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Laguna Art Museum is proud to announce a new partnership with Laguna Beach Live!, an organization cherished by music lovers for its work in bringing performances by top-level, professional musicians to the Laguna Beach community. Beginning in June, the museum and Laguna Beach Live! join forces to present an ongoing series of early-evening concerts in the museum’s galleries, a feast of sight and sound. Not only are the galleries an appropriately beautiful setting in which to experience great music, they also boast fine acoustics. The concerts will take place the second Thursday of each month from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. beginning June 14, and are free to museum members and to non-members with museum admission.
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June 14: Hutchins Consort Quartet
Based in Southern California, the Hutchins Consort brings together a group of extraordinary virtuosi who have acoustically-matched string instruments. The Hutchins Consort displays a breadth and depth that few traditional groups match, and a sound that is truly unique. The Quartet, consisting of Beth Folsom, soprano violin; Maksim Velichkin, baritone violin; Erin Breen, tenor violin; and Joe McNalley on contrabass violin will perform classical and contemporary works.
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July 12: To be announced.
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August 9: Triada Guitar Trio
The Triada Guitar Trio is made up of Bulgarian brothers Nikola, Vasil and Petar Chekardzhikovi who have studied guitar since early childhood and have toured extensively in Europe and the United States. In 2004, they won first prize in the Third Annual Guitar Ensemble Competition in Brownsville, Texas. They will perform spirited classical and contemporary guitar works.
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September 13: Ceora Winds
Ceora Winds is comprised of Michelle Matsumune, flute; Heather Millette, clarinet; and Christin Webb, bassoon who have played chamber music together for ten years, performing throughout Southern California and across the country. Equally adept at classical standards, jazz arrangements, and everything in between, Ceora Winds brings the joy of true chamber music to the community.
Exhibits from Museum News
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Museum Announces New Concert Series
Former Museum Director Passes Away
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Tom Kenneth Enman, 1928-2012 Photo by George Hurrell
Tom Enman, former director of the Laguna Beach Museum of Art (now Laguna Art Museum), passed away on February 23, 2012, the day after his eighty-fourth birthday. Tom shepherded the museum through many years of controversy and change. He was initially hired by Roger Armstrong to manage the Laguna Beach Art Association’s gallery, a position he held for eighteen months. During that time he lobbied for increasing the size of the association’s permanent collection by awarding purchase prizes to artists exhibiting with the Orange County annual exhibitions. Enman became director in 1967, a position he held until 1980. During his tenure, he successfully lobbied for having the association show all periods of art, historical to contemporary.
Tom Enman and his assistant with Maurice Block at the Virginia Steele Scott Foundation exhibition, 1978
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In his first five years as director, Enman presented monographic exhibitions on Karl Benjamin, Roger Kuntz, and Robert Natkin, and a two-person exhibition for Arshile Gorky and Hans Burkhardt. It would be these museum-quality exhibitions and the leadership of board president Jack Glenn that propelled the association to strive for museum status, which they achieved in July 1972. That status afforded the museum the ability to apply for local, state, and federal grants, funds that were sorely needed for the struggling institution. Barbara Steele Williams took over as board president in 1976 and buoyed up the museum’s finances with grants from the Harry and Grace Steele Foundation. In the years following, many other exhibitions of both contemporary and historical work were mounted, including the First All California Photography Exhibition; An Exhibition of Twenty-nine Paintings from the Collection of Mrs. John McLaughlin; and Hard and Cheap, featuring the work of ten funk ceramicists. Historical exhibitions included the ground-breaking Southern California Art, 1890–1940, which showcased many works from the museum’s permanent collection and paved the way for future exhibitions focusing on the early years in California.
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Enman resigned in 1980, after which Dr. William Otton was named director. Through the years Tom donated numerous works to the museum’s collection, two of which—Florence Arnold’s Dark #3 and Jack Zajac’s The Green Airplane—were recently on view in The Postwar Era: From the Collection, 1945–1980.
Making the Museum More Accessible
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Laguna Art Museum has reduced admission prices, instituted new hours of operation, and introduced free student memberships.
