The delightful stretch of road known as Santa Claus Lane in Carpinteria has a new Christmas gift in the form of an elegant art gallery with the charming if unlikely name of Lobster Town U.S.A. Proprietor Maire Radis has assembled an impressive collection of works by four excellent artists, several of whom will be well known to those who follow the Santa Barbara art scene. There’s excellent work on display by Hillary Hauser, John Randall Nelson, Wesley Anderegg, and Brad Nack. The setting is the former site of Porch. Before that, in the 1950s, it was a seafood restaurant and lobster processing facility called — you guessed it — Lobster Town U.S.A.
Hillary Hauser is a distinguished author, underwater photographer, and environmentalist. She’s currently the executive director of Heal the Ocean, the citizen’s action group she cofounded in 1998 that has since gone on to advocate for regional water quality at the state, federal, and international levels. As if photography and activism were not enough to keep one diver busy, Hauser has branched out into painting, and Lobster Town is currently showing several canvases from her striking series Fantastic Fishes.
To receive Leslie Dinaberg’s arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.