Exchange and Evolution, a retrospective selection of the significant international video works and artists who were part of the historic video art program at the Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA), will be on view at the Museum from October 7, 2011 - February 12, 2012. The exhibition is the result of research into the numerous cultural exchanges, and the subsequent evolution of ideas made possible by the Museum's media art center. For 25 years, this media art center provided consistent support for artists worldwide. Exchange and Evolution establishes LBMA as a key influence on the growth and development of video as an art form. The exhibition features both single-channel video and installations by artists from eighteen different countries, whose work provides an overview of the history of video art and its expressive abilities. Works from the early 1970s that provide a perspective on the potential of the then experimental medium are shown along with more technologically developed works from the end of the twentieth century.
To listen to the KPCC interview about Exchange and Evolution and the LBMA Video Program click here.Exchange and Evolution is part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, a collaboration of more than 60 cultural institutions across Southern California coming together for the first time to celebrate the birth of the L.A. art scene. The celebration begins October 2011 and runs to April 2012.
Local Pasadena artist Ray Turner has painted the Long Beach community to be represented in this stunning exhibition. Population will showcase the work of visionary artist Ray Turner, and will include over 200 portraits of individuals from throughout the Southern California region. Ray has spent the spring of 2011 painting dozens of individuals to represent the rich, diverse community of Long Beach, including elected officials, philanthropists, artists and a host of Long Beach citizens encountered in our everyday lives. This unique community-engaging exhibition invites the viewer to contemplate identity as individuals and collectively. As the exhibition travels across the nation and Ray continues to add new portraits to the show, the body of work will begin to reflect our diversity. This exhibition is accompanied by a full-color catalogue, which includes Turner's latest portraits of Long Beach's Population, as well as an essay about the artist's work by art historian and exhibition co-curator Peter Frank. Executive Director Ron Nelson has written the forward for the catalogue and co-curated the exhibition.
Click here for a press release on Ray Turner (opens in a new window)
This eclectic collection includes modern and contemporary American art, a selection of Latin American artworks, and small scale late 19th and early 20th century European prints and drawings by such artists as Henry Moore and Georges Rouault. The Duquettes made purchases of art works from many galleries in California including the purchase of works by living artists from Long Beach and Los Angeles like Michael Todd, Billie Al Bengston, Peter Alexander, Charles Arnoldi, and Laddie John Dill. The couple traveled extensively and visited museums around the world to form their collection.In all cases, the Duquettes made their choices based upon the pleasure that they found in living with these artworks. The Duquettes made several gifts to the Museum in the 1990s and 2000s totaling fifty-eight paintings, sculptures and works on paper.
Artwork: Jose Clemente Orozco, Tehuanas, Tempera on board.
Former Museum Director Jason Wong collected art in all media: painting, sculpture, and works on paper. Most works are of an intimate scale including small sculptures by Claire Falkenstein and delicate etchings by Beth van Hoesen. Not surprisingly for a person trained in two-dimensional graphic design, Wong enjoyed prints and drawings and works on paper. He was also known to have a life-long interest in sculpture. In this selected exhibition from his collection we have glimpses of the fertile Southern California art scene in the 1960s and 70s. Such works as a chevron painting on aluminum by Billy Al Bengston entitled Tom, a watercolor by Keith Crown entitled Taos, and Ed Ruscha's artist's book Every Building on the Sunset Strip.
Artwork: Keith Crown, Taos, Watercolor on paper.
As the Port of Long Beach celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2011, the Long Beach Museum of Art presents a selection of works of art from the Port's permanent collection. The Port of Long Beach has served as an inspiration to many artists throughout their careers; some have gained access to create on location, while others have been commissioned by the Port. The Museum has featured commissioned works in previous exhibitions by such artists as Tom Paiva and William Livingston. The synergy between the Port of Long Beach and the Museum is captured in the Lane Ocean View Gallery by the expansive window occupying an entire wall overlooking the harbor. The window acts as a frame for a living portrait of the Port of Long Beach and the ebb and flow of visiting vessels. The ongoing partnership between the Long Beach Museum of Art and the Port of Long Beach will continue to foster the creation of meaningful works of art adding to the rich history of the City of Long Beach.
Artwork: William Livingston, Orient Overseas Container Line, Type C Lightjet print.
Art Auction 14 will showcase more than 150 works from over 100 Southern California artists working today. The Museum organizes Art Auction every other year with the support of its fundraising affiliate Phoenix. Art Auction 14 represents a high-visibility venue for a number of local, emerging and mid-career artists. The roster of participants includes internationally-known artists such as ceramicist Tony Marsh as well as local Long Beach artists with contributions from Carl Aldana, Lori LaMont, and John Culqui. The gallery is completely free for everyone the entire month of Art Auction. A terrific fundraising event will take place on Sunday, May 22, 2011. Tickets are $95 per person. All proceeds from Art Auction benefit the Museum's artistic and educational programming. To learn more about Art Auction click here.
Artwork: Jeff McMillan, Birds Fly By Flapping Their Wings (detail), Acrylic, 48 x 36 inches.
Click here for a press release on Art Auction 14 (opens in a new window)
Influential Element will feature 26 contemporary works by California-based artists who seek to explore the infinite ways in which water impacts our everyday life. The exhibition will feature works in a variety of media, including oil paint on a variety of surfaces, photography, video, color pencil, and mixed media. Furthermore, it is especially fitting that Influential Element: Exploring the Impact of Water debuts in a city in which water has historically played a vital and complex role, both from a recreational standpoint and as a major source of industry and commerce supporting Port operations. Not only will this exhibition offer breathtaking images of water, but it will also reflect upon our increasingly complex relationship with the element - immersing the audience in a visual conversation about this unique element. This exhibition has been sponsored by The Long Beach Water Department and Merrill Lynch of Seal Beach.
Artwork: Elizabeth Patterson, Sunset Highway, 3pm, Color pencil and solvent
Click here for a press release on the Influential Element exhibition (opens in a new window)
The Lipton Collection will feature approximately 50 pieces of contemporary wood art from the world-renowned collection of Dr. Irving Lipton. Works in the Long Beach Museum of Art's The Lipton Collection were bequeathed to the Museum upon Dr. Lipton's passing in 2001, and this exhibition will be the Museum's first public presentation of this important collection. This exhibition will feature works by artists Frank E. Cummings III (a Long Beach artist), William Hunter, Nikolai Possipov, Brenda Behrens, Ronald E. Fleming, and other distinguished artists. All of the artworks in the exhibition have been crafted in the last twenty years and utilize a variety of common and exotic woods including: oak, maple, birch, walnut, sycamore, ebony and African blackwood.
Artwork: William Hunter, Retusa Scallops, 1984, Cocobolo
Click here for a press release on the above mentioned exhibition (opens in a new window)
The sculptures and vessels in Branching Out demonstrate a range of artistic expressions using wood as the primary medium. Mid-twentieth century to twenty-first century artworks are represented in thirty different types of wood from the familiar maple and pine to the more exotic Jarrah and Chakte Kok. The artist's choice of wood, like the painter's choice of colors, is an important considered aesthetic decision. In this selection of artworks from the permanent collection, there are a range of aesthetic expressions, some of which feature the natural grain of the wood like Rude Osolnik's Untitled Vessel. Others use wood for its structural properties like Robyn Horn's Rhythm in Space. The selections in Branching Out include a variety of woodworking methods such as Claire Falkenstein's carved sculpture The Couple, lathe-turned Ball Box by Hans Weissflog, and assembled twig sculpture Grizzly by John McQueen.
Artwork: Stoney Lamar, Ghost Rider II, 2004, Walnut, steel and milk paint
