Talk on contemporary painting Wednesday

Cassandra Coblentz, curator at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art for six years, will give a talk on contemporary painting in the Carson City Library at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Preceding the talk, at 6:15 p.m., there will be an informal reception for the guest lecturer, according to the Capital City Arts Initiative. The event is part of the ongoing series of illustrated public talks known as Nevada Neighbors put on by CCAI.Coblentz will discuss how contemporary painting is influenced by cultural references, abstraction and pattern, representation of space and digital media. She will relate these trends to work by various painters, among them Kirsten Everberg, Sue Chenoweth, Tony de los Reyes, Tomory Dodge, Rebecca Morris, Carrie Marill and Sherin Guirguis.Coblentz has served as curator for projects with a focus on innovative approaches to engaging community audiences and producing new work with artists. She also initiated the Scottsdale museum’s Architecture + Art program, and has professional experience with the UCLA Hammer Museum, the DIA Center for the Arts in New York and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.Coblentz earned her Bachelor of Arts in art history and English from Cornell University, and a Master of Arts degree from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College.