Showcasing animators who are fine artists

Sandra Kraisirideja, People

BURBANK -- Television animation producer-turned-painter Fred Wolf has

converted the second floor of his production company into a gallery for

friends and former colleagues to showcase their paintings and other fine

art.

While Wolf does have lofty ambitions for his modest gallery in

Burbank, he is content for now to focus his attention on animators who

are also fine artists.

He opened Aries Gallery, Wolf said, to tap into the well of talent

that often goes unnoticed in the repetitive grind of animation. Wolf

knows from experience that the full artistic potential of an animator

cannot be measured by studio work alone.

“In animation there is an amazing amount of talent that doesn’t

necessarily get used for animation,” he said.

The gallery’s first exhibit features some of Wolf’s paintings as well

as those of longtime friends Nola Figen Perla, Robert Reagan and Victor

Haboush.

Wolf said chose the other three artists based on timing and proximity.

“They were closest to me and immediately available,” he said.

All of them also worked in animation at one time or another, Wolf

said.

“Nola and I used to work together and I met Vic at Hanna Barbara in

1961,” he said. “Bob and I know each other because our companies competed

for television commercial work back in the ‘70s.”

Wolf said he has a mental list of artists he wants to showcase at the

gallery, and he’s confident that he will not run out of people who want

to exhibit in the space.

“I’ve got a second and third wave waiting for their turn,” he said.

Wolf is the first to admit his gallery is not a typical gallery space,

but it does not dampen his eagerness to put a spotlight on animators he

knows are also talented in the fine art arena.

“I would rather see some success come to people I know first. The

focus now is on animation people.”

The Aries Gallery is on the second floor of Fred Wolf Films and is

open from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more

information, call 846-0611.

BIO BOX

NAME: Fred Wolf, television animation producer, has lived in the same

house in Los Angeles since 1961.

AGE: 68.

HONORS: He won the Academy Award in 1967 in the Short Subject

(cartoon) category for “The Box” and was nominated the following year for

“The Magic Pear Tree.”

FAMILY: Wife, Maija; two grown children, Bill and Elizabeth; two

grandchildren, Jessica and Amanda.

ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART AND FILM: “It’s all art, especially in

animation. Doing fine art has not been a great leap for me. It just takes

more time and effort.”

HOBBIES: When he isn’t painting Wolf builds frames for his artwork.