Sirens & Other Neon Seductions includes the first installation piece by the internationally recognized Lakich, co-founder of the Museum of Neon Art.

"Whether for commercial business or for art institutions, Lakich has maintained a fluid balance in her creativity, utilizing both personal aesthetic experimentation and pop culture iconography in whatever she produces," said Louise Lewis, director of CSUN's Art Galleries. "Her willingness to create an installation for our exhibition, a new genre for her, accentuates her commitment to exploring new possibilities in her art."

Lakich's show opens Saturday, Feb. 17, and runs through March 31 in the Art Galleries, which have been relocated to new facilities on Plummer Street as the result of the 1994 earthquake, which destroyed their old home in the Fine Arts Building.

"In selecting an exhibition for the new gallery spaces, art utilizing light seemed an obvious choice to define the architecture," Lewis said. "Add the exuberant allure of neon, and the inaugural exhibition would be a festive occasion to celebrate our look to the future."

The Arts Council for CSUN will host a special reception celebrating the opening of the galleries and Lakich's exhibition at 8 p.m. on Feb. 17. The festivities, which are free and open to the public, will feature a live performance by Soul Dogs, an acoustic rock band whose music has appeared on Fox-TV's "Party of Five."

Lakich's show includes the premiere of her first installation piece, Sirens, a site-specific work completed this year, and Other Neon Seductions, a selection of her pieces dating from 1973.

Lakich has had solo shows in Tokyo, Paris and Los Angeles. Her sculptures have been included in major publications on contemporary and neon sculpture as well as on feminist art. Her pieces are in many private and corporate collections.

Sirens is a generic watering hole somewhere in the Southern California suburban desert. The bar's seven-foot sign on the exterior wall is a seductive mermaid in multi-colored neon enticing patrons to a raucous, yet seductive spot. Inside the bar, one is mesmerized by the luminosity of the commercial beer signs and the coterie of archetypal bar habitués, lonely yet hopeful in their quest for companionship. As the visual narrative unfolds, this escapist oasis becomes an allegorical tableau of the perennial concerns of its occupants. The Other Neon Seductions of the exhibition's title comprise a dazzling array of 23 works executed by the artist between 1973 and 1993.

The exhibition hours are noon to 4 p.m. on Monday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. The Art Galleries will host a special public viewing of Lakich's show on Sunday, Feb. 18, from noon to 4 p.m.

Lakich will talk about her work during a free lecture at 10 a.m. at the Galleries on Monday, Feb. 19.

The exhibition is funded in part by the CSUN Instructionally Related Activities Committee, the CSUN Associated Students, Inc., the Arts Council for CSUN, the CSUN Department of Art, the CSUN College of Arts, Media, and Communication, and by Anheuser-Busch Inc., Joy Barnes, Frances Hanckel and Brenda Paschall.

A catalog is available. For more information about the exhibition, call (818) 677-2226.