Honoring 90-Years of Distinguished Works with Art from 1930’s – 2022
Rounding out the year-long celebration of the Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach ninetieth anniversary, the award-winning arts destination is pleased to announce its latest off-site exhibit: Selections from the Permanent Art Collection, is open for guests to experience and browse through Jan. 13, 2023. Comprising pieces from the Festival of Arts Permanent Art Collection, this exhibit features Laguna Beach paintings from the early 1900s and recent acquisitions by the Festival of Arts. The curated display of 20 art pieces acquired throughout the Festival’s history is located at Laguna Beach City Hall during its public operating hours. Admission is free.
“This exhibit features artworks from the Festival of Arts Permanent Art Collection that range from the 1930’s to recent times,” said exhibit curator Pat Sparkuhl. “The variety of subject matter, as well as media, illustrates the wonderful diversity of artwork that has been recognized and collected by the Festival of Arts.”
“Selections from the Permanent Art Collection” offer a special glimpse inside the Festival’s roughly 1,100-piece Permanent Collection. Artworks on display include a series of photographs of Laguna Beach Greeter, Elier Larsen, by Ronald A. Greene, a watercolor painting titled “Shore Reconstruction” by Philip Latimer Dike, a photograph entitled “Red Aloe” by Brian Day, and more. Other artists on display in this exhibition include Arthur Beaumont, Dorothy Jordan, Tom Lamb, Thomas Waddelow. and David Rosen.
This exhibit also displays two of the Festival’s most recent acquisitions to the Permanent Art Collection: a watercolor painting titled “Raven” by Molly Hutchings and a photograph titled “Times Square Saturday Night” by Chris Bliss. Both Hutchings and Bliss are long-time Festival exhibitors of more than nearly 30 years. The Festival’s Permanent Art Collect acquired their work for the first time this past summer.
The Festival’s Permanent Art Collection showcases how the Festival became a major influence in the art world of Southern California and is a time capsule of local art from the last century. Housing over one thousand diverse and eclectic pieces, the Permanent Art Collection is valued by the organization for its cultural and historical significance about the art, culture, and ability to tell the story of the birth of the Festival and local art scene. Another exhibit of curated pieces from the collection, entitled “People & Places,” is available at foaSOUTH located within Active Culture through Jan. 15, 2023. To learn more about the Festival of Arts, and the Permanent Art Collection visit www.LagunaFestivalofArts.org.
The Festival of Arts “Selections of the Permanent Art Collection” exhibit is free of cost to the public and will run through Jan. 13, 2023. The exhibit is on display at Laguna Beach City Hall, located at 505 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach. The exhibit is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., every other Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and closed every other Friday and holidays. The Festival of Arts is a non-profit organization whose proceeds support the arts in and about Laguna Beach.
