FALL 2015 EXHIBITIONS