OPEN STUDIO

BRET AND GREG PRICE

OPEN STUDIO
Saturday, December 5
1:00 pm -- 5:00 pm
418 S. Montgomery
Orange CA 92868

RSVP by November 11

raelynnprice@earthlink.net or 714 633 7737

Clay, Glass, Metal, Paintings. Bret and Greg Price, who so graciously gave the Fellows an unforgettable studio tour and cast glass demonstration last June, are having an OPEN STUDIO on December 5. Both Bret and Greg will be on site to explain their art works as well as their working techniques. Bring your friends and make it another great day in OC.

COLLECTING CALIFORNIA: Selectings from Laguna Art Museum. November 8, 2009--February 7, 2010

COLLECTING CALIFORNIA, Laguna Art Museum's current exhibition, looks at 10 of the most significant gifts that have been given by 10 of the most significant donors in the museum's history. Ruth and Murray Gribin are among the donors. The Gribins were among the original members of the Fellows of Contemporary Art, "Mickey" Gribin being the second president of Fellows from 1977-78. Through their collecting and support of many museums including, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum, the Hammer Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, the Gribins had a considerable influence on contemporary art in Southern California.

John Altoon
Untitled, 1959
Oil on canvas
Laguna Art Museum Collection
Gift of Murray and Ruth Gribin

A DAY IN ORANGE COUNTY, JUNE 6, 2009

At 10:00, 28 Fellows arrived at the studios of father and son, BRET AND GREG PRICE in downtown Orange. Bret Price talked about bending steel into large, monumental steel sculpture in New Bremen, OH where he has the use of heavy equipment and lots of open space to make these pieces. He also has a long career in ceramics. The studio was filled with his highly colored small steel sculptures as well as his beautiful ceramic pieces. Bret's sculptures and commissions are in many institutions and private collections. His most recent solo exhibition, Out of Shapes, was at the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art from January to March, 2009.

Greg then spoke to us briefly about discovering glass casting at the University of Hawaii and had many examples of his glass sculptures in the studio. After talking about the process of casting glass, we were led to the back of the studio where Greg demonstrated the casting process while Bret assisted. The photo here only begins to show the drama of Greg's demonstration which included pouring molten glass, the use of large blow torches and the quick bending and twisting of the soft, hot glass as it was being formed into a sculpture. Drama is too small a word for this.

Our next stop was at the Orange County Museum of Art where deputy director Karen Moss, led us through the current exhibition, Illumination: the Paintings of Georgia O'Keefe, Agnes Pelton, Agnes Martin and Florence Miller Pierce. Moss was able to speak directly about the painters and the paintings, their differences, their similarities and the biographical details of each of these artists who painted in a desert environment each with her own distinctive spiritual subtext relating to the landscape. It is a fascinating exhibition and the first time these four artists have been exhibited together.

Lunch followed at Brasserie Pascal in Fashion Island.

OCMA ART AUCTION 2009, SATURDAY MARCH 28

OCMA's annual auction is coming up on March 28th but you can start bidding on the work now. Head over to their auction site and take a look. tickets can be yours for $200 (member price).

CALIFORNIA BIENNIAL REVISITED

"It has been a rough start to the new millennium, and sadly art survey shows have failed to reflect the context in which art makers and viewers live. Thankfully Lauri Firstenberg of LAXART has remedied the disconnect with the 2008 California Biennial." To read more from this reviewer, see Michael Buitron.
Christopher Knight reviews the exhibition as "Fifty four artists and collectives invoke primarily social and political subjects, positioned against the proliferation of big-ticket, fabricated art."
For another point of view, C-Monster conveniently ranks the Biennial work according to how likely it is to appeal to stoners. I'm sure that is handy for some. Check it out.

ORANGE COUNTY BIENNIAL VISITED

The Orange County Museum of Art's 2008 California Biennial was curated by Laurie Firstenberg from LAXArt without a specific theme and with exhibitions in a variety of locations throughout California, including Tijuana, Mexico.

A group of 30-35 FOCA members carpooled to see the work of Kelly Barrie at UC Irvine, one of the exhibition's off site locations. Barrie accompanied us to answer questions about his large scale photograph at UCI's Room Gallery. Returning to OCMA, Fellows were walked through the exhibition by Aram Moshyedi, assistant to Biennial curator, Laurie Firstenberg. There were individual themes detected and talked about by Moshyedi such as work involving found objects, immigration and border politics, the war in Iraq, body politics, politics of religious and consciousness of violence, but no one prescribed theme was planned for the exhibition.

Afterwards, at the salon at the home of Linda Maggard, there was a question and answer period with the curatorial staff of OCMA, Karen Moss, Sarah Bancroft; independent curator, Aram Moshyedi and artist, Kelly Barrie. Among the questions asked included how artists were selected for the exhibition: the process involved a two year exploration of California artists that included studio visits and exhibitions. It was decided early that the artists would all be from California, but they would be artists with international reputations. And, it was decided that the exhibition space would be at various locations throughout California, including Tijuana. The 2008 biennial features artists with a strong history of video and conceptual idea based work which reflects California's long tradition with this media.

Artist Kelly Barrie talked about the photo installation at Queen’s Nails Space in San Francisco, with his mother Mary Kelly, as an example of an intergenerational art piece. This two person merging of subject is concerned with self revelation and “secret agreements between generations”.

Karen Moss urged everyone to visit OCMA's website for a listing of offsite exhibitions, future performances and openings. Fellows barely scratched the surface of 2008 California Biennial and the feeling was strong that, as individuals, we need to return for a longer, closer look at this dense and provocative exhibition.

2008 CALIFORNIA BIENNIAL

Orange County Museum of Art
Oct 26, 2008 -- Mar 15, 2009
The 2008 California Biennial continues the Orange County Museum of Art's four decade long history of presenting new developments in California art. This year's biennial is guest curated by Lauri Firstenberg, founder and director/curator of LAXART in Los Angeles. The exhibition includes works by more than 50 artists and, for the first time, incorporates off site projects with collaborating venues from Tijuana to Northern California. The exhibition is presented at both the Newport Beach and South Coast Plaza locations.