(Left to right) Jean Lowe’s Baby Grand, 2005. Enamel, marine enamel on cloth-mâché, fiberglass, foamboard, cardboard, and assorted
snacks Variable dimensions. Collection of Carole and Robert Kopple.
Francis De Erdely’s Daily Bread (Bluebird). Oil on canvas, n.d. Image courtesy of Spencer Jon Helfen Fine Arts, Beverly Hills, CA.
Laguna Art Museum will present two new exhibitions this spring, Jean Lowe’s Your Place in the Multiverse and Francis De Erdely’s Striking Figures.
“We’re thrilled to bring these exhibitions highlighting two prominent California artists Jean Lowe and Francis De Erdely to the museum this spring,” said Julie Perlin Lee, Executive Director of Laguna Art Museum. “Each artist has their own way of capturing the human condition specific to their time and place. Striking Figures is an important exhibition as it brings to light the work of a lesser-known artist who connects us to the diverse people and history of California.”
Opening on March 19, Your Place in the Multiverse is a survey of Lowe’s work drawn from the past twenty years, highlighting many of her most important installations, as well as new work. Primarily comprised of household craft media, Lowe’s beautifully staged installations are often overwhelming, playing both on sensory overload and the irony of abundance as presented daily in our consumer culture. Your Place in the Multiverse is organized by the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University and is made possible with support from The Segerstrom Foundation.
Lowe creates art imbued with a proprietary blend of wry wit, visual seduction, and incisive cultural critique. Working in sculpture, painting, and installation, Lowe draws us into elaborate reconstructions of our own value systems, empowering, entertaining, and implicating us all at once. Lowe received her MFA from University of California, San Diego, where she was also a Lecturer until 2008. She has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City; the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; and the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati. Your Place in the Multiverse, was recently on view at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University.
On May 14, the museum will present Striking Figures: The Work of Francis De Erdely, which will be the first major exhibition of De Erdely’s work. Highlighting De Erdely’s timeless ability to depict the simple grace of common people, Striking Figures depicts musicians, dancers, laborers, and social outsiders as a way of addressing issues of race, culture, and social strata in Southern California. Striking Figures is organized by Laguna Art Museum and guest curated by Alissa Anderson Campbell. A catalog will be published to accompany the exhibition.
Known for his social realist paintings of everyday people, De Erdely is a classically trained European painter who moved to the United States during World War II and went on to create some of the most striking figurative paintings in California Art. His depictions are historical documents of the period, expertly painted with a poignancy that remains relevant today. De Erdely has been included in more than twenty books about Los Angeles painters of the mid-century.
For more information about Jean Lowe’s Your Place in the Multiverse and Francis De Erdely’s Striking Figures at Laguna Art Museum, visit lagunaartmuseum.org. To stay connected and learn about upcoming events, follow the museum on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Laguna Art Museum is the museum of California art. It collects, cares for, and exhibits works of art that were created by California artists or represent the life and history of the state. Through its permanent collection, its special loan exhibitions, its educational programs, and its library and archive, the museum enhances the public’s knowledge and appreciation of California art of all periods and styles and encourages art-historical scholarship in this field.
Laguna Art Museum stands just steps from the Pacific Ocean in the beautiful city of Laguna Beach. The museum is proud to continue the tradition of the Laguna Beach Art Association, founded in 1918 by the early California artists who fostered a vibrant arts community. The gallery that the association built in 1929 is part of today’s Laguna Art Museum.
For more information, please visit www.lagunaartmuseum.org
Location
Laguna Art Museum is located at 307 Cliff Drive in Laguna Beach, on the corner of Coast Highway and Cliff Drive.
Hours
Monday – Tuesday, Thursday – Sunday: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Closed Wednesdays
Closed Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day
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