Century Gallery Marks 20 Years

To mark its 20th anniversary, the County of Los Angeles Century Gallery is hosting an invitational exhibit of work by San Fernando Valley artists.

The gallery, which since the early 1980s has been administered by Mission College, typically has about eight shows a year featuring artists from all over the West, according to director John Cantley.

But the focus of the Northeast Invitational Exhibit, which will conclude Sept. 19, is more narrow. It spotlights the watercolor and oil paintings, sculptures and drawings of 30 artists from the Burbank Art Assn., the Eagle Rock Art Assn., the San Fernando Valley Art Club and the Santa Clarita Valley Art Assn.

“The artists who live and work in the gallery’s service area have been invited so we can honor their depth of commitment to the arts,” Cantley said.

Most of the works are rendered realistically and do not share a common theme. A display of photographs by Sylmar resident Bob Franklin documenting each gallery opening for the last 20 years accompanies the exhibit.

The county opened the gallery in 1977 as part of an arts complex in Veterans Memorial Park. When county funding dwindled a few years later, Mission College agreed to help run the gallery, which has since supplemented its art offerings with music, dance and theater performances.

At the opening reception for the current exhibit Aug. 24, gallery supporters mingled, exchanging expressions of amazement and pride.

“Every day I think, ‘Just how did all this happen?’ ” said a laughing Mary Dahlsten, an 80-year-old Sylmar resident and the gallery’s original docent. “It would not have made it if we had not had such a strong volunteer group.”

“Those people are very proud of the fact that the gallery is still there,” Cantley said. “They worked hard to keep it going. I wasn’t there when it started, but I certainly feel it’s a privilege to be among people who want it to continue.”

The exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The gallery, at 13000 Sayre St., can be reached at (818) 362-3220.