Long Beach Museum of Art
Decade by Decade: Women Artists of California
In 2020, the Long Beach Museum of Art celebrates 70 years of art programs in the community. Since its inception, the Museum—at first as the Municipal Art Center—collected and exhibited contemporary art in all media. Women artists were included in group and solo exhibitions and their artworks were added to the Museum’s collection through the years. Seventy years later, 20 percent of the Museum’s permanent collection is comprised of photography, painting, sculpture, prints, drawing, works on paper, artist books, fiber, ceramics, enamels, glass, and much more by women from Long Beach, the region, the State, and across the nation, resulting in a percentage that exceeds the average of most museums.
This exhibition, Decade by Decade, ranges beyond Long Beach and is a small selection of the art by California women in the collection. The artworks are presented chronologically by the dates they were created, rather than the dates that they were acquired by the Museum. Each artwork tells a story about the Museum’s history, the history of our time and place, and the artists’ personal visions.
This exhibition is generously supported by the Port of Long Beach and made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Sharon Ellis, Winter, 1994, Alkyd on canvas, 28 x 40 inches, Purchased with funds contributed by the National Endowment for the Arts and the 1995 Long Beach Museum of Art Collectors Circle 95.39
Long Beach Museum of Art
CA Designed 1955
In 1955, the Long Beach Museum of Art (then Municipal Art Center) presented California Designed, an exhibition of 325 furnishings and accessories representative of the best typically California solution to problems in design and workmanship. Curated by Director Samuel Heavenrich and in partnership with the de Young Museum in San Francisco, products including furniture, floor coverings, fabrics, lamps, accessories, tablewares and home appliances were selected on the merit of originality, function and utility in favor of overworked “modern” design. CA Designed 1955 features a selection of collected works originally exhibited in 1955 including those of Charles and Ray Eames, Sam Maloof, and Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman.
It is with delight that the Museum presents this tribute to the California mid-century artists whose contributions marked a distinct architectural era and continue to influence design aesthetics today.
Charles Eames, La Chaise, designed 1948; produced by Vitra 1999, Fiberglass, 34 ¼ x 59 x 34 inches, Purchased with funds contributed by the 1999 Long Beach Museum of Art Collectors Circle 99.15
Long Beach Museum of Art
Earth Every Day
LBUSD High School Exhibition
Artists throughout the ages have explored themes related to the environment in their art. For centuries, the landscape’s appearance in art was meant to construe awe for our natural world, or to serve as a backdrop for the documentation of human narratives. More recently, however, environmental works have become more ecological and politically motivated. In the 20th Century, alongside rising global concerns surrounding our impact on the environment’s health, many artists began to create works drawing attention to ecological issues and our human contribution to them.
For this exhibition, high school students were invited to explore the environment in their work. Selected works explore a wide range of ecological topics, including air and water pollution, the use of renewable energy, and the effects of climate change. Juried by the Museum’s Education Department, this exhibition aligns with the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day – Wednesday, April 22, 2020. Earth Day’s focus is on action and advocacy, and many of the works exhibited here share this theme.
The Long Beach Museum of Art wishes to thank the Long Beach Unified School District, the student artists for their participation in this project, and the teachers who inspire their students to create.
Long Beach Museum of Art
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.
