Lisa Marasso named as new Ridley Gallery Director

Rocklin, Calif.- The Sierra College Ridley Gallery is pleased to introduce its new Director, Lisa Marasso.

A Northern California native, Lisa Marasso holds an MFA in Art Studio from the University of California Davis earned in 2005, following undergraduate work in Art and Women’s Studies at Sierra College and UC Davis.

After a yearlong post graduate studio residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, CA, she moved her family from Davis to Citrus Heights. Lisa’s work has been exhibited widely, recently at New Mexico University, Johansson Projects in Oakland CA, and the San Jose Museum of Art. Marasso has taught drawing and sculpture at Sierra College since 2005, while serving as Associate Director at Verge Center for the Arts (formerly Verge Gallery and Studio Project) in Sacramento, CA from 2008-2011.

Lisa Marasso’s own artwork will be exhibited in the Sierra College Administration Building, on the Rocklin Campus. The show titled “Decadent and Wanting”, Marasso investigates domestic embellishment, musing on the impulse to adorn through trivial means. In austere drawings shimmering with glittered scrapbooking paper, she uses imagery of jewelry and engagement sets reassigning the subject new value, as separate from seemingly inherent sentimental notions, embracing abstraction and reveling in the beauty of frivolity and facade. This exhibition opens November 8, 2012 and runs through February 2013.

The Ridley Gallery

Located on the Rocklin campus of Sierra College, this bright and spacious gallery was dedicated in the spring of 1998. The gallery is named in memory of Robert Ridley, art professor, who long believed a college gallery would enrich the cultural experience and understanding of students through exposure to local and nationally recognized artists.

Ridley Gallery compliments and expands the educational environment of Sierra College and the community by featuring an exceptional range of artwork and artifacts. The gallery exhibits cutting-edge work of leading regional, national and international artists as well as faculty artists, alumni and students in seven shows throughout the year.

Managing Ridley Gallery

An advisory board and part-time director administer Ridley Gallery and coordinate planning and exhibits. Students and volunteers provide staffing during gallery hours. The gallery receives partial funding from Sierra College, but without additional funds Ridley Gallery will not be able to continue the ambitious programs and plans envisioned. “We welcome the public’s support and donations to keep the Gallery a vibrant asset for the students and community.”  Lisa Marasso, Ridley Gallery Director.

Currently on display at the Gallery: “Altars,” an Art exhibition exploring the phenomenon of altars. Artists, students and faculty express a variety of interpretations through a variety of mediums. This show will run through November 15, followed by our popular annual Holiday Show and Sale.