LBMA
thread.
October 4, 2019 – January 12, 2020
Textile art has long been used for practical, ornate and expressive means – a cultural vessel for storytelling in the absence of written word. Fiber artists working with the medium continue to push boundaries, redefining the dialogue between traditional and contemporary methods of woven narration. The selected works ranging in modern and contemporary style, exhibit a complex, undulating display of thread’s ability to tell stories and evoke woven symbolism.
thread. showcases a culmination of work by some of today’s leading fiber artists: Terri Friedman, Miyoshi Barosh, Hannah Epstein, Diedrick Brackens, Tanya Aguiniga, Ardeshir Tabrizi, Channing Hansen, Moffat Takadiwa, Jeffrey Gibson, Luis Flores, Christina Forrer, Tschabalala Self, Ebony G. Patterson, and Chiachio & Giannone, alongside a selection from the Museum’s permanent collection.
LBMA
The Artful Book
October 4, 2019 – January 5, 2020
Today, artists who work in the Book Arts create fine and design bindings, fine press and letterpress editions, calligraphy, broadsides, handmade paper, and artist books. Visitors to The Artful Book will see outstanding contemporary examples of the Book Arts created by members of the California Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers. From finely crafted and superbly designed limited edition books to one-of-a-kind sculptural art objects, these artists let their imaginations soar and put their skills in the service of one of man’s best creations, the book. The Artful Book exhibition and related programming are made possible by lead support from The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation with additional generous support from the Bess J. Hodges Foundation.
LBMA
Place
September 19 , 2019 – January 12, 2020
Living and working in Southern California, Adam Harrison has built a practice that redefines traditional methods of portraying a physical space on canvas. Harrison reimagines conventional landscape painting approaches with a unique amalgamation of working from both memory and real-life observation. By spending months painting on location from a fixed vantage point, the artist develops an intimate familiarity with his surroundings. Harrison uses this understanding of his subject to then complete the work strictly from memory, resulting in a finished product that combines the physical aspects of a space with the impression left on those who visit it.
Curated by the Long Beach Museum of Art, Place is Adam Harrison’s first institutional solo exhibition. The featured large-scale landscapes focus on locations in Long Beach and San Pedro and immerse viewers in the physical spaces explored by the artist.
LBMA Downtown
Daniel Callis: Casting Nets
November 10, 2019 – January 4, 2020
Casting Nets alludes to warp and weft, the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric: an organic, flexible, ever expanding matrix with points of contact and connection. Daniel Callis produced the majority of these works during an artist residency in 2017 and 2019 in Tetouan, Morocco. This immersed the visiting artist to the culture and beauty of Morocco and the artists and master artisans of Tetouan. During the residency, he found himself, a postmodern practicing Anglican, cloistered away in a studio space in the heart of the ancient walled city in North Africa during the Muslim celebration of Ramadan. As he worked, each day was marked by cyclical calls to prayer from ancient mosques reminding him of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Western faith tradition.
Both Christian and Islamic narratives inform the 22 works in the exhibition. Casting Nets is about the many points that connect us, and the expansive possibilities of more.
LBMA
Friendship
June 6 – December 8, 2019
The Long Beach Museum of Art’s Education Staff visited several classrooms in Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), asking students to reflect on diversity and friendship. 2nd and 3rd grade students created works of art that showed differences made their friendships stronger. Through the process, students learned that diversity means changing outlooks, being flexible and most of all acceptance of others’ opinions.
The Long Beach Museum of Art wishes to thank the LBUSD students from James A. Garfield, Abraham Lincoln, John C. Fremont and Luther Burbank elementary schools for their participation in this project.
LBMA
Buddy Buddy: Patrick Dougherty
March 1, 2019 – Ongoing
Patrick Dougherty debuts a site-specific willow installation at the Long Beach Museum of Art. Working together with local volunteers, his son Sam, the Museum Staff and Docents, the artist intricately weaves and assembles hundreds of harvested willow saplings on-site to create monumental, earthly sculptures. The three-day harvesting of the willow consisted of cutting, baling, and transporting vast amounts of the material back to the Museum. Combined with the artist’s love of nature and his mastery of ancient building techniques, the complexity and metaphysical nature of these forms dwell not only in the natural material and the structure themselves, but also in its accessibility where audiences can engage with and bear witness to the work’s life cycle throughout its various stages. “Making sculpture comprehendible” as Dougherty says, has consistently been his vision since the inception of this body of work.
This special outdoor sculpture is supported in part by a generous grant from the Pasadena Art Alliance, a 64-year-old organization of over 175 women who foster appreciation for contemporary visual arts in Southern California by supporting artists, exhibitions, educational programs and art-oriented, non-profit institutions.
