Valley Weekend : ART : Works at Brand Survey Landscapes of the Soul : Exhibition in Glendale focuses on life’s joys and struggles through the divergent styles of two foreign-born painters.

Within the boundaries of a frame, painters can open intriguing windows.

At the Brand Library Art Galleries, the images in the paintings by two artists--Moscow-born Anton Arkhipov and Prague-born Ilana Bloch--represent different subjects and artistic approaches. But these artists’ works share a sense of the inherent excitement and beauty of living. At the same time, neither artist shies away from conveying life’s struggles.

Bloch, who has lived in Los Angeles since 1956, incorporates collage elements--pictures of the Downtown Los Angeles skyline and other Los Angeles-area buildings--in her hotly colored series of acrylic landscapes, “The Spirit in Landscape.”

Her California colors--pinks, purples, blues and oranges--express her delight in some locations where natural and man-made landscapes meet. But the frenetic nature of some of her brush strokes also suggests some turmoil in such meetings.

Arkhipov, born in 1964 to parents who were artists, refers to a variety of art styles, both ancient and modern, in large figurative works. Many of these textured paintings have been rendered in shades of brown, red and green.

None of Arkhipov’s 25 paintings can be neatly categorized. He has blended elements from myriad styles as well as scientific, metaphysical and religious symbols into portraits for viewers to interpret as they see fit. His lyrical “Angel” sweeps across the canvas, beyond any specific religious or stylistic references. The stout figures of his “Tea Party” hoist their steaming mugs with oversized hands. Giant hands and arms curiously dominate many of his compositions. The “Self-Portrait” on a circle of burlap that is tied by ropes to its frame suggests the artist feels an inner tension, a sense of being pulled in various directions.

Unlike the self-portrait, which has a wood frame, most of Arkhipov’s paintings are framed with a border of contrasting, highly textured paint. Interestingly, Bloch also frames her work with paint. In both bodies of work, this technique heightens the sense that these paintings are not merely objects on the wall, but organic entities that beckon to the viewer.

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DETAILS

* WHAT: Anton Arkhipov: “Paintings”; Ilana Bloch: “The Spirit in Landscape.”

* LOCATION: Brand Library Art Galleries, 1601 W. Mountain St., Glendale.

* HOURS: 1 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Ends Sept. 12.

* CALL: (818) 548-2051.