Category Archives: Graduate Art

Come Hear Artist Jeff Wall Speak

Tuesday, January 17, 7:30 pm, L.A. Times Media Center

Vancouver-based artist, Jeff Wall (b. 1946), widely recognized for both his pioneering photography and his trenchant writing on the medium and its place in contemporary art, will be speaking at Art Center Tuesday, January 17 at 7:30 pm in the L. A. Times Media Center. The event, sponsored by the Graduate Art program, is open to the entire Art Center community.

Wall has exhibited regularly at the Marian Goodman Gallery in New York since 1989, and he has been the subject of numerous museum shows, including a comprehensive 2005 European survey, “Jeff Wall, Photographs 1978-2004,” which opened at the Schaulager Museum, Basel, Switzerland, before traveling in a reduced version to London’s Tate Modern as “Photographs 1978-2004.” “Jeff Wall,” a retrospective organized by New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the San Francisco Museum of Art, opened two years later, in 2007, and subsequently traveled to The Art Institute of Chicago. To mark the occasion, MoMA published “Jeff Wall: Selected Essays and Interviews,” a collection bringing together 25 years of the artist’s words. This past summer, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, mounted an exhibition entitled “Jeff Wall: The Crooked Path,” a selection of his own work together with that of a broad range of artists with whom he has felt affinities.

Wall earned his Masters of Arts at the University of British Columbia, where he graduated in 1970 with a thesis entitled: “Berlin Dada and the Notion of Context”. He subsequently traveled to London in pursuit of his doctorate at The Courtland Institute (1970-73), where he studied with noted art historian T.J. Clark. Returning to Canada, Wall served as assistant professor at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1974-5), and at Simon Frasier University (1976-87), and went on to lecture at the University of British Columbia.

A galvanizing figure in the Canadian art world since the early 1970s, Wall has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement (2008). In 2006 Wall was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and named an Officer of the Order of Canada the following year.

4 Hours Solid: April 20


Art Center’s newest tradition is back for its second year. Join us for 4 Hours Solid, an annual showcase of work and ideas from Art Center’s graduate programs in Art, Broadcast Cinema, Industrial Design and Media Design. Enjoy four jam-packed hours of exhibitions, screenings, installations, presentations, food trucks and more. The event will be held at South Campus. You won’t want to miss it!

4 Hours Solid
Wednesday, April 20, 6-10 p.m.
South Campus

In Case You Missed It

As you know, there’s always something going on when it comes to Art Center alumni, students and faculty.

Photo by Jennie Warren

Some of the latest:

  • Photography and Imaging alumna Jennie Warren shot a recent cover and feature story for LA Weekly. Even more interesting—the image was created in camera with no post-production. LA Weekly
  • Product Design alum Spencer Nikosey introduces new products, including the iPad 2 carrying case, all made in his downtown L.A. studio. KillSpencer.com
  • Professor Yoshio Ikezaki has a solo exhibition of washi sculptures—The Poetry Of Paper, The Earth Breathes – Mind Landscape—at PYO Gallery through April 23. PYO Gallery
  • A collection of four video works by Graduate Art alumna Emilie Halpern are on display in Cafe Hammer through April 10. Hammer
  • Graduate student Yuin Chein shows us what the Web would be like if Google were a lackluster employee. Sloppy Google

Graduate Art Conference March 11-12

Art Center’s Graduate Art Department will host an international conference, Everything Is In Everything, on the work of Jacques Rancière March 11 and 12. The theme will focus on “aesthetic education,” a philosophical and political program first proposed by Friedrich Schiller in the last decade of the 18th century and the subject of Rancière’s recent innovative work on the relation between aesthetics and politics.

From his earliest work, the theme of education has been at the center of Rancière’s concerns. The questions forming the horizon of this conference are: What would it mean to propose a new “aesthetic education” of humanity today? How would the resurrection of this concept transform the current concepts of art, politics and pedagogy? To what extent is it necessary to return to the founding moments of aesthetic theory to re-articulate the relation between art and politics today?

Held at Art Center’s South Campus, the conference will bring together senior and junior scholars as well as internationally acclaimed artists working in the field of contemporary political and aesthetic theory.

The conference is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are required. For more information, including the conference schedule and list of participants, please visit artcenter.edu/gradart/conference.

In Case You Missed It

As you know, there’s always something going on when it comes to Art Center alumni, students and faculty. Some of the latest:

  • The L.A. Times delves into the mind and art of Grad Art alumna Frances Stark. L.A. Times

    Frances Stark

  • Norman Rockwell Museum debuts digitization efforts, including audio of a lecture Rockwell made at Art Center in 1949. Litchfield County Times
  • San Francisco photographer and Photography alumna Leslie Williamson’s new book documents the homes of iconic mid-century modern designers. SFGate
  • Pasadena artist Kenton Nelson will open his rarely seen studio as part of the Sidney D. Gamble lecture series on Jan. 29 at Art Center. Tickets are $20. Pasadena Star News
  • Catching up with Illustration alum Jeremy Steiner. Calabasas Patch

Now Showing: Art Center Alumni, Faculty and Students


Danger, Set Free, by Rob and Christian Clayton (2008)

A few current exhibits featuring work of Art Center students, alumni and faculty:

  • Clayton Brothers: Inside Out, a new major exhibition at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, presents paintings and mixed-media installations created collaboratively by Illustration alums Rob and Christian Clayton. The exhibit will be on view through January 2, 2011. Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
  • Graduate Art faculty member Taft Green’s new show, Settings, opens at Praterstrasse48 Berlin on Sept. 30.   Praterstrasse48
  • Graduate Art faculty member Skip Arnold, Graduate Art alums Jennifer Moon and Jeff Ostergren, and Fine Art alumnus Jorge Pardo are in a group show opening Sept. 25 and curated by Grad Art faculty member Jan Tumlir, Jerry/Jury Rigged, at the Glendale College Art Gallery.  Glendale College Art Gallery
  • Fine Art alum Devin Strother currently has a solo show at Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica. Richard Heller Gallery
  • The Blab! Show features work by Illustration alums Marc Burckhardt, Owen Smith and Lou Beach. Through Oct. 2 at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica. The Blab! Show
  • Grad Art alumna Emilie Halpern’s latest show, Eclipse, on display at Pepin Moore through Oct. 23. Pepin Moore
  • Painting faculty member Kent Williams has a solo show at Evoke in New Mexico through Sept. 30. Evoke Contemporary
  • Alumna Korin Faught has an opening September 25 at Corey Helford Gallery. Corey Helford Gallery
  • MDP student An Xiao Mina participating in a poetry reading this Saturday at the Pacific Asia Museum. Southern California Haiku Study Group Anthology

What did we miss? If you know of any student, alumni or faculty shows, let us know.

Meet Steve Gavenas

Steve Gavenas had already earned numerous degrees, and enjoyed a successful career, before coming to Art Center to pursue his master’s in Graduate Art.

“I was looking for a world-class fine art graduate program that would challenge me and help me grow in my technical capability as well as the theoretical underpinning of my work, expand my artistic vision, and allow me to join the vibrant Los Angeles art scene,” explains Gavenas. “I also wanted a school that takes education seriously, with intensive faculty involvement and great classes—not just a residency program like some schools.”

Read more about Steve and his Art Center experience at in this great interview.

Now Showing: Grad Art Alumni and Faculty

Our Graduate Art Department members and alums have been busy this summer! A few current exhibits:

Emilie Halpern, Marble Letter

  • Through August 7: Alumnus Brian Kennon has a solo exhibit, Group Shows, at Steve Turner Contemporary.
  • July 30 through August 20: Alumnus Tad Beck is in a group show/event, Its Own Nothingness, at Krowswork in Oakland. He is also will have an installation, Palimpsest, as part of LACMA’s Manly Pursuits, July 25 through October 15.
  • Through August 21: Grad Fine Art faculty member Walead Beshty organized the exhibition Picture Industry (Goodbye to All That) at Regen Projects, featuring more than 30 artists.
  • Through August 21: Alumna Emilie Halpern is in a group show, Long Long Gone, at Leo Koenig in New York. Her work can also be seen in the curated online artist resource “Culturehall” issue #46: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.
  • Through September 4: Alumna Jennifer West is in a group show, Just a Matter of Time, at Iris Kadel in Karlsruhe, Germany.

What did we miss? If you know of any student, alumni or faculty shows, let us know.

Summertime Is Showtime

A number of our students and alumni are exhibiting work this summer in galleries around the country. A few current exhibits:

  • Photography and Imaging student Chase Koopersmith has work in the group show Inspired, opening at the Steven Kasher Gallery in New York on July 14.
  • Advertising alum Ed Mell’s solo exhibit, Ed Mell: Paintings of the New West, is currently on display at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

We’re sure there are some we’ve missed. If you know of any student or alumni shows, let us know.

(Pictured: Outside AB Tool Crib: Matt, Mike, Carey, Steven, John, Mel and Karl by Sharon Lockhart.)

In Case You Missed It

As you know, there’s always something going on when it comes to Art Center alumni, students and faculty. Some of the latest:

  • Linkin Park 8-Bit Rebellion!, a new game for iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone, pits players against an evil company planning to ruin gaming with HD graphics. Illustration alum and band member Mike Shinoda designed avatars for each of his bandmates and oversaw the new app’s writing, story and gameplay. Wired Game Life
  • The home is a castle for some, but for artist and Product Design alum Roy Mercer, it’s a live-in art gallery. Victoria Times Colonist
  • Illustration alum Mark Ryden’s latest show, The Gay 90′s: Old Tyme Art Show, features works inspired by the 1890s. Paul Kasmin Gallery
  • MFA alum T. J. Wilcox introduces three new films for his May 2010 exhibition at Metro Pictures. artdaily.org
  • Photography alumna Livia Corona documents an interesting twist on the wild world of Mexican bullfighters. Vanguard
  • Pasadena Weeky illustrator and Illustration alumna Ching Ching Cheng will have two paintings displayed at the Louvre in June. Pasadena Weekly
  • Art Center will will host a gathering of leaders and innovators in imaging, technology, media and education at the first-ever Imaging DNA conference in July. Art Center Press Release
  • Call to artists: Pasadena ARTWalk is taking applications for its October event. ArtWalk 2010
  • Illustration alumna Cecilie Starin uses her fine art background in both fashion design and her recently launched interior design business. San Francisco Gate