Do You See What I See, A Two-Woman Show at The Situation Room

Do You See What I See #5, #6, Eve Wood, Julie Adler at The Situation Room. Photo Credit: Patrick Quinn.

“Do You See What I See” A Two-Woman Show at The Situation Room: Eve Wood and Julie Adler

through May 5

By Patrick Quinn

The Situation Room is nestled behind a Craftsman house in the hills of Eagle Rock. For the past three years, this artist-run project space has been a unique venue for local artists and performers. Its current show features new work by two artists as well as a collaborative piece created specifically for this show. On a recent warm Saturday afternoon, the show’s opening attracted friends, art patrons, and a few well-fed chickens.

The title of the show is what artists Eve Wood and Julie Adler consider a fundamental question, “Do you see what I see?” It’s a dilemma that artists have been facing since they replaced cave walls with stretched canvasses. Does the audience understand what the artist is trying to say and if they don’t, how much does it matter? A group of people will view the same painting, but each one may have a different perception of the piece. The show’s Artist Statement has this to say:

“The pieces in this exhibition speak to the unreliability of perception married to the sincere desire to try to comprehend and to the act of sight itself. Both Adler and Wood attempt ‘see back’ and purposefully play with obvious constructs – eyes, Braille paper – are there not limitless possibilities and layers of interpretation that exist all around us?”

One wall of the gallery space is devoted to a series of drawings created by Eve Wood. The work was created using sheets of Braille-embossed paper. These sheets were originally handouts taken from a pamphlet that explained how to read Braille. The drawings seem at first glance crude and random, like the doodles one might find in the margins of a used High School text book. But the simplicity is deceiving. The details of each drawing have been carefully thought out and arranged. Each page is a rough delicate gem with the feel of a watercolor rendering. Taken as a whole, the pages relate to each other like pieces of a puzzle, telling a story.

Julie Adler has created four paintings that take up the opposing wall. These ink on canvas creations appear to be a series of trees with animal faces. They manage to accomplish the tricky feat of being both beautiful and disturbing, simultaneously. The spare use of color gives each one its own distinct feel and mood.

On the center wall is a collaborative project between the two artists. The ten pages of Braille paper are entitled Do You See What I See. Text and art tells the story of Sandy the Horse and Sandy’s owner Cowboy Bob. It’s a quirky spin on a child’s story book and as the artists have stated, the story does very much play with obvious constructs. It’s a strong show and a unique venue worth seeking out.

The gallery is open on Saturday & Sunday from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. The show runs through to May 5th and there will be a closing event on the 5th. The Situation Room is located at 2313 Norwalk Avenue, Eagle Rock, CA 90041. For more information, visit-