the first of my new paintings. When I started, I was worried that I would not have enough work to exhibit ... but I produced so much ... that I had to leave a lot of paintings out. This body of work is driven by my far-ranging emotions, feelings of loss, feelings of love for my family and friends, feelings of gratitude, and my renewal of faith. Lana Shmulevich " Chasing the Light" captures the tension between nature and the urban environment - using pop elements and playful materials to reflect how nature, human activity, and light shape the spaces we inhabit. I am drawn to the overlooked materials of everyday life—glitter from nail polish, discarded packaging, staples, and scraps that catch the light in unexpected ways. Using mixed media, I build layered collages and sculptural pieces that play with reflection, texture, and shadow, transforming the ordinary into moments of surprise.