2007-12-02: Biennale d'Arte Contemporanea di Firenze 2007    

At last, Carol Worthey’s paintings have arrived after a meandering, tentative journey involving a curious combination of numbing idiocy and unexpected kindness. Here at the Biennale’s excellent location of Exhibit Space Number 748, the rudely crossed-out [accurate] address on her box bears sly witness to this misadventure. Since results are what counts in the international Fine Art world, Carol’s joy and relief know no bounds! Bless the box, bless the walls, bless the Biennale, bless the future--let’s wear sunglasses, it looks so bright!

And here at last the paintings hang at the Biennale Exhibit, full of sound and fury, signifying SOMETHING!

Little did Carol realize when she painted “From The Ashes, Rebirth” how tellingly appropriate it was for Florence. She knew about book burnings during the Armenian genocide (1915) and during Hitler times and the horrific flames of the ancient Library at Alexandria. And yet... this same violation had been inflicted within the cobblestones of beautiful Florence: At the very time that interest in ancient Greek and Roman literature, history, art and philosophy was pouring into the streets of Florence like Tuscan winter rains, an insidious force of destruction was about to suppress creativity, joy and exploration. A puritanical and obsessive monk named Savonarola imposed his insane will upon most of the populace to burn ancient manuscripts, “frivolous” jewels and gorgeous art in infamous “Bonfires of The Vanities”. Compare the early rhapsodic paintings of Botticelli with the dark and brooding work he did under the influence of this inquisition and contrast between repression and renaissance becomes chillingly clear. And so it was that the Florentine public responded to “From The Ashes, Rebirth” with wide-eyed nods of understanding. The Armenian and Israeli artists at the exhibit were similarly drawn to the work and it became an entry point for Carol (as a representative of Artists for Human Rights) to point out “Freedom of Thought” as one of our thirty intrinsic Human Rights.

As for the diptych (two paintings which form a whole scene) "Musical Mermaids 1 & 2", they fit the Florence setting perfectly, fashioned as they were to be modern sirens inspired by Botticelli’s early images of magical graceful figures (the Uffizi has two of his best!). Carol’s two underwater beauties in a sea swirling with rhythmic currents that reminded some viewers of Van Gogh’s Starry Night really drew positive comments from visitors, art historians, fellow artists and musicians from around the world! The attendees there on Opening Day of the Florence Biennale, December 1st, 2007 who heard the World Premiere of Carol Worthey’s brass piece “Fanfare for The New Renaissance” (written in honor of the Biennale and the city of Florence) were particularly enlivened to see the opening theme painted on the two paintings as if pouring from the mermaids’ instruments. Combining painting and music is Carol Worthey’s specialty!

Meeting 850 fine artists, photographers and sculptors at the Biennale from 74 countries was a lifetime joy for Carol. To her surprise, her natural exuberance is actually quite at home amongst the Italians and most of the other nationalities.  Making people feel welcome is one of her favorite things to do.

Carol Worthey’s most thrilling moment at the Biennale came on the last day, at the last moments of the Awards Ceremony, after the awards for First, Second, Third-Fourth-and-Fifth Art Prizes in Mixed Media, Photography, Sculpture and Painting had been awarded.  She was honored with a special Recognition Prize, the first ever for music at the Biennale, presented to Carol by Mr. Celona, President of the Florence Biennale, in an elegant Plaque encased in box of wood and blue velvet.  What a surprise and what an honor!

2007-10-13: Seventh Annual Festival of The Arts    

At the Seventh Annual Artists for A Better World Arts Festival, Carol Worthey participated in two separate events, a poetry reading and an art exhibit. The festival was held at Celebrity Centre International, Hollywood and attracted artists and visitors from all over the country.

Here you see Carol reading two poems (“Creative Conspiracy” and “E-ternal Question”) in her engaging and highly personal style. Sixteen other distinguished and gifted poets joined Carol at this reading, the official launch of the eagerly-awaited anthology “The Spirit of Humanity”, Editor, Tracy Lynn Repchuk.

Carol would like to share this sentiment with you (from “E-ternal Question”),

What happened to the letter
at the end of the word
that turns ‘human’ to ‘humane’?

