Heroes Hall exhibit Through Their Eyes features opens today with work by local military artists

COSTA MESA – A new exhibit at Heroes Hall opens today, showcasing the artwork of 24 local veterans and active U.S. service members.
Through Their Eyes: Artwork by Active Military and Veterans will be the featured exhibit at the museum now through January 20, 2022.
New museum hours: Heroes Hall is now open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.
Through Their Eyes
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT
Heroes Hall Museum is dedicated to honoring Orange County’s service members and providing a place where they can tell their stories. For this new exhibit, military service members have expressed their individual experiences through a variety of mediums including sculpture, photography, painting, carving and woodworking.
“It has been such a pleasure meeting the artists and hearing the stories behind their artwork,” said Carol Singleton, Heroes Hall Museum Supervisor. “Several of the veterans in this show turned to art as a means to heal both emotional and physical wounds. We are privileged and honored to bring this extraordinary exhibit to the community.”
Through Their Eyes was underwritten by the Heroes Hall Veterans Foundation. The judges were Dave Barton, Fatemeh Burnes and Denton Knapp.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Winning pieces are pictured below, and details about each of the artists are available on the Heroes Hall section of ocfair.com.

David Vargo for “Unlikely Path”
First Place: David Vargo for “Unlikely Path”
Vargo is an art professor at Laguna College of Art and Design, and has painted illustrations for companies like Blizzard Entertainment, Arch Enemy Comics, Lucasfilm and Wizards of the Coast.
“My love of the mysterious combined with my passion for the figure has led to a long-term art affair with imaginative realism,” Vargo said.

Second Place: Giovanni Berdejo for “Hope”
Second Place: Giovanni Berdejo for “Hope”
Berdejo is a photographer and author, and has taught photography workshops for student veterans at Chapman University.

Third Place: Ed Bowen for “Entrenchment”
Third Place: Ed Bowen for “Entrenchment”
Bowen is a Vietnam War veteran whose art is part of the Army’s war art collection and is displayed in various government facilities including the Pentagon and the Smithsonian.
Artists in juried show
Kurt Bayless, U.S. Navy, Huntington Beach
Giovanni Berdejo, U.S. Army, Fountain Valley
Ed Bowen, U.S. Army, Corona Del Mar
George Davis, U.S. Marine Corps, Rancho Santa Margarita
Hanh Dinh, U.S. Marine Corps, Garden Grove
Reginald Green, U.S. Navy, San Diego
Linda Hicks, U.S. Air Force, Westminster
Charlie Hunt, U.S. Army, Huntington Beach
Sean Lenahan, U.S. Navy, Costa Mesa
Phyllis Miller, U.S. Navy, Santa Monica
Kimberly Millett, U.S. Army, Newport Beach
Darrow Minor, U.S. Navy, Long Beach
Cody Reed, U.S. Navy, Long Beach
Arthur Rivera, U.S. Navy, Anaheim
Abraham Romero, U.S. Army, San Diego
Casey Rydjeski, U.S. Army, Fountain Valley
Sandra Scott, U.S. Air Force, Yucaipa
Mario Solorzano, U.S. Army, Pomona
Bill Stewart, U.S. Air Force, Newport Beach
Gary Tegel, U.S. Navy, Costa Mesa
Paul Todd, U.S. Army, Orange
David Vargo, U.S. Marine Corps, Anaheim
George Wallims, U.S. Marine Corps, Huntington Beach
Special guest artist
Joe Pisano, U.S. Navy, San Diego

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