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New admission prices to the museum are $7.00 for general admission and $5.00 for students, seniors, and active military. Prices were previously $12.00 and $10.00. Additionally, the museum will be free between major exhibitions when re-installations are in progress and just a portion of the galleries are open.
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Admission for children under 12 and museum members has always been free. In addition, the museum is free every first to all Thursday of the month from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. for the Laguna Beach First Thursdays Art Walk.
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Previously, the museum was open seven days a week, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with extended evening hours on the first Thursday of every month and during the summer. The museum has changed the hours of operations to the following:
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Monday-Tuesday, Friday-Sunday: 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Thursday: 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Closed Wednesday
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In an additional attempt to make the museum more accessible, the museum is now offering free memberships to all full-time students with a valid ID. As members, students will be able to attend the museum’s exhibitions, lectures, and workshops for free as many times as they want year-round. Student members will have access to exhibition opening night parties, tours with curators, and the museum’s art research library.
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Students who interested in signing up for their free student membership can visit the museum front desk or contact Dawn Minegar, membership manager, at dminegar@lagunaartmuseum.org or 949.494.8971 x203.
Museum Board Expands, Includes Tony DeLap
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Laguna Art Museum announced recently that legendary artist and teacher Tony DeLap was voted onto the museum’s Board of Trustees during the Board’s March 13 meeting.
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Known for his abstract sculpture utilizing illusionist techniques and meticulous craftsmanship, Tony DeLap is a pioneer of West Coast minimalism and Op Art. He was born in Oakland in 1927 and taught at the University of California, Irvine from 1964-1991 where he was the first studio art faculty member. DeLap currently lives and works in Corona del Mar and has been very involved with Laguna Art Museum by regularly donating works of art to the museum’s annual art auction fundraiser and by serving as the project consultant for Laguna Art Museum’s recent Pacific Standard Time exhibition Best Kept Secret: UCI and the Development of Contemporary Art in Southern California, 1964-1971. His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art; the Whitney Museum of American Art; The Tate Gallery, London; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Guggenheim Museum; the Hirschhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden; and Laguna Art Museum; among many others.
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“As anyone could guess from his art, Tony is an extraordinarily smart and perceptive person,” said Laguna Art Museum’s Executive Director Dr. Malcolm Warner. “He has a real feeling for museums. Any museum board is enriched by the participation of a working artist, and we are fortunate to have brought in someone of Tony’s stature.”
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The addition of Tony DeLap to the Board of Trustees follows the recent additions of prominent community members Curt Biddulph, Robert Braun, Jane Hanauer, Bob Hayes, Mark Hilbert, and Thomas Stiles, II, all of whom have joined the board during the past six months.
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Curt Biddulph is a senior vice president of U.S. Trust, part of Bank of America’s private wealth management division. Bank of America, a long time supporter of the arts and of Laguna Art Museum, maintains a large corporate art collection which is made available to museums and cultural institutions around the world.
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Robert Braun, a senior partner with Rutan & Tucker, LLP, the largest full-service business law firm based in Orange County, is a resident of Laguna Beach and assisted with reestablishing Laguna Art Museum after the short-lived 1996 merger of the old Laguna Art Museum and Newport Harbor Art Museum, which created the Orange County Museum of Art.
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Jane Hanauer is the proprietor of Laguna Beach Books and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Friendship Shelter.
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Bob Hayes, also a Laguna Beach resident, is the co-founder and vice president of Burba Hotel Network (BHN), the worldwide leader in developing and organizing conferences for the hotel and tourism investment community. Bob holds the Scottish title Baron of Delgaty, which is associated with the Clan Hay Centre at Delgatie Castle.
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Mark Hilbert is the president of Hilbert Properties, a private Newport Beach based real estate management company. Mark and his wife Janet have a large and important art collection with a focus on California Scene Painting. Selections from the Hilbert collection have been exhibited at many museums, including a 2009 Irvine Museum exhibition titled The Good Life California Watercolors, 1930-1950.
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Thomas Stiles, II is a retired Wall Street executive with over 30 years of experience in the sector. Tom previously served on the Board of Trustees of Laguna Art Museum, holding the position of Vice President and chairman of Strategic Planning when he left in 2005. He and his wife are long term supporters of the museum and are prominent collectors of museum quality California Impressionist paintings.