Copyright © 2007 Carol Worthey

The AFABW art exhibit featured the oil, acrylic, watercolor and mixed media paintings, photographs, murals and handmade artist-quality crafts of over thirty talented artists. Here you see Carol in front of her popular exhibit, including her new Judaica piece, “Zaida’s Present.” Talented singer-songwriter Andrea Ross-Greene came by to visit and commented, “You can see the life in each of these paintings! They live and breathe!”

2007-09-30: ARTZworks Gallery Judaica Show, Ventura, California    

Carol Worthey was invited to exhibit her Judaica artworks at a special "The Art of Kosher Wine" exhibit on Sunday, September 30th at ARTZworks Gallery. 540 Main Street in picturesque downtown Ventura, California, where vivid Judaica paintings by David Schwartz, Gallery owner, and other talented Jewish artists were viewed by an admiring crowd.  This event launched a new group, Chavurah by The Sea, a "gathering of friends" growing modern and traditional Judaism in Ventura County, and there was a sense of festivity in the air. Gallery visitors enjoyed a very delicious Kosher Wine Tasting hosted by Herzog Winery to the sounds of live Klezmer-flavored and Israeli folk music.  Because of the mood of cameraderie, aesthetics and superb wine, the cry "L'Chaim" ("To Life!") rang out more than once!

At this joyful event Carol unveiled a new painting "Zaida's Present" depicting a special moment from her past, a tender recollection of her wise and kindly grandfather with a self-portrait of the artist at age three by his side--mostly reconstructed from memory in a new genre the artist calls a "memory portrait", telling a story of the heart.  Carol also displayed two other Judaism-inspired art pieces "Everlasting Flame" and "Barbed Wire Heart" and the two music scores illustrated with these particular Judaica works, "The Unquenchable Light" (Chanukah song for Choir) and "Terezin Triptych" (cello/piano sonata dedicated to the survivors, victims and liberators from Theresienstadt Concentration Camp).  Also on display was Carol's precious copy of the book Pirke Abot (or Sayings of The Fathers, illustrated by Saul Raskin, the book which was indeed "Zaida's Present" depicted in her new painting.)

L'Chaim, indeed and Mazel Tov to all who created this heartwarming celebration!

2007-07-28: ARTZworks Gallery Opening, Ventura, California    

Carol Worthey and her husband Ray Korns attended a gala event at ARTZworks gallery, 540 Main Street, Ventura, California, a gallery owned by artist David Schwartz. Works of talented local Ventura artists were featured and David unveiled his latest creation, a vibrant and imaginative painting of the charming shops, restaurants and Art Deco theatre that make a walk down Main Street Ventura such a fun adventure. David personalized our poster with a nice drawing created on the spot.

David had contacted Carol earlier this year when he found out that she too had been a fellow art student of Providence legend, Mr. Conti. Now both David and Carol have another link--both have been invited to exhibit their paintings this December at the 2007 Florence Biennale International Contemporary Art Show! So it was high time to meet in person.

Ray and Carol enjoyed meeting David's wife Tammy Glenn, who blends warmth and entrepreunerial spirit, and friendly watercolorist Molly McGuire, whose miniature tropical watercolor Ray and Carol now proudly own, and the remarkable photographer Dan Holmes, who captures split-second magic in nature.

Ventura is really worth a stop and when you do, go visit ARTZworks on Main Street.

2007-04-30: Artists for Human Rights Presentation    

On behalf of Artists for Human Rights and Youth for Human Rights, Carol Worthey presented Armen Atomts of Royal Gallery a special gift to thank Armen for his consistent support of humanitarian efforts for all peoples via his gallery showings and his local Cable TV shows. Carol and Armen are seen here with the special gift: A DVD of powerful and moving short films, Public Service Announcements, each illustrating one of the thirty Human Rights laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Armen, a highly regarded community leader in Glendale California, was the curator of an impressive exhibit of sixty-two multicultural artists at his gallery, the third annual exhibit honoring the victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Directly behind Armen and Carol is a partial view of Carol’s colorful and heartfelt new work, "No More Genocides". (To see more of this work, please visit her Gallery here.)

Carol wishes to encourage everyone to click on the link to the Youth for Human Rights website here and order your very own reasonably-priced copy of this amazing DVD, perfect for schools, clubs, TV stations, families, businesses and community groups of all kinds. What a difference it would make for us all when children (and adults) learn more about our human rights! Plus they're great movies--so pop some popcorn, sit back and get ready to smile, chuckle, shed a few meaningful tears and get along better with everyone.

