Patrick Angus
May 17 – September 8, 2019
This May, the Long Beach Museum of Art presents a large-scale retrospective of the work of American painter Patrick Angus (1953 – 1992). The expansive exhibition of paintings and works on paper allows intimate insights into the development of Angus’s body of work, revealing a window to his personal life and the New York City gay scene. In 1992, the artist died from complications related to AIDS. Since the first presentation of his work at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany, Angus’s artistic achievements have gained international attention. This survey of the artist’s work will be the first major museum exhibition in the United States.
Image caption: Patrick Angus, Stewart Kelly, 1970s-1980s, Acrylic on canvas, 40.2 x 40.2″, Courtesy of Galerie Thomas Fuchs
Bob Mizer
May 17 – September 8, 2019
During the span of a near 50-year career, American photographer and filmmaker Robert Henry Mizer (b.1922 – d. 1992), universally known as Bob, has been pushing boundaries in both subject matter and medium. Famed for his groundbreaking publication, Physique Pictorial, which launched its first issue in 1951, Mizer’s unique portrayals of male figures are not only instilled with his passion, but also reflect and challenge societal notions of masculinity of post-war America.
Image caption: Bob Mizer, Untitled (Muscle Beach #30), Santa Monica, California, ca. 1949, Chromogenic print, edition 1/5, Courtesy of the Bob Mizer Foundation, M+B Gallery and New Discretions
Friendship
June 6 – October 13, 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.
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.
