THOUSAND OAKS : Art Contest’s Winning Works on Display

From soft watercolors to sculpted mobiles, the Thousand Oaks Community Gallery will be filled with 70 original works this month--all winners in the city’s annual art and photography contest.

“It’s really different from what you would normally see in a gallery,” said Bonnie Roth, a member of the Thousand Oaks Arts Commission. “It shows a lot of eclectic talent. We have sculptures made of everything from old machine parts to highly polished marble.”

The art contest was billed as “Moments to Remember--Celebrating Thousand Oaks’ 30th Anniversary.” But several of the winning entries strayed far from that theme.

Calabasas photographer David Hartung took the top award for photography with his images of people and street scenes in Hong Kong. Thousand Oaks artist Connie Tunick won “best of show” for fine art with her set of three watercolors titled “Transition,” “Celebration” and “Passion.” And Ventura artist Joanne Duby earned top billing for sculpture with her smooth marble works.

The artist who stuck closest to the theme, Gayle Simpson of Thousand Oaks, earned a special prize for capturing the city’s history. Her striking collage titled “Jungleland--Then & Now,” places photographs of Thousand Oaks leaders in a circus setting, reminiscent of the old wild animal park. Mayor Alex Fiore, for example, is depicted as the elephant trainer.

All 70 works will be on display at the gallery, 2331-A Borchard Road in Newbury Park, through October. Gallery hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. For more information, call Carol Williams in the city manager’s office at 449-2128.