October 26, 2007 – March 23, 2008
This engaging exhibition presents the work of 35 contemporary painters who defy the modernist conventions of abstraction and non-representational imagery to produce breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly realistic human portraits. Their work combines "Old Master" technique with contemporary subjects and settings. Artists include Steven Assael, Stephen Brown, Greg Brown, Sean Cheetham, Jacob Collins, Kate Doyle, Nicole Duet, Ellen Eagle, Alan Feltus, Michele Fenniak, Paul Fenniak, Peter Greaves, DJ Hall, Susan Hauptman, F. Scott Hess, Yu Ji, Bobbie Moline-Kramer, Michael Leonard, Jeremy Lipking, Tim Lowly, Richard Maury, Dan McCleary, John Nava, Lara Nguyen, Enjeong Noh, Wade Reynolds, Travis Schlaht, Luis Serrano, Michael Sokolis, Jon Swihart, John Frame, Bill Vuksanovich, Will Wilson, and Peter Zokosky.
Artwork, from left: Bobbie Moline-Kramer, Sadness, 2005, Oil on wood panel, Collection of Elizabeth Tigner;
Sean Cheetham, Chantal, 2006, Oil on panel, Private Collection; Richard Maury, Matteo, 2006, Oil on canvas on panel, Courtesy of Forum Gallery, Los Angeles and New York
October 19, 2007 - February 10, 2008
On view concurrently with About Face: Portraiture Now, Picturing Identity highlights the Museum's extensive collection of 300 years of portraiture in styles ranging from highly realistic to abstract. Artists include Mabel Alvarez, Raphael Soyer, Don Bachardy, David Hockney, Sylvia Shap, James Doolin, James Valerio, Dan Flavin, Larry Rivers, Michael De Lisio, Kent Twitchell, DJ Hall, Toyokuni III, Alexej Jawlensky, Carl Van Vechten, Gary Franklin, Samuel F. B. Morse, Phyllis Davidson, Alison Saar, James Gobel, Bruce Nauman, Cynthia Evans, Peter Zokosky, John Nava, Dan McCleary, Simone Gad, Nancy Webber, Tony Berlant, Laura Lasworth, John Cooper, John Wollaston, Joseph Goodhue Chandler, Ammi Phillips, William Jennys, and William Bache.
Artwork, from left: James Gobel, A Gentleman, 2000, Felt, yarn, acrylic, enamel and buttons on wood, Long Beach Museum of Art, Gift of the Schorr Family Collection; Mabel Alvarez, Reverie, 1925, Oil on canvas Purchased with funds contributed by the Long Beach Museum of Art 2006 Collectors Circle; Larry Rivers, The New York Collection Portfolio, 1973, Lithograph and four-color silkscreen on paper, Long Beach Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Buffum
February 29 - June 8, 2008
As a part of a Museum initiative to promote Long Beach artists, the Long Beach Museum of Art presents Three: Fern Bowen, Carl Aldana and Lori LaMont. The collection explores three different Long Beach-based painters of different generations whose works are unique and yet display an amazing amount of intersections.
The energetic spirit of the city is effortlessly captured in Three. Well-known landmarks such as freeway overpasses, the cityscape, and suburban settings are seen throughout the exhibition, lending a distinct familiarity to these exceptional paintings. While local scenes dominate the majority of the collection, many pieces, such as Fern Bowen’s Shanghai Commune, Mustard Patch, or Lori LaMont’s Bird Masks transport the viewer out of the ordinary and into a far-off place or a fantasy world filled with color and vibrancy.
Three is made possible by Linda and Bill McCullough, Julian Feingold, Suzanne and Dennis Poulsen, Don and Madeline Heimark and Elaine Ridder.
Artwork, from left: Carl Aldana, Sunset on the Seal Beach Pier, 2004, Oil on linen, 42 x 54 inches, Collection of the Aldana Family; Lori LaMont, Monasha, 2001, Watercolor on paper, 40 ½ x 26 inches, Courtesy of the artist; Fern Bowen, Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, 41 x 31 inches, Courtesy of the Bowen Family.
The Long Beach Museum of Art presents The Art of Commerce: William Livingston's Pinhole Photographs of the Port of Long Beach, from May 23 - September 28, 2008. The exhibition features a dozen, large breathtaking photos of The Port of Long Beach as never before seen. The photographer, William Livingston, was given exclusive access to capture everyday images of Port activity using a pinhole camera.
The photos in The Art of Commerce effortlessly capture the combination of industrial beauty and dynamic reality that exist at the Port. Lively shades of blue, yellow and green illuminate the shipping yards, ships, docks, cranes, containers, trucks, and trains; all set against brilliant blue skies. The photographs embrace the commotion and activity of daily port activities - a shipment being lowered onto a truck, a train crisscrossing vast terminals, or simply the silky rippling of the ocean below. Fittingly, The Art of Commerce is installed in the Museum's Jean and Charles Lane Oceanview Gallery, whose south-facing, second-floor wall of windows offers dramatic views of the Port of Long Beach. Also included in the exhibition are several of Livingston's hand-made pinhole cameras.
The Art of Commerce is made possible by the generous support of the Port of Long Beach. Additional support was provided by the B.C. McCabe Foundation and the Rudolph J. and Daphne A. Munzer Foundation.
William Livingston's Pinhole Photographs Press Release (opens in a new window)
Artwork above: SSAT Container Terminal II, 2006, Type C Lightjet print, 18 x 24 inches, Courtesy of The Port of Long Beach; Pacific Container Terminal, 2007, Type C Lightjet print, 60 x 48 inches, Courtesy of The Port of Long Beach.
Robert Rauschenberg's works in the collection of LBMA provide a glimpse into this prolific and world-renowned artist's large scale prints including his Surface Series: Currents and his large tongue-in-cheek Cardbirds. These works highlight Rauschenberg's frequent efforts to elevate the mundane, discarded and ephemeral to high art.
Artwork: Robert Rauschenberg, Surface Series from Currents #52, 1970, Black and white silkscreen on aqua B 844 paper, Gift of Mr. John Marvin
To celebrate the recently completed Ceramics Access Project, the publicly-accessible online catalog of LBMA's ceramics collection, the Museum is presenting a selection of works spanning 300 years. In addition to seeing a selection of works in the galleries, visitors will be able to browse the entire ceramics collection at a new computer kiosk in the Masterson Lobby.
Artwork: David Gilhooly, Bread Frog as a Bake Sale, 1978, Purchased with funds of the National Endowment for the Arts
Join us for the unveiling of this remarkable bequest of contemporary ceramic artworks from the collection of Frieda K. Bradsher. From the quirky to the fantastical to the downright gorgeous, these eighty-eight works of art will inspire, amuse and engage you.
Artwork: Deborah Kupinsky, Midnight Ride, 2006, Earthenware, Gift of Frieda K. Bradsher
