Holly Trent, a Thousand Oaks multimedia artist, will bring together her mixed-media works for the first time in "Atlas of the Imaginal," opening Friday, Oct. 23, at The Sofa Guy Design Studio at 2520 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

The opening reception runs from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Visitors can meet Trent, view the work and enjoy wine, according to an announcement on her Instagram account.

Trent co-owns The Sofa Guy Design Studio with her husband, Paul Trent. She practices what she calls "abstract narrative art," layering acrylic paint, ink, found images, handmade papers and chalk pastel on canvas. One featured work, "The Ninth Horizon," is a 36-by-48-inch mixed-media piece completed in 2026 and sealed in cold wax.

"Over time, I've been building an imagined geography from fragments of memory, dream, landscape, inherited stories, and the strange correspondences that appear between them," Trent wrote on Instagram on Oct. 4. "This October, many of these works will come together for the first time as Atlas of the Imaginal."

Trent described the exhibition's conceptual world in the same post, writing that the collection grew slowly, with one work leading to another, until she began to understand the pieces as parts of a larger place with its own maps, where figures she calls "Keepers and Cartographers" navigate lost coordinates and half-remembered places.

On her website, Trent describes her broader practice as using art and creativity as tools for navigating uncertainty. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in depth psychology and creativity, along with certifications in dreamwork, Jungian life coaching and applied mythology. She also offers workshops and guided creative sessions.

The Sofa Guy Design Studio started as a family-owned custom sofa business and has operated on Thousand Oaks Boulevard for more than 20 years, according to a Conejo Valley City Lifestyle post from March. It has since grown into a full-service interior design studio.

No closing date for the exhibition has been announced. The studio can be reached at (805) 497-3222.

Upcoming community events

  • Friday, Oct. 23: "Atlas of the Imaginal" opening reception, 6:30 to 9 p.m., The Sofa Guy Design Studio, 2520 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.