15 local visual artists will be named fellows

In its 19th annual round of fellowships for visual artists, to be announced today, the California Community Foundation will give $275,000 to 15 individuals who live and work in Los Angeles County. Ten midcareer artists will receive $20,000 fellowships. Five emerging artists will receive $15,000 awards.

This year’s roster of winners encompasses a variety of aesthetic approaches and disciplines, reflecting the eclectic character of the contemporary art scene. Among the $20,000 awardees, Kori Newkirk is often described as a sculptor, but he’s best known for creating beaded-curtain wall pieces. Artemio Rodriguez is an accomplished printmaker who has outfitted a van as a visual-arts-mobile. Meg Cranston is a Conceptualist who paints and sculpts but also makes large installations of found materials.

Midcareer artists Eve Fowler, Ken Gonzales-Day and Soo Kim are photographers whose work includes abstraction and social commentary. Stanya Kahn and Natalie Bookchin are experimental film and video artists; Lisa Anne Auerbach and Dont Rhine work with a broad range of materials.

Four of the emerging-artist fellows -- Scoli Acosta, Kianga Ford, Amitis Motevalli and Jim Skuldt -- work in the territory known as multimedia/interdisciplinary. The fifth, Marco Rios, is a sculptor who draws inspiration from popular culture.

The 2007 fellows -- selected from a pool of about 330 candidates by a panel of artists, curators and other arts specialists -- are beneficiaries of a program designed to help local artists develop their careers and celebrate Los Angeles’ arts community.

The foundation, which often partners with individuals and nonprofit organizations, drew funds for the fellowships from the J. Paul Getty Trust Fund for Visual Arts, the Brody Arts Fund, the Atlass Fund and the Joan Palevsky Endowment for the Future of Los Angeles.

suzanne.muchnic@latimes.com