Old Torrance photo gallery features EC students’ work

The+exhibit%2C+Emerging+Impressions%2C+is+a+collaboration+of+photographs+from+El+Camino+students+at+the+Gallery+Exposure+in+Old+Town+Torrance.+The+gallerys+presentation+time+was+extended+twice+from+the+beginning+of+January+to+the+end+of+the+month.+Photo+credit%3A+victor+liptzin

The exhibit, “Emerging Impressions,” is a collaboration of photographs from El Camino students at the Gallery Exposure in Old Town Torrance. The gallery’s presentation time was extended twice from the beginning of January to the end of the month. Photo credit: victor liptzin

A building stands in Old Town Torrance, filled with art around the room from various artists and photographers.

Since the opening of Gallery Exposure on Sept. 23, 2015, there has been three art shows in which people could showcase their work.

The current exhibition is named “Emerging Impressions” and offers visuals of portraits that are digitally printed and not made from film for the public to see.

“(It’s about) locating the space and then preparing it for a print exhibit,” Mark Sonners, owner of the gallery, said. “Putting up a couple of walls, putting in gallery lighting and (then installing a) print studio to support the photo gallery.”

What inspired Sonners to showcase art was to do so at “high standard printing and offer a venue for local artists to show their work.”

Crystal King, 23, said that she heard about the gallery from her friend, Maria Reyes, an ECC photography student.

“I think that the images are very special because it comes from the person’s perspective,” King said about first hearing about the show. “You get to see through their eyes in the moment.”

King, who usually works with film, submitted experimental work that she did while working with a digital medium to Sonners to be showcased in the gallery.

One of the pieces that King did send in was a photo on a New York Subway in black and white which she did with carbon pigment, according to a flier inside the gallery.

The gallery has attracted the attention of more than just El Camino students.

“I saw it was opened and I decided to walk in,” Gregory Korozon, 60, said after he explored the venue. “(The photos are) pretty good quality and they’re artistic, because they are telling someone’s story.”

Sonners said the amount of people who visit may vary a lot on some days, but the days when there’s events, the opening receptions get around 150 people.

EDITOR’S NOTE Feb. 1, 2016: Headline adjusted, grammatical errors fixed, owner’s name corrected.