Contact: Carol Sauvion
Freehand Gallery: 310-659-9022
Craft in America Study Center: 323-951-061
(Los Angeles, CA) - In conjunction with the Getty Institute’s initiative, “Pacific Standard Time”, the Craft in America Study Center will partner with Freehand Gallery to present an exhibition entitled The Eighties.
The Eighties includes vintage work of established craft artists who, at the time, were fresh out of local Southern California art schools - UCLA, Chouinard, Otis, Scripps, Cal State Long Beach, et al. This was a time of tremendous energy and creative experimentation in Southern California, with an emphasis on natural forms and hand-made objects. The work in this exhibition relates to the Craft and Folk Art Museum’s concurrent exhibition Golden State of Craft: California 1960-1985 and will open September 17th through December 31st, 2011.
Lectures Series:
October 6th- Beverly Maloof and Mike Johnson from Maloof Woodworking
October 13th- Gerard O’Brien, Owner and Director, Reform Gallery
October 29th- Steven Portigal, Ceramic Artist and teacher
November 10th- Katie Nartonis, Junior Specialist and Business Manager, 20th Century Decorative Arts, Bonhams & Butterfields
November 17th- Garry Knox Bennett, Furniture Artist
The Freehand Gallery opened its doors in August 1980, one of the first galleries in Los Angeles to represent fine American Craft. Customers were offered a chance to view and purchase work not readily available in the west. Freehand Gallery will host an exhibition of contemporary work for sale by artists in the Study Center exhibition, all of whom were represented by Freehand Gallery in the eighties. Freehand Gallery’s opening is also September 17th. The show closes on October 22nd, 2011.
Participating will be artists from the UCLA Ceramics MFA program, Steven Portigal, Tres Feltman and David Wulfeck who began their careers at Freehand. Other artists included are Kerry Feldman, who studied with glass artist Richard Marquis at UCLA and Keiko Fukazawa, who studied with ceramic artist Ralph Baccera at Otis College of Art.
The Wearable Art Movement, which was in full swing in the eighties as well, is represented in both venues by Deborah Cross and Diana Jahns, whose work has been available at Freehand from the very beginning. These nationally known fiber artists will be joined by Angeleno Ruth Katzenstein, known for her woven screens and accessories.
Additionally, the classically designed jewelry of Michael Bayes, trained at the Royal Academy of Goldsmiths in London, will be on view. Bayes work has been collected by Freehand patrons for over thirty years.
The Craft in America Study Center is the outreach location for the Craft in America project, which produces a documentary series on craft for PBS. The Freehand Gallery, genesis of Craft in America, has been a popular Los Angeles shopping destination since 1980.
Craft in America Study Center: 8415 W. Third Street, LA, CA 90048 (323.951.0610)
For more about Craft in America:
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Freehand Gallery: 8413 W. Third Street, LA, CA 90048 (323.655.2607)
www.freehand.com