2007-04-22: Royal Gallery Opening, Glendale, California    

Gallery Opening, Exhibit in Honor of The Armenian Genocide, Royal Gallery, 1418 West Glenoaks Boulevard, Glendale, California, April 22nd, 2007.

Invited by Gallery Owner Armen Atomts to create a new painting for this annual memorial exhibit, Carol Worthey created No More Genocides, an intensely colorful and moving new art piece featuring iconic images of faith, devastation, sorrow, hope and the resilience of the human spirit. The Armenian Genocide (1915) was the first genocide of the Twentieth Century; over a million and a half Armenians were slaughtered. April 24th of every year is a memorial to those lost. As a Jew and a humanitarian member of Artists for Human Rights, Carol was honored to be invited. Each artwork by a total of 62 artists was a significant piece, beautiful, meaningful and powerful. Many community leaders from a variety of ethnicities spoke and artists performed. Carol enlightened the attentive crowd briefly on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and then improvised a song, using Jewish-tinged melody to create an entreaty for peace and understanding amongst all peoples. It is her fervent hope to have No More Genocides. For a detailed description of this work, please visit the Gallery page here.

2006-11-17: Johnson Art Collection Tea    

Carol Worthey attended an afternoon tea at the Johnson Art Collection on Melrose in Beverly Hills to support the International Human Rights Art Exhibition, an Art Show Tour sponsored by ARTISTS for HUMAN RIGHTS. The show harnesses the creative energies of renowned artists to underscore the necessity for people everywhere to know what their human rights are as laid out in the United Nations' "Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Carol’s painting From The Ashes, Rebirth joins the world tour here in Los Angeles following the successful opening show in August 2006 in New York City.

The dynamic art show will next visit San Francisco, then on to Denver, Washington, D. C., Boston, London, Egypt, Florence and back to Manhattan (Soho) later this year.

2006-10-26: Johnson Art Collection Opening    

The Artists for Human Rights (AFHR) Art Exhibit began the second leg of its world tour today with a gala VIP reception at the Johnson Art Collection at 8304 Melrose Avenue in Beverly Hills (323.655.5738). Carol Worthey's work, From the Ashes, Rebirth was well received by the many dignitaries and famous personalities attending.

The show continues: 11am to 6pm daily, 11am to 4pm Sunday, through November 17th, 2006 if you would like to stop by.

Next, this dynamic art show will visit: San Francisco, Denver, Washington, D. C., Boston, London, Egypt, Florence and back to Manhattan (Soho), March, 2007.

2006-10-07: AFABW Art Show    

Carol Worthey had four of her favorite art works displayed in a group show at the 6th Annual Artists for a Better World Arts Festival. Not only did she receive many favorable comments from the visitors to the show, but she won the "Best of Show - Watercolor" ribbon for her work "Summer Breeze." You can view the details on this work as well as a high resolution image by clicking on the icon or title below:

2006-03-04: Royal Gallery Opening    

A fine art exhibition "Spring Celebration" was presented on March 4th through 13th at the Royal Gallery in Glendale. The show featured works by eleven women artists, including Carol Worthey.

A large crowd attended the opening evening ceremony which was video'd for later television broadcast. Carol was also interviewed by gallery owner and Glendale community leader Armen Atomts for his weekly television show. The show proved so popular with the audience, Armen re-aired it the following week.

The other artists who participated in the show were:
        Gayane Arayan
        Laura Askanazi
        Carol Banke
        Rouzanna Berberian
        Lyudmila Garayan
        Lianna Goroyan
        Lilya Kalashyan
        Maggie
        Ani Stepanian
        Diana Vegouni

Carol displayed four of her original paintings at the show. Three were from her popular "Tuscany" series. You may view these works on her "Gallery" page by clicking the links below.

Several of these works are being reproduced as highly accurate Giclée prints. If you are interested in obtaining one of these reproductions click here.

2005-08-17: Artist At Work    

Carol Worthey has been inspired to create a series of acrylic paintings of Italian cityscapes in Tuscany. She is really excited to be back painting again on a more regular basis.

Two paintings of the series have been completed and you may view them on her "Gallery" page by clicking the links below.