Portrait of Carol Rosenak in 1998 by Donna Granata from Focus On The Masters Portrait Series

Carol Rosenak: Realism and Representation commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Ventura artist’s death, and will be on exhibition at the Museum of Ventura County from September 1 through November 25.

Rosenak (1925-2002) was known for her meticulous and mysterious still life paintings. Her best-known works are carefully rendered tabletop scenes that highlight an unexpected combination of objects – dolls, marbles, eggs, and bright silks- sometimes with surreal elements. Rosenak was also a printmaker, producing distinctive colored etchings in which fine detail and pattern predominate.

Curated by Ventura art collector and arts advocate Ed Elrod, the exhibition will include paintings from private collections as well as from the museum’s collection, many of which were gifts from the artist’s estate.

Rosenak was raised in Chicago and also lived in New York, London, the San Francisco Bay area and Ventura during her lifetime, consistently attending art and figure drawing classes even when she had achieved a considerable reputation. In 1969 she began making prints, and moved between painting and printmaking until the late 1970s, when she was able to incorporate the elements she loved in etching into her paintings. In 1979, a conversation with Ojai artist John Nava at her Ventura College solo exhibit is said to have reinforced her decision to stop painting figures because still life objects interested her more. Work produced after this is her most mature and most well known.

After a stroke in 1995 impaired her eyesight and made it impossible to paint with such precision, she eventually began working in a more abstract mode, carrying forward the bold colors from her earlier paintings as well as her compositional sense. When she passed away, a canvas on which she had already begun work was found in her studio.

Exhibit curator Ed Elrod is a local attorney who, for most of his career, was a bookseller. He is a past cultural affairs commissioner for the city of Ventura, steering committee founder of the Ventura Chamber Music Festival, past president of the Ventura County Chamber Orchestra, past board member of Bell Arts Factory and a current member of the fine arts committee for the Museum of Ventura.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura. Hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission to the exhibitions is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, members and children under 6 are free. The first Sundays of every month are free general admission for the public. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.