Joanna Garel wanted to give emerging artists a voice in the contemporary art world, including female artists and people of color, who she feels are not represented.
So the Filipino-Canadian art collector and artist decided to open her own showcase in Manhattan Beach.
“I have different experiences, different tastes, and I thought it might be a good idea to introduce it to the South Bay,” said Garel as she prepared this week for the opening.
Garel Fine Art will celebrate its grand opening at 1069 N. Aviation Blvd. on Saturday, April 6, from 4 to 8 p.m.
The 750-square-foot gallery’s opening show will feature blue chip works by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Picasso, Ed Ruscha, as well as “rare and early works by L.A. superstars Jonas Wood and Delfin Finley,” according to Garel.
When Garel was an actress and model, she made her way to Los Angeles and the South Bay in 1997 from Toronto, Canada when she was a single mother with son Jordan Andino. She had roles in several films when she arrived and continued a successful modeling career.
She married Matthew Garel, worked in real estate, and recently directed a short film, “The Frog Who Couldn’t Ribbit,” based on the life of her brother Aniceto Rex Bacalso and his struggle with mental illness.
Garel, along with Matthew Garel, Josefina Nadurata and Graham Greene were named “Best Producer” at the 2024 LA Independent Women Film Awards.
In 2017, her work, “Lifeguards in Hermosa,” was chosen as the seventh mural in Hermosa Beach Murals Project — which acheived its goal of erecting 10 murals in 10 years. Garel’s work is located on the 13th Court in the Citibank parking lot.
With young children, Garel, a Redondo Beach resident, became involved in local art organizations for youth including South Bay Hands on Art.
Her children, including celebrity chef Jordan Andino, as well as Bronson Garel, water polo assistant coach at South Bay United Water Polo Club and computer engineering major at Cal State Long Beach and Trenton Garel, a singer now studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston, were all products of South Bay schools.
Another brother, Sonny Bacalso, who is known for his large murals in Toronto, inspired her interest in the art world and volunteering inspired her to take up painting as well and she started works depicting beach life including lifeguard towers.
“I feel like watching my brother, volunteering, collecting art, to making art, I think this was the next step because I know I have a good base of collectors, that community is really supportive,” Garel said of opening the gallery.
“It’s just gave us the right vibe for me,” Garel said of the new space. “It wasn’t too big, it wasn’t too small, within my budget, which is the most important.”
Besides Saturday’s opening, scheduled shows include Calvin Klein model, artist, and owner of a volleyball training school/camp, Jason Olive, in May, and a summer group show in June and July.
“Hollywood brought me here, but art has always been an integral part of my life,” Garel said.
For more information, visit garelfineart.com, or @garelfineartgallery on Instagram.