Cerritos College hosted its opening reception of the art gallery, “Geo-Ontological: Artists Contemplating Deep Time” in the Fine Arts Building and will be showcasing the entire month of September.

The art gallery’s opening day was Aug. 28 and will continue onto Oct. 5.

Ten artists and their contemporary pieces are being hosted at the art gallery by James MacDevitt, director/curator and professor at Cerritos College.

“Geo-Ontological: Artists Contemplating Deep Time,” is this years art gallery theme.

The art gallery was visited by curious spectators, previous alumni, as well as previous artists who had been showcased at the Cerritos College art gallery.

MacDevitt describes the exhibition as “themes that are relevant to the moment.”

Adding, “I find artists that are working in that area, but are doing so in different ways. Sometimes working with different mediums, sometimes kind of approaching it with a different strategy.”

The art pieces displayed vary from paintings and sculptures, to trash that is found in the ocean today.

The idea behind the pieces explains MacDevitt, is that the “Focus is really geology, it’s also about our human engagement with human geology… and deep time going backwards.”

Many of the pieces showcased are interpretation of the artists and how they view humans are impacting the geological record, says MacDevitt.

One of the artists showcased and former alumni, Beatriz Jaramillo, exhibited her art work, “Broken Landscape,” that was inspired by her childhood memories of living alongside “beautiful landscapes.”

Jaramillo says upon returning to her homeland in Colombia, the landscapes she once remembered to be beautiful and enriching, to be gone.

This is when she says she found the impulse to make “Broken Landscape.”

Artists who had been previously showcased in the Cerritos College art gallery were also in attendance, as well as the president of Cerritos College, Jose Fierros.

Khang Nguyen had been previously showcased three years prior for the “Abstracted Visions: Information Mapping from Mystic Diagrams to Data Visualizations” exhibition.

Dr. Fierro was also in attendance, he stated he enjoys the art the art gallery offers and believes that it has taken the college to a different level of quality.

The art gallery in the Fine Arts building, “Geo-Ontological: Artists Contemplating Deep Time,” will be also be hosting a panel for the artist to answer questions on their art work on Sept. 24.