Current Exhibition: LBMA Downtown – 356 E 3rd St.
About the Exhibition
Angie Crabtree’s paintings dissect the mythology of luxury. Diamonds became her first muse, the commodification of nature—the way raw beauty is captured, fixed, and displayed as proof of success. Their natural forms, once buried deep beneath the earth, now mined, cut, and polished into representations of what’s impossibly valuable. By enlarging them to monumental scale, she invites viewers to consider the origins of the stones, their societal significance, and reconsider their true value.
From diamonds to desire, Crabtree debuts her latest series of paintings, Eve and Her Sacred Garden. Her new body of work critiques power structures and gender roles embedded into luxury culture. Wealth has historically been built on systems of colonization and exploitation, woven deep into the histories of gemstones and fashion. Crabtree explores femininity and how these legacies continue to shape contemporary ideals of beauty and status. She references Eve and the “Garden” as metaphors for innocence lost to material temptation, recasting Eve not as the origin of shame, but as the first to question the cost of desire.
Angie Crabtree (b. 1987) is a painter from Santa Rosa, California. Her paintings draw from the visual languages of Baroque and Rococo portraiture, fused with symbols of modern aspiration—from designer accessories to rare plants and social media aesthetics. By enlarging gemstones and still life to an almost spiritual scale, Crabtree invites viewers to reflect on the illusion of perfection and the psychological cost of opulence. Crabtree graduated with her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and currently lives and works in Long Beach, California.
Past Exhibitions
From 2022 to 2024, the Long Beach Museum of Art has been honored to receive over 250 donated artworks, enriching its permanent collection. This exhibition offers a glimpse into the collection’s growth in recent years, furthering the museum’s 75-year legacy of collecting. The museum is proud to showcase a selection of these donated works, many of which are being displayed for the first time.
At the heart of this collection are the collectors who have supported these artists by acquiring their works and believing in their unique visions. Their personal investments allow artists to push the boundaries of their ideas and voices, enabling them to fully realize their creative aspirations. As the world evolves, so too does the voice of the artist. With education at the core of our mission, it is essential that our collection reflects the diverse narratives that speak to both our present moment and our history.
Notable contributions include the collection of Orange County collector Ken Cave, which offers a unique insight into the early UCI Masters Graduate program and the foundations of the artist-run platform Newspace, featuring artists such as Jay McCafferty and Dan McCleary. Another generous donor, Judith Hendler, contributed over 30 works to the museum in 2022, including ceramics by renowned artists Vivika and Otto Heino, as well as works by woodturners Bruce Bernson and Dan Kvitka.
Dr. and Mrs. Selden Beebe, longtime supporters from Long Beach, have also made significant contributions, donating 18 diverse works over the years. Among these is a series of works on paper by the social realist artist Ben Shahn. In 2023, Los Angeles-based collectors Dan and Jeanne Fauci donated five works by Huntington Beach artist Ed Templeton, whose first U.S. solo museum exhibition, Wires Crossed, was hosted by the LBMA in 2024.
Additionally, artists such as Evan Nesbit, Roger Herman, Patrick Angus, Tom Paiva, Gerardo Monterrubio, and Tony Marsh, who have been featured in solo or group exhibitions at LBMA, are now part of our permanent collection.
The strong bond between the museum and its supporters has allowed the institution to remain a dynamic, forward-thinking community hub that Southern California has known for the past 75 years. We are deeply committed to maintaining this legacy and continuing to evolve in the years to come.
Featured Artwork: Patrick Angus, Ross MacLean, Playwright, 1990, Acrylic on canvas, 32 x 26 inches, Gift of Hilary Harris and Liz Means 2024.15
Practice and Pedagogy: Long Beach City College Faculty Exhibition
The Long Beach Museum of Art is pleased to present the second iteration of Practice and Pedagogy, featuring a selection of works by the full-time studio art faculty in the Visual and Media Arts Department at Long Beach City College. In 2018, LBMA hosted the first iteration of Practice and Pedagogy at the newly acquired campus, LBMA Downtown. This sister exhibition seeks to showcase the rich and diverse studio practices within the LBCC faculty, along with the ideas that drive their work as both artists and educators.
