Artists Created Works Based On Text Prompt For Exhibition Opening In Manhattan Beach

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — At the crux of a new art exhibition in Manhattan Beach is a simple question: "Are You Seeing What I’m Seeing?"

The Manhattan Beach Art Center exhibition, which “investigates the generative relationship between written language and visual expression,” will open with a free reception on Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Co-curated with Bondo Wyszpolski and Bernard Fallon, the exhibition will display works from 35 artists, each of whom created a new piece “in response to a brief textual prompt drawn from themes including nature, mythology, animals, seascapes, urban environments, and more,” the center said.

Though artists may start with a similar prompt, their works “diverge widely, revealing the multiplicity of visual reasoning that a single phrase can inspire,” the center said.

Wyszpolski has written about creative life in the South Bay, “most notably through his extensive coverage for the Easy Reader and Peninsula Magazine,” for more than three decades.

“Building on this legacy, he crafted and distributed the written prompts, inviting artists to translate his language into visual form,” the center said. “These concise descriptions act as catalysts—akin to stage directions or conceptual cues—sparking interpretation rather than prescribing outcome.”

The exhibition tries to capture “how artists navigate the movement from text to image: how words can evoke atmosphere, narrative, or emotional resonance, and how individual perception shapes distinct interpretive trajectories,” according to the center.

“Are You Seeing What I’m Seeing?” will be on display at the Manhattan Beach Art Center (1560 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, Manhattan Beach, CA) from Jan. 16 through March 29.