I’ve been visiting the Crocker Art Museum since I was a child, and when the museum underwent a major expansion and reopened in 2010, an incredible seascape by Jennifer Bartlett became one of the museum’s most iconic pieces. The painting is the first piece visitors see upon arrival; its sheer size (thirty feet long), luminous palate, soothing subject and intricate brushwork lures viewers for closer inspection. The painting is titled Pacific Ocean and was painted in 1984.

About Jennifer Bartlett:

Born in Long Beach, California, Bartlett studied at Mills College in Oakland and then at the Yale School of Art and Architecture. In the 1980’s, she painted scenes derived from photographs. She considered such paintings twice removed from reality: the first being the act of photography itself; the second, painting from the reproduction.

It’s easy to see why I’ve wanted to match this painting since the beginning of Dressed To Match, and it’s probably also easy to see why it has taken me so long to find a dress that goes with it! But like they say, patience is a virtue, and I finally stumbled on an amazing collaborative effort by Bay Area designer Erica Tanov and Berkeley artist Tabitha Soren that fit the bill.

Here’s a little bit about Tanov’s limited edition apparel collection that features Soren’s “Panic Beach” series:

The rugged, northern California coastline and the power and beauty of its waves, captured by Berkeley artist Tabitha Soren are the subject of a collection created in Spring 2015, by Berkeley designer Erica Tanov. The photographic series has resulted in a limited-run clothing and home accessories collection this summer, accompanied by a photographic art show of the artist’s work, entitled “Panic Beach.” Starting initially with an image from Soren’s Panic Beach series, Tanov works with the artwork, transferring the photograph by digital screen-printing textiles, which is then subsequently fashioned into silk blouses, dresses, pillows and more. The Anthropologie dress, now currently available, is based on the original from the past season.
“Capturing these pictures was a way for me – and an invitation for the viewer – to dive into the unpredictability and complexity of life. It’s not as if we have much choice about the havoc anyway,” says artist Tabitha Soren. “Working alongside Erica Tanov, it was an exciting challenge to see how my work could be translated into wearable pieces of art and home accessories.”

About Tabitha Soren:

Tabitha Soren’s work visualizes psychological states; the internal weather that storms through each of us. Her “Running” series depicted the flight or flight response. “Fantasy Life” is about what it looks like to try to touch greatness. “Surface Tension” foregrounds the anxiety we navigate in the struggle to adapt to technological domination. The large oceanscapes of “Panic Beach” upend the viewer as panic attacks do. Her work is in the collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Oakland Museum of California. She left a career in television in the late 19902 to start another as a photographer. Soren was born in San Antonio, Texas, and now lives in Berkeley, California.