This exhibition highlights the distinguished faculty and examines how they present and conceptualize their work as artists. This initiative beautifully illustrates VMA’s dedication to nurturing fruitful art careers and contributing to the vibrant arts educational and cultural landscape in Long Beach.
Newspace: Selections from the Collection of Ken Cave and LBMA
The works from the Ken Cave collection provide just an introduction into the many facets of Newspace, but give insight into the history of Joni Gordon’s space and the way in which she devoted herself to supporting these artists and their visions.
Alongside the Ken Cave collection, a selection of artists from LBMA’s permanent collection, such as Chris Burden and Jay McCafferty, are included. This exhibition remembers and salutes Newspace as a platform that played a significant role in shaping the fabric of the Los Angeles art world. LBMA is honored to hold these works in the permanent collection, and hopes to tell an integral part of a large story through this exhibition.
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Carl Aldana
September 15 – October 22, 2023
Born in Guatemala City, Carl Aldana (b. 1938, d. 2019) spent his early childhood surrounded by lush tropical vegetation and volcanoes, and regarded the Guatemalan highland weavings as an influence in his painting. Aldana described his childhood memories of “that Technicolored Central American Country” and the abundance of multicolored regional and traditional costumes that have influenced his palette throughout his career.
Long Beach was Aldana’s home and muse for many years. His painting of the historic Villa Riviera on Ocean Boulevard was featured on the City of Long Beach’s Centennial Poster. His paintings of Long Beach were included in California Cityscapes organized by the San Diego Art Museum in 1991. Often, he painted the same subject from varying viewpoints over the course of many years capturing the history of a particular building or site. On nearly daily excursions, Aldana sketched and painted Long Beach’s neighborhoods and views capturing both the changes in the cityscape and particular moments in time: sunsets, sunrises, and even the arrival of the Hale-Bopp comet.
Virginia Katz: Transitory Nature
April 15 – July 23, 2023
LBMA Juried Photography Exhibition
December 10, 2022 – March 5, 2023
Posed with the question, “How do you define an alternate reality within the medium of photography?”, artists from across Southern California were encouraged to examine the multitude of narratives apparent in any given photograph. The Museum extends a warm thank you to the jurors, Deanna Templeton and Robert von Sternberg, each dedicated to the medium of photography, and highly esteemed in their individual practices.
Artists:
Allison Anderson, Ricardo Asthenia, Matthew Brabant, Ray Bravo, Louise Buckley, Mykeko Carmona, Dillon Chang, Stephen Childs, Zachariah Corbin, Rachel Deruyter, Ailene deVries, Roland Escalona, Daniel Gonçalves, Noah Gottesman, Andrés Hernández, Louis Jacinto, DeAnn Jennings, Kovi Konowiecki, Volha Krayeva, Taylor Lacayo, Chris Lagares, Immanuel Leka, Toria Maldonado, Ashley Moore, David Palmer, Amit Pandey, Ashley M. Ratcliff, Joshua Rayburn, Zachary Ruddell, Kevin Saenz, Rana Salloom, Linnea Stephan, Jaymee Sumpter, Tasman Thorsness, Joseph Van Hooten, Drew Vaughn, Todd Weaver, and Michael Wells.
Points of Intersection
August 6 – November 5, 2022
Brimming to the rafters, Points of Intersection by Serbian-American artist Daniela Soberman references the architecture of her family’s first home in former Yugoslavia. Home in this context, is a place of impermanence; a temporary dwelling familiar only because of the people who share in its assemblage. Made of contoured interlocking panels that jut hard edges from the connecting axes, the site-specific installation bears a tremendous presence. Soberman has long been interested in the idea of façades; much of her work appears one way, but is inherently the opposite. This installation is no exception. Despite its monumental scale, the artist’s edifice is light as a feather. The scale, the fragility, and the nature of its construction determined by the hands who came together to build it, speak in equal parts to the constraints we place upon the ‘worlds’ we create. This cobbling together of disparate pieces, reveals an inextricable human spirit.
Out of Step / Out of Line
June 26 – July 3
In the tattoo studio, artists are called to perform; clients request their hand to illustrate a pre-conceived idea, approved and transferred from carbon paper to skin. In their studio practice comes the freedom to move out of line, to work without expectation, and explore different mediums and subject matters. Co-curated with San Pedro-based artist Nathan Kostechko, this exhibition examines the latter— artists who navigate a fine line between an external perception of their work via tattooing, and their own interests, backgrounds, and cultural heritage that inform a wider practice. Many of these artists have helped pave the way for others with multi-faceted creative work in today’s contemporary culture.
Participating artists: Daniel Albrigo, Emma Bagley, Shawn Barber, Shay Bredimus, Bryan Burk, Scott Campbell, Danie Cansino, Matt Carignan, Aron Dubois, Gianni Gigliotti, Don Ed Hardy, Mat Hurtado, Coulter Jacobs, Jesse Jaramillo, Nathan Kostechko, Chris Martin, Matt McCormick, Mister Cartoon, Shizu Saldamando, Tamara Santibañez, Cheyenne Sawyer, Zac Scheinbaum, Derrick Snodgrass, and Carlos Torres.
1962-1972: Southern California Exhibitions
Extended through March 20, 2022
In 1952, the Long Beach Museum of Art—then Municipal Art Center, introduced the Purchase Award. The annual juried exhibition invited California artists practicing between the Mexico border and Santa Barbara to submit a painting or sculpture of any size, depicting any subject—the only requirement being it was completed within the previous two years. Each year, at least one juried artwork was purchased by the Museum, and subsequently accessioned into the Permanent Collection.
1962-1972: Southern California Exhibitions, on view in the Josephine Molina Gallery focuses on the works exhibited and acquired during this decade, under the leadership of then Director Jason Wong. The Purchase Award tells a rich history of supporting, exhibiting, and collecting the artists of our time in every decade. Works by artists including Melvin Edwards, Tony Berlant, and Phyllis Davidson offer a distinct window into the social, cultural, and political ideas during this era.
Tristan Eaton: Permanent Collection
July 16 – October 31, 2021
Tristan Eaton showcases two exhibitions at LBMA Downtown in conjunction with All At Once at LBMA. A selection of the artist’s work from the LBMA Permanent Collection includes a floor to ceiling mural made with Nychos during Vitality and Verve: Transforming the Urban Landscape.
Space as Presence
Extended through June 27, 2021
Space as Presence at LBMA Downtown features large-scale installations from Southern California artists Christine Nguyen, Elyse Pignolet and Fran Siegel whose works mold to, and evolve with their surroundings. This malleability forms from a tiling process used by each artist; their “canvas” has no limitation, and the works as a result grow until they feel complete, changing to the shape of their environment. Nguyen, Pignolet and Siegel each navigate the intersections of material, narrative and space.
LOCATION
356 E 3rd St.
90802
HOURS
Thursday – Sunday: 11am – 4pm
FREE ADMISSION
No reservation required
356 E 3rd Street
Long Beach, CA
90802
(562) 317-7300
Visitor Services
In 2019, the Long Beach Museum of Art and Art Exchange merged to form LBMA Downtown, a dynamic art campus in the heart of the East Village Arts District. “It’s the perfect marriage for the Museum…” – Executive Director, Ronald C. Nelson. Read more.
LBMA Downtown is home to five artist studios. Local artists are on-site daily working with mediums ranging woodworking to fine art painting and glass. Artists and respective contact information can be viewed here.
