Yes, I should get out more, but I did make it to the following art shows here in LA in 2009:
- Brewery Art Colony Los Angeles Fall Art Walk Oct. 24-25, 2009
- Getty Center: Out of Bounds: Images in the Margins of Medieval Manuscripts (closed 11/08/09)
- Hammer Museum: Heat Waves in a Swamp: The Paintings of Charles Burchfield (closed 1/3/10) and R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis: Exhibition Walkthrough (closes ?)
I was most impressed by the Burchfield exhibit, both because of the scope of the exhibition (including many sketchbooks, wallpaper and other objects from his designs and illustrations) and the artistic journey of this visionary watercolorist. After viewing all the work, I walked back through the show from beginning to end, to note the artist’s progression, especially the transition where he escaped the restraint of his middle work and coupled youthful early energy and feeling to masterful maturity. The rather simple device of adding paper to the sides of his early watercolors allowed him to literally rework and enlarge his vision. I found the results he achieved in his late paintings inspiring.
http://www.mocfa.org/exhibitions/ex_archives/ex_opensource/index_opensource.htm
