Pasadena Museum of California Art

Past exhibitions are listed in chronological order by opening date.

97th Annual California Art Club
Gold Medal Juried Exhibition

April 27 - May 18, 2008

An annual event at the PMCA, the California Art Club's Gold Medal Exhibition is juried by museum directors and curators and features over 100 selected paintings and sculptures by current California Art Club artist members. Attracting plein-air artists and collectors from around the country, the exhibition showcases the long tradition of California Impressionism that continues today. The work is for sale and the proceeds benefit the artist, the California Art Club, and the PMCA.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

Timothy J. Clark: A Retrospective

January 20 - April 13, 2008

Born and raised in Santa Ana and educated at Art Center, Chouinard ('72), CalArts ('74), and Otis, Timothy J. Clark is a contemporary painter working primarily in watercolor. This mid-career retrospective looks at his unique style that combines California Regionalism with a more New York sensibility of Abstract Expressionism, merging two radically different American painting traditions. Guest curated by Mr. Jean Stern, Director of the Irvine Museum, the exhibition includes 35 drawings, watercolors and oil paintings created over a 40-year period by the award-winning artist.

"Timothy J. Clark sees things ordinary people can't... Clark, one of the finest artists of this time, is among my favorite painters. With a fidelity to his own artistic vision, he paints in the rich traditions of Sargent and the American Impressionists. His masterful drawing, heightened sense of color and light, and comprehensive composition testify to decades of dedication as an artist. His sensibilities range from quiet and poetic to vigorous and emotional."
- Jean Stern, Guest Curator

"Clark's ostensibly forthright watercolors...not only are glittering in their execution -- bathed in sunlight, swathed in shadow, shimmering with sure-handed yet expansive and textured brushwork -- but also embody the postmodern concept of art-as-idea. Clark has an almost uncanny ability to infuse rudimentary and inert objects...with something akin to a human soul."
- Dr. Lisa Farrington, from the forthcoming book, "Timothy J. Clark"

Support for this exhibition has been provided by the Board of Directors of the PMCA.

A Seed of Modernism: Art Students League of Los Angeles

January 20 - April 13, 2008

Founded in 1906 as a school for modern painting in defiance of the academic tradition, the Art Students League of Los Angeles was a crucial institution in the development of Southern California art. Its early instructors taught in the Realist style of the Ashcan School until Stanton Macdonald-Wright assumed the directorship in 1923 and gave the school a new vitality. During his nine-year tenure, the League became a diverse center, stressing the art of as the Middle and Far East as well as Western Europe. When Macdonald-Wright stepped down in 1932, artists such as Lorser Feitelson and Benji Okubo directed the school, and a unique style developed at the League-the blending of Japanese art techniques and themes along with Macdonald-Wright's color theories. After Pearl Harbor and during the incarceration of Japanese Americans, the school languished and eventually dispersed, but not before former Macdonald-Wright students Okubo and Hideo Date established a branch of the Art Students League at the Heart Mountain Concentration Camp in Wyoming. The PMCA is proud to present the first comprehensive museum exhibition and catalog detailing the fascinating history of this group of gifted artists.

Support for this exhibition has been provided by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Tournament of Roses Foundation, Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg Arts Foundation, Bente and Gerald Buck, Anthony and Mary Podell, George and Irene Stern, Lynn and Tim Mason, Jerry Solomon Custom Picture Frames, Louis Stern Fine Arts, Kelley Gallery, Whitney Ganz, Maurine St. Gaudens, National Mustang Association and Harris Art Works, and Simon Chiu.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

Jess: To and From the Printed Page

October 10, 2007 - January 6, 2008

This exhibition presents one of the most expansive themes within the work of Jess (1923-2004), for whom the book served as subject, object, and fodder for his collage-based art. Based in San Francisco, Jess emerged as a visual artist from within the literary context of Beat culture, along with other California collagists Wallace Berman, Bruce Conner, and George Herms. By focusing on art created especially for publication and reproduction, this exhibition looks at Jessís imagery as a form of dialogue with the written word and its transmitters.

Jess: To and From the Printed Page is a traveling exhibition organized and circulated by Independent Curators International (iCI), New York. Guest curator for the exhibition is Ingrid Schaffner. The exhibition, tour, and catalogue are made possible, in part, by a grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support provided by the iCI Exhibition Partners.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

Beyond Ultraman: Seven Artists Explore the Vinyl Frontier

October 10, 2007 - January 6, 2008

A longtime generator of American counterculture, California has become the landing site for Asian vinyl toy culture as well. Beyond Ultraman examines the vinyl art toy landscape as seen in the work of seven California artists who reflect that movement, turning art into toys and vice versa. Through originality, wit, flippancy and brilliance, each artist in the exhibition has elevated the vinyl art toy movement and captured the attention of two audiences: the mainstream art community and the toy community. Featuring the work of Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, David Gonzales, David Horvath, Sun-Min Kim, Brian McCarty and Mark Nagata, Beyond Ultraman is a collaboration between the PMCA and the Los Angeles Toy, Doll and Amusements Museum.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

Benjamin Chambers Brown (1865-1942): Califrnia Colors

October 10, 2007 - January 6, 2008

The second in our California Colors series, this exhibition featured a selection of vibrant Impressionist paintings by Benjamin Chambers Brown (1865-1942), a Plein Air painter who was one of the first artists to settle and paint in Pasadena. This was a rare opportunity to view highlights of Brownís work from private and museum collections. A full-color exhibition catalog is available, featuring new scholarship on the artist by Chief Curator of the Crocker Art Museum, Scott A. Shields, Ph.D and an introduction by Executive Director of the Irvine Museum, Jean Stern.

Support for this exhibition has been generously provided by the Pasadena Arts League and the Historical Collections Council of California. Additional support has been provided by Ray Redfern of the Redfern Gallery, Bonhams and Butterfields, Edenhurst Gallery, George Stern, Josh Hardy, DeRuís Fine Arts, Whitney Ganz and Steve Stern. In kind donation is provided by photographer Gerard Vuilleumier.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

Jennifer Poon: Lost and Found

August 19 - September 30, 2007

The work of Bay Area painter Jennifer Poon comes to life in a new exhibition that includes a rare first for the artist: a sculptural installation echoing the fragility and sentiment of her delicate watercolors. Using fabric, vellum, and stone, this monumental-scale installation integrates seamlessly with the paintings and drawings also on display. A massive tree branch sprouts from one wall, dripping long strands of Chinese paper dolls, while a large kite flies overhead, constructed of parchment and covered in the artistís drawings. The kite is tethered to the earth by silken strings, whose opposing ends are each wrapped around a different human organ sculpted from alabaster. Precariously pinned to the wall and presiding over the entire installation are thirty-five silkscreened portraits of the artist. Taken as a whole, the installation reveals the artistís fleeting moment of self-discovery, seducing the viewer in the process.

This exhibition is sponsored by Micheal Napollielo Jr., and Gallery C.

Maynard Dixon: Masterpieces from BYU and Private Collections

June 1 - August 12, 2007

The PMCA celebrates the Fifth Year Anniversary of our opening with an exhibition and premiere of a documentary honoring renowned California painter Maynard Dixon (1875-1946). Dixon was a fixture in the Northern California art world in the early part of the century, known for his landscapes and portraits, particularly during the Great Depression. His marriage to photographer Dorothea Lange and his move later in life to the Utah desert influenced the subjects and style of his work. His modernist approach to painting Western landscapes featured simple compositions and powerful color fields that shifted the genre away from the more typically sentimental treatment of familiar subject matter. The largest and best single collection of Dixon paintings resides at the Brigham Young University Art Museum and through the generosity of that institution, 47 paintings and 6 drawings will travel to the PMCA. This exhibition marks the first time this body of work has been exhibited in California since Dixon sold the work to a BYU professor in the 1940s.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

Dark Metropolis: Irving Norman's Social Realism

January 21 - April 15, 2007

This exhibition, produced on the occasion of what would have been Irving Norman's 100th birthday (1906-1989), features paintings that remain as poignant and relevant today as when they were first created. Norman's monumental paintings reflect a troubled and turbulent world. His works teem with detail and are populated with swarming, clone-like humans. People are constricted by small urban spaces and modern technology, caught in the crunch of rush hour, and decimated by poverty and war. Shocking, revealing and profound, the paintings aim, as Norman himself described, "to tell the truth of our time."
Dark Metropolis is curated by Scott Shields and is organized by the Crocker Art Museum. The exhibition is accompanied by a 228-page full-color catalogue available in the PMCA bookstore.

This exhibition was funded in part by The Judith Rothschild Foundation, Rolfe Wyer, Martin Sosin/Stratton-Petit Foundation, LEF Foundation, Estate of Moses and Ruth Helen Lasky through Morelle Lasky Levine, and Janice and Maurice Holloway.
Media support provided by Juxtapoz.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

California Watercolors: Collector's Choice

Ocotber 15, 2006 - April 15, 2007

The last in the series of four exhibitions of California Style watercolors, this exhibition offers a special glimpse into the private collections of serious connoisseurs in the field of historic California watercolors. The thirty works have been selected by thirty different collectors and represent their unique tastes and interests. The exhibition was conceived as a counterpoint to our previous watercolor exhibitions which were organized by a single curator.

This exhibition is organized by the PMCA. Support is provided by Jan and Mark Hilbert, Sandy Hunter-California Art Gallery, Ray Sahranavard, Ian M. Patrick, Kenneth M. Kaplan, Jeffrey Olsen, Chris Coleman, and Anonymous.

California Colors: Hanson Puthuff

October 15 - April 15, 2007

This is the first museum exhibition focusing exclusively on the work of Hanson Puthuff (1875-1972), an American Impressionist who painted primarily in California. Organized by the PMCA, the exhibition will feature 25 of the artist's most omportant paintings, as well as his personal effects, on loan from his estate. The PMCA will also republish his autobiography in honor of this important exhibition, with an introduction by the Irvine Museum Executive Director, Jean Stern.

This exhibition was supported in part by the Historical Colections Council of California.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

Advancing the Moment: Recent Work by California Photographers

October 15, 2006 - January 7, 2007

Advancing the Moment, organized by the PMCA and held in conjunction with the Norton Simon Museum's exhibition, The Collectible Moment, reveals the eventual trajectory of the groundbreaking Californian photographers of the 1960s and 1970s by showcasing their work from the last five years. The exhibition includes works produced between 2000 and 2005 by Donald Blumberg, Darryl Curran, Judy Dater, Robbert Flick, Ingeborg Gerdes, Anthony Hernandez, Ellen Land-Weber, Jerry McMillan, Gregory Allen MacGregor, John Spence Weir, and Henry Wessel, Jr. Together with the exhibition at the Norton Simon, Advancing the Moment documents the development of contemporary photography in the context of this region, presenting a pivotal moment when institutions recognized and began collecting photography.

This exhibition was curated by Donna Stein. Support was provided by the Pasadena Arts League.

Drive-by Shooting: April Greinman Digital Photography

September 8 - October 8, 2006

These images were captured by April Greiman over the past 15 years in various parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. Although Greiman is one of the first women to be recognized as a leader in the graphic arts world, her fine art production stands apart, reflecting her personal travels and unique worldview. Finding meaning and beauty in the smallest, most imperceptible details, Greiman presents her images on a monumental scale so that the idiosyncrasies of the digital technology combine with chance encounter to produce these striking images. The end result appears almost accidental, but actually represents a carefully constructed intervention by the artist.
This exhibition is organized by the PMCA and Merry Norris and is sponsored in part by Nash Editions, Larry Baca Technical Consulting, Premier Imaging Products, I.T. Supplies, Urban Partners, LLC, and InSync Media.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

California Watercolors: Focus on the Fifties

May 6 - October 8, 2006

California Watercolors: Focus On The Fifties highlights the innovations of California-based watercolorists after 1945. Artists such as Phil Dike, Rex Brandt, George Post, Nick Brigante and others experimented with abstract form, reflecting many of the larger changes taking place at that time in the art world, most notably the rise of Abstract Expressionism. While most of these artists are better known for their pre-war watercolors, which reflected more conservative American Scene and Regionalist styles, this exhibition, which features 31 paintings, reframes their work in a national context that was in a dialogue with broader trends. Focus on the Fifties is the third in a series of four exhibitions designed to explore in depth the achievements of mid-20th century California watercolorists.

Richard Diebenkorn: The Carey Stanton Collection

May 6 - August 27, 2006

Celebrating the legacy of one of America's greatest artists, this exhibition showcases the private collection of Carey Stanton, owner of Santa Cruz Island and close personal friend of Diebenkorn for over 40 years. This collection has never before been seen in its entirety, and many of the works were painted on or inspired by Santa Cruz Island, reflecting a unique personal dialogue between the artist and the collector.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

Family Legacies: The Art of Betye, Lezley, and Alison Saar

May 6 - August 27, 2006

Family Legacies is the first exhibition of the Saars' work to examine the relationship of these three important artists to each other within the context of the family's distinct contributions to art history. The exhibition features thirty-six objects, including mixed media sculptures, assemblages, collages and a collaborative installation created by the Saars. With twelve key works by each artist, representing the full chronological range and stylistic evolution of their oeuvre, the exhibition addresses themes that underline the artists' family ties, multi-racial heritage and strong affinities to nature and African cultures.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

Kevin Macpherson: Reflections on a Pond

April 1 - April 30, 2006

In the Impressionist tradition of capturing the changing conditions of the outdoor environment - weather, light, seasons - Kevin Macpherson painted this alpine pond, located in New Mexico, over five years, making sure to include every day of the year. The concept of this series was conceived by Macpherson as an artistic journey that would be demanding both physically and psychologically, but would ultimately give him deep insight and fresh appreciation for the natural world. Throughout the creation of these paintings he maintained several constants: each painting was executed on a 6x8 inch panel, his palette remained consistent, each painting contains realistic, identifiable elements of the scene, and the artist painted from the same location. The variations in the paintings are generally the result of the weather, season, or time of day the paintings was made. However, the events and the general course of the artistís life over the five years are also present in the paintings.

95th Annual California Art Club
Gold Medal Juried Exhibition

April 2 - April 23, 2006

Soo Kim: They Stop Looking at the Sky

January 22 - April 23, 2006

In a new installation for the PMCA Project Room, artist Soo Kim constructs a city and the interior and exterior spaces of its built environment. Through densely layered and reconstituted photographic imagery, Kim explores the visually riveting connections between interiority and exteriority. In a departure from her recent work, this exhibition features a series of three photographic collages mounted on 4' x 5' translucent plexi-glass panels. The work transcends specificity of time and place, suggesting a reimagined urban environment.

Spirit Totems: Herb Alpert Sculpture 1995-2005

December 11th, 2005 - April 2nd, 2006

A music icon who is world renowned for his extraordinary career, Alpert has worked as a painter since the 1960s and as a sculptor for more than 20 years, and his work has been shown in various galleries and museums around the world. Spirit Totems: Herb Alpert Sculpture 1995 - 2005 brings together his recent body of work, Spirit Totems, which was unveiled this past October in New York City's famed Bryant Park and features other sculpture from the past decade. The exhibition is installed in open-air public spaces throughout the city: the PMCA roof top terrace, the Pasadena Civic Auditorium Plaza, and the Paseo Colorado, an outdoor shopping and dining space.

Raimonds Staprans: Art of Tranquility and Turbulence

January 22 - March 19, 2006

Staprans began working in the Bay Area in the 1950s at a time when other artists in that region were rediscovering figurative painting. With Abstract Expressionism at the forefront of American painting, these artists, which included Richard Diebenkorn, David Park, Roland Peterson, and Wayne Thiebaud - often referred to as the Bay Area Figurative artists - explored inventive new ways to depict traditional subject matter - the figure, landscape, and still life. Staprans created his own distinctive niche within this movement through his pared down compositions and his rich, saturated palette. Although Stapransí work bears connections to the work of these artists, curator Dr. Paul Karlstrom notes a psychological distance from other Bay Area Figurative artists: the paintings rarely depict the human figure and therefore lack the specific drama that it suggests. However, what distinguishes Staprans above all is the degree to which he infuses his realist art with psychological concerns and self-revelation, resulting in the turbulence and tranquility of the exhibitionís title.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

R. Kenton Nelson: Rhyme and Reason/Prose and Cons

November 5, 2005 - March 19, 2006

This Pasadena-based artist's figurative, architectural, and landscape paintings are contemporary recollections of the graphic style exemplified by the American Scene painters, the Regionalists, and the WPA (Works Progress Administration) artists of the 1930s. However, the documentary style of his paintings belies their function as timeless tableaus of American culture. With rich colors and striking compositions, Nelson's paintings impart a sense of the heroic into his scenes of everyday life.

To purchase an exhibition catalogue, click here.

Fun, California Style

November 5, 2005 - March 19, 2006

Fun, California Style is the second exhibition in a four-part series exploring the California Style, a regionalist, mid-century style of painting that was predominantly executed in watercolor. This exhibition focuses on the lifestyle of upwardly mobile Californians at a time when the state was achieving international fame through entertainment, commercial, and agricultural industries. This exhibition includes watercolor and oil paintings by Rex Brandt, Phil Dike, Barse Miller, Charles Payzant, Dorothy Sklar, Jade Woo and Milford Zornes, among others.