“Portal” (monotype) by Barbara Reid

“Degradation & Delicacy” (monotype) by Barbara Reid

“Ancestral” (encaustic) by Heidi Rufeh

By Terry Telford

There are seasons in life into which we do not walk willingly. These seasons, which rarely ask our permission to envelop us, can be bristling and embracing, destructive and creative — causing a refinement we did not choose, but many times leaving us grateful for the change.

Opening this First Friday, Metro Galleries’ new exhibit, “Seasons of Her Life” featuring artist Barbara Reid, looks at life as a cyclical adventure akin to nature’s timetable. Whereas life’s seasons have no guarantee to end within a year or even a lifetime, nature provides hope by reminding us that winter’s decay is no less than nourishment for spring’s freshest bloom.

“Seasons of Her Life” is a collection of works created in the span of a year, but influenced by a lifetime of events — none perhaps more significant than the loss of Reid’s teenaged son, Danny, who passed away eight years ago this spring. His illness and death, painful though it was, also became an awakening for Reid, who gave up her career to care for her son and after his passing made the decision to pursue art full-time.

Such a move might be explained in the terms she uses to describe her monotype, “Portal.” Reid says it is “about doors opening and having the guts to walk through. Sometimes change is difficult, but sometimes it surprises you beyond your wildest dreams.”

Courageously tackling her emotions, Reid’s paintings overflow with personal references that she then asks the viewer to interpret. Housing joy and sadness in equal stores,

her art is at once intense and vulnerable, tough and delicate — contradictions which mirror the strength belied by the artist’s own small frame and bright blue eyes.

Metro Galleries owner Don Martin says that all the artists in the exhibit, which also includes work by Betty Hock, Bonnie Hineline-Kempner, Gita Lloyd, Tena Navarrete, Heidi Rufeh and Lily Stockman, are “strong, talented and graceful” but “watching (Reid’s) growth as an artist … and also seeing her strength in the face of issues and adversity” made him want to host the all-women show. Martin will donate 10 percent of opening night sales to the Women & Girls’ Fund of Kern County.

According to Reid, one of the sweetest seasons of her life is the season in which she finds herself now. Her next undertaking, an advocacy project called “Creating Community,” will allow her to collaborate with other artists and partner with nonprofits to promote awareness of social issues. Her work was also recently accepted into the Kaiser Permanente corporate collection. All of this makes the new show at Metro Galleries icing on the cake.

“It’s like a commencement,” says Reid, “It’s like a new beginning in a lot of ways.”

The opening reception for “Seasons of Her Life,” sponsored by Bakersfield Heart Hospital and Judi McCarthy, takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, June 4, at Metro Galleries, 1604 19^th St. Hors d’oeuvres and a no-host bar will be provided by Moo Creamery.

More First Friday openings:

• bossanovastudios will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. June 4 for “Palm Springs 1971,” a show featuring new paintings by Johnny Ramos which will include a variety of early 1970s art and sculptures. The art is heavily influenced by Atomic Ranch Mid-Century modernism found in Palm Springs in the early ‘70s.
• The Bakersfield Art Association presents “Art Inspired by the Padre Hotel, Inside and Outside,” from 7 to 9 p.m. June 4, in the Farmacy Cafe inside the hotel, 1702 18th St. The show moves to the BAA Art Center after June 7, 1817 Eye St.