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“These new members bring a great depth of knowledge of the community and a desire to help the museum attain its goals of providing world-class exhibitions and educational programs and building an exemplary permanent collection of art,” said Board President Robert Hayden III. “The museum’s bylaws currently allow for a maximum of forty Trustees and I would very much like to continue to grow the Board by adding individuals that have a passion for providing art to our community.”
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“A strong institution has to be strong from the top down,” continues Dr. Warner. “I applaud the current members of the Board for the splendid work they have done in acquiring new members, and we will work together to continue this into the future.”
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As part of the three-year strategic plan adopted in September 2010 and funded by a $375,000 grant from the James Irvine Foundation, a commitment to growing and strengthening the museum’s Board of Trustees is a key priority. The museum’s Board has doubled in size in the last year. Members of the Board make a significant personal financial commitment to the museum, provide guidance and leadership, build community connections, and serve as ambassadors for the museum. The recent addition of these new Trustees is a testament to successful community engagement by the staff and Board of Laguna Art Museum.
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Image at top: A gallery shot of Laguna Art Museum’s 2009 exhibition Collecting California: Selections from Laguna Art Museum featuring Tony DeLaps’ installation Houdin’s House (1967).
Spring 2012 Exhibitions in the News
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Read news stories and reviews of the museum’s current exhibitions The Postwar Era: From the Collection, 1945-1980 and Victor Hugo Zayas: Mi Obra.
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“Zayas is not a timid artist. He is bold and puts his heart and soul onto the canvas.” ~ Richard Chang, The Orange County Register
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>> The Orange County Register
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>> Coastline Pilot
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>> Santa Barbara Independent
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>> Laguna Beach Patch
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>> Laguna Beach Independent
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>> Artweek.LA (The Postwar Era)
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>> Artweek.LA (Victor Hugo Zayas)
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>> The Huffington Post
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>> Art Knowledge News
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>> OC Weekly
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>> KUSC, Arts Alive (March 24, 2012 episode)
Art Auction 2012
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Laguna Art Museum would like to thank everyone who helped make Art Auction 2012 a success including the auction committee, staff members, volunteers, participating galleries, and the generous sponsors. Special thanks to the participating artists who donated their work to this exciting event.
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Art Auction 2012 recap video by Michael Farmer Photography.
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ABOUT THE EVENT
Laguna Art Museum’s 2012 Art Auction fundraiser grossed approximately $182,000 on February 4, 2012 for the museum’s education and exhibition programs, which is $50,000 more than it raised at its 2011 Art Auction.
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Additionally, attendance increased by 35% from 2011 with 584 people attending the 2012 soiree. Of the 106 participating auction artists, 47 attended including Marlo and Cathy Bartels, Guillermo Bert, Mark Chamberlain, Deborah Davidson, Jorge Dubin, Jacques Garnier, Tomb Lamb, Nobuhito Nishigawara, Vladimir Sokolov, Theodore Svenningsen, James Verbicky, and Victor Hugo Zayas (whose solo exhibition opens at Laguna Art Museum on February 26, 2012).
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Fourteen of the 106 works sold at or above value. The top three works sold at the event were in the live auction and included Summer Séance by Tony DeLap which sold for $17,000, The Electric Fields II by Theodore Svenningsen which sold for $12,000, and Blitz (Study One) by James Verbicky which sold for $7,150. The top item sold in the silent auction was Beverly Hills Adjacent by Scott Yeskel which sold for $6,500. Seventy percent of the works sold, and the remaining pieces are available on the museum’s website through Friday, February 10 at the minimum bid price which is 50% of the stated value.
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The museum transformed into a glamorous art lounge on February 4, 2012 for its annual art auction fundraiser. Art Auction 2012: California Art Lounge showcased works of art from over 100 premier California artists, which were sold during a fast-paced live auction as well as a silent auction. The live auction was led by auctioneer Jim Nye, Laguna Art Museum’s new executive director Dr. Malcolm Warner, and curator of exhibitions Grace Kook-Anderson. Attendees had the opportunity to support the museum’s education and exhibition programs by adding works of art by California artists to their collections.
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In addition to art, Art Auction 2012 featured a sampling of cuisine from local restaurants including Nirvana Grille, Pelican Hill, Romeo Cucina, French 75, Tamarind of London, and Katsuya by Stark; cocktails with tequila by Tres Sietes and vodka by Ketel One and Finladia; wine from The Organic Cellar; live DJ entertainment provided by The Observatory; floral design by Roger’s Gardens; and live art performances by Hans Haveron, John Park, Michael Pukac, and Mimi Yoon sponsored by BLUECANVAS. Attendees had the chance to mingle with participating artists, fellow collectors, and the museum’s new executive director Dr. Malcolm Warner. Following the auction, the museum hosted an afterparty featuring desserts by Simply Sweet Cakery, duck tacos by French 75, cocktails, and dancing.
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Led by Art Auction 2012 co-chairs Sara Heeschen, Michele Monda, and Sarah Thorne-Markman; and committee members Jennifer Karam, Elizabeth Kramer, Deborah Lake, and Director of Special Events Sarah Strozza; Laguna Art Museum’s annual Art Auction has quickly become one of Orange County’s most exciting art and social experiences. This event is a major annual fundraiser for the museum’s education and exhibition programs. Many of the artists that participated in Art Auction 2012 have been involved with Laguna Art Museum over the past year in exhibitions such as Best Kept Secret: UCI and Development of Contemporary Art in Southern California, 1964-1971, and special events like Palette to Palate and the 13th Annual Laguna Beach Plain Air Painting Invitational.
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Art Auction 2012 photos by Eric Stoner.
Laguna Art Museum Welcomes New Community Engagement Associate
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In 2009, Laguna Art Museum received an Arts Regional Initiative grant from The James Irvine Foundation. Portions of the grant are intended to help the museum engage and widen its audience with the help of a part-time community engagement specialist. Laguna Art Museum is pleased to announce that it has added Jennifer Gardiner to its staff as the new community engagement associate. Jennifer will aid the museum with its educational programs and community events.
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Jennifer Gardiner received her B.F.A. with an emphasis in painting and printmaking at San Diego State University in 2005; and her M.F.A. in Art Education with a concurrent Graduate Certificate in Museum and Curatorial Studies at California State University, Long Beach in 2011. She brings over seven years experience to the museum through her previous positions with multiple art museums, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Currently, Jennifer is the co-founder/director of the non-profit organization C.A.R.E. (Community Arts Re-imagining Education), whose mission is to provide art education to under-served youths.
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“My life’s passion is to provide unique opportunities for people that create meaningful engagements with art,” she said. “I look forward to developing exciting new programs and enhancing Laguna Art Museum’s current programs for the community at large.”
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The museum looks forward to welcoming Jennifer on February 13!
2012 Members’ Magazine
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The Laguna Art Museum Members’ Magazine is an annual publication created exclusively for Laguna Art Museum members. Become a member today to receive your copy in the mail.
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The digital edition of the 2012 Members’ Magazine is now available online. Click on the magazine below to peruse the publication:
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Members’ Magazine 2012
Laguna Art Museum Announces Executive Director
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Dear Laguna Art Museum Supporter,
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The Board of Trustees of Laguna Art Museum is pleased to announce that Malcolm Warner, deputy director at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, has been appointed executive director of Laguna Art Museum. Mr. Warner will assume his position January 3, 2012.
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Malcolm Warner
I am so pleased to have an executive director who is an internationally recognized scholar, arts leader, and an individual who is beloved by the local community he currently serves. Mr. Warner is the ideal executive director to lead Laguna Art Museum due to his historical art background coupled with his desire to engage contemporary art and artists. He will continue the museum’s dedication to quality programming with a focused examination of California art while also broadening and deepening access and engaging the local community.
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Mr. Warner joined the Kimbell Art Museum ten years ago as senior curator. He was previously curator of European art at the San Diego Museum of Art and senior curator of paintings and sculpture at the Yale Center for British Art. He became the Kimbell’s deputy director in 2007 and served for a period of eighteen months as the museum’s acting director.
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The exhibitions Mr. Warner has curated at the Kimbell include Stubbs and the Horse, also shown at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, and the National Gallery, London (2004-2005); The Mirror and the Mask: Portraiture in the Age of Picasso, also shown at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid (2007); and Butchers, Dragons, Gods & Skeletons: Film Installations by Philip Haas Inspired by Works in the Collection (2009).
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The Mirror and the Mask was Apollo magazine’s Exhibition of the Year in 2007, and Butchers, Dragons, Gods & Skeletons was listed as no. 7 in TIME magazine’s “Top Ten Exhibitions” of 2009.
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While serving as acting director at the Kimbell, Mr. Warner brought to the museum an exhibition of some of the most celebrated and iconic works of the great Impressionist painters through a loan of about ninety paintings from the Chicago Art Institute’s world-renowned Impressionist collection. The Art Institute’s Impressionist collection had never before left Chicago in such a large group.
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Warner helped devise the functional building program for the Kimbell’s new building, and since 2007 has been a member of the team of four staff members working closely with Renzo Piano and his associates through the process of design. The building is now under construction and due to be completed in 2013.
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Mr. Warner was born in Aldershot, England, and pursued both undergraduate and graduate studies at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. He received his Ph.D. from the Courtauld in 1985. His doctoral dissertation was on the Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais. He remains the leading authority on Millais and, as a long-term project, is preparing a catalogue raisonné of the artist’s works.
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Among the exhibitions that Mr. Warner curated before joining the Kimbell are The Victorians: British Painting in the Reign of Queen Victoria, 1837-1901, at the National Gallery of Art, Washington (1997); This Other Eden: British Paintings from the Paul Mellon Collection at Yale, which toured Australian museums (1998); Millais: Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery, London (1999); James Tissot: Victorian Life/Modern Love at the Yale Center for British Art and other venues (1999); and Great British Paintings from American Collections: Holbein to Hockney at Yale and the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California (2001-2002).
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His publications have ranged widely over European art from the eighteenth century to the twentieth, with an emphasis on art in Britain. They include various articles and essays on Millais and other Victorian painters, an introductory history of portraiture, a guidebook to places in Britain associated with artists, and a catalogue of British paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago. He has taught courses in art history at the University of Manchester, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Chicago.
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The Board of Trustees selected Mr. Warner after an extensive search, following the resignation of Bolton Colburn in May 2011. The search committee, headed by myself, included members of the museum’s Executive Committee—Rick Balzer, Marshall Eichenauer, Jr., and Elyse Caraco Miller—as well as prominent community members Emil Monda, Craig Sannum, Dr. Igal Silber, Carol Rhoads, and Dennis Boyer. Until 2004, Mr. Boyer was a senior partner with the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles in the Los Angeles office. He provided his services to Laguna Art Museum on a pro-bono basis and the Board of Trustees is incredibly thankful for the professionalism, dedication, and skill with which Mr. Boyer led the search committee.
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Mr. Warner will take up his new position at the beginning of the new year. He will move to California with his wife, Sara, and children, Maddy (17) and Charlie (13). Please join me in welcoming him to Laguna Art Museum!
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With kind regards,
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Robert Hayden III
President, Board of Trustees
Laguna Art Museum
Best Kept Secret In the News
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“Indicative of the experimental zeitgeist of the time, UCI can take its rightful place in the historical vanguard of Southern California art.” ~ Sharon Mizota, The Los Angeles Times
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“Despite the narrative threads that must be laid down as a foundation, as well as the rise of conceptualism and the mantra that ‘painting is dead’ during this period, Best Kept Secret is a surprisingly visual and abundant show.” ~ Richard Chang, The Orange County Register
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Read news stories and reviews of the museum’s recent exhibition Best Kept Secret: UCI and the Development of Contemporary Art in Southern California, 1964-1971.
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>> The Los Angeles Times
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>> The Orange County Register
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>> The Orange County Register (Pacific Standard Time)
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>> The Laguna Beach Independent
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>> Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot (Pacific Standard Time)
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>> Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot
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>> The Huffington Post
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>> The Buddah Diaries
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>> AFAnews.com
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>> Stu News Laguna
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>> ArtDaily.org
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>> Laguna Beach Patch
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>> The Orange County Register (Focus Weekend)
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>> Artillery Magazine
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>> OC Weekly