“A Closer Look”
A Live Exhibition at bG Gallery
SHOW DATES
November 11, 2025, to December 2, 2025. All exhibits will remain on CAL’s website, www.californiaartleague.org indefinitely.
THEME “A Closer Look”
A Closer Look is detail intensified; dig deep, crop-in, an abstraction that tells how an event makes you feel. It is your viewpoint, put succinctly, in paint, in metal, in ceramic, into thin air... see its ESSENCE; the nape of the neck tells of the body; the curve of the racetrack tells of the fury; the crack in the cornerstone tells of warning. Read Hemmingway.
What drives you, motivates you, makes you angry/ happy/ sad/ thoughtful... and do it with good taste. (Caveat: Sexually explicit imagery is not allowed in CAL shows).
JUROR – Om Navon Bleicher
Om Bleicher is the Director of bG Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, where he curates exhibitions that bridge established and emerging contemporary artists with unique conceptual and expressive practices. Since founding the gallery in 2009, he has developed a program that emphasizes innovative group concepts, cross-disciplinary projects, and exhibitions that highlight overlooked voices while engaging serious collectors and institutions.
ACCEPTANCE INTO EXHIBIT AND SELECTION OF AWARDS
Acceptance of artwork and designation of awards for this exhibit will be made by the Juror based exclusively upon the digital images submitted to OJS during entry. For this show, there is a 30” maximum frame width for all wall art.
AWARDS
BEST OF SHOW: $ 800
First Place: $ 500
Second Place: $ 200
Third Place: $ 100
Three Honorable Mentions
The Theodore Herman Award for Photography
IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE EXHIBIT
Prospectus Release/Open for Entries: September 1, 2025
Entry Deadline for Submission: October 19, 2025, midnight PST
Notification of Acceptance: October 27
Artwork Dropoff: November 11, from 12-6 pm
Reception and Award Presentation: November 15, from 6 pm to 8 pm
Artists Talk & Reception November 23, from 2-5 pm
Artwork Pickup: December 2, from 12-6 pm
ELIGIBILITY
The California Art League exhibit is open to all CAL and non-CAL entrants who wish to share their best work. CAL members’ dues must be current for 2025. New members join CAL as part of the entry process. The reduced membership rate for new members is exclusively for artists who have never been a member of CAL. Artwork will be curated using digital images, (jpegs), through OnlineJuriedShows.
ARTWORK SUBMISSION CRITERIA AND CONTENT
CAL is dedicated to exhibiting excellent works of fine art which promote the artist’s artistic ability, vision, and creativity. In this respect, all artwork must be original and created from conception to completion by the artist and not previously shown in any CAL show. All Artwork must be for sale and once accepted it must not be for sale anywhere else for 30 days past the end of the exhibition. The Gallery takes a 50% commission on sales during this time. Artists are permitted to use their own photos as reference materials in the creation of their artwork, but not photos from other sources. No artwork copied from other artists work, copyrighted work, published photos, the Internet, AI Generated, or created under the direct guidance of an instructor are eligible. The only exception is collage work which may include small portions of other artist’s work.
ARTWORK MEDIA, ENTRIES and FEES
Artwork submissions can be in any of the following media: drawing, painting, photographs, digital art, mixed media, collage, and sculpture. No performance art or AI is accepted. For sculptures, the gallery has 7 pedestals, which will be available on a first serve basis.
Entries will be made via jpeg images online to OJS. Artwork submissions are limited to six original artworks per artist. Entries may be made in more than one medium.
Fees are: One or two entries: $35.00 for CAL members with 2025 dues fully paid, and $55.00 for non-CAL members. The $20.00 surcharge for non-members is a one-time offer that gives the new artist membership into CAL at a discount. All entrants may enter additional artwork for $5.00 per piece fee up to a total of 6 entries. Payment is made through OJS via credit card or PayPal. Fees are non-refundable. There is no guarantee of acceptance into the show.
FORMAT FOR DIGITAL IMAGES (jpegs) AND HOW TO SEND THEM
All entries must be submitted in digital JPEG format, under 4 mb, and in sRGB colorspace. Photograph your art with a digital camera on a black background, (if cropping is not possible), without a mat or frame, and not through glass. Image quality is critical! Poor photography and presentation will affect acceptance by the curators. The digital image must represent the painting or artwork. If one overall photo of the 2-dimensional artwork cannot show some of the detail work that is an important part of the work, it can be entered as a 3-D artwork, with a second detail image included to highlight that specific part of the art. Directions for submitting work to OJS is clearly described on their website in several topics listed on the sidebar of the main page: https://onlinejuriedshows.com/HowtoEnter.aspx
For best results, images should be at least 1920 pixels on the longest side @ 72 dpi. For help with your entries, contact onlinejuriedshows@gmail.com or 888-666-1351
DROP-OFF / TAKE-IN
This will be a live gallery exhibit. The take in will be on Tuesday November 11, 2025 from 12-6 pm. Accepted artwork must be hand delivered and ready to hang to bG Gallery - 2525 Michigan Ave #A2, Santa Monica CA 90405. bG will be hanging this show, if you deliver your work after hanging begins, they may not be able to create room for your work.
OPENING RECEPTION AND AWARDS PRESENTATION
The opening reception will be on Saturday, November 15, 2025 from 6-8 pm. The exhibit will also be online on the CAL web site www.californiaartleague.org. All Artwork must be for sale and once accepted it must not be for sale anywhere else for 30 days past the end of the exhibition, December 2, 2025.
ARTWORK PICK-UP
Take-down will be Tuesday December 2. All artwork must be removed during this time. Please make other arrangements if you cannot do it in person. If you do not make arrangements for pickup during this time, CAL and the Gallery release all responsibility for your art. There will be a $50 storage/transfer fee and you will have to pick it up from a place TBD later.
REPRODUCTION OF ARTWORK IMAGES
Any artwork entered in this show may be reproduced for CAL’s or the Gallery’s advertising, marketing, and promotional purposes without consent of or notification to the artist or the artist’s agent.
RELEASE OF LIABILITY
By entering the exhibit through OJS, the Artist acknowledges that CAL will take all reasonable care to safeguard their images and Artist accepts that CAL, its agents, associates, directors, officers, volunteers will not be responsible for any damage, injury, liability, loss, or theft, should any occur. Insurance for art entered in this show is each individual Artist’s responsibility. By entering, Artist agrees to all terms described in this contract.
SALES, SALES TAX, COMMISSIONS, SHIPPING, and INSURANCE
There will be a 50% commission to bG Gallery on any. All sales will be handled directly between the buyer and the Gallery. Sales tax will be the responsibility of the Gallery and the buyer. Shipping arrangements will be handled between the buyer and the Gallery at Buyer’s expense.
SPREAD THE WORD
We are hoping that all our artists will share the online exhibit with all their contacts; spread the word, far and wide!
EXHIBIT CONTACT
Eric Renard at eric@ericrenardphotography.com