‘Steinbeck: The Art of Fiction’ includes sculpture by VPA grad

Work by alumnus Lew Aytes will be on display at the American Tin Cannery through March 31. The exhibit, “Steinbeck: The Art of Fiction,” features artistic interpretations of John Steinbeck’s work in sculpture, photography and painting.

Aytes’ pieces are three-dimensional faces that represent his visions of Steinbeck’s characters.

Works by photographer Robert Nease and painter Warren Chang are included in the exhibit, along with the Robert Lewis exhibit of Cannery Row photographs from 1957-58.

The exhibit was created for the National Steinbeck Center by Aytes and Nease, and displayed there last year. The current exhibit has been expanded to include Chang’s paintings of fieldworkers and Lewis’ historic images of Cannery Row.

Aytes earned a bachelor’s degree from Sacramento State, where he studied music performance and conducting, and an MBA in finance from California Southern University. A re-entry student at CSUMB, he earned a degree in Visual and Public Art in 2012.

On his website, he says: “In one form or another, art has existed in my life as long as I have memory. My first conscious production of art was musical . . . Music also transported me into the medium of sculpture later in life.”

The exhibit is on display on the second floor of the American Tin Cannery, 125 Ocean View Blvd., Pacific Grove. The building is located around the corner from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. *Photos Top: John Steinbeck sculpture by Lew Aytes Above: Aytes hanging his work at last year's exhibit at the National Steinbeck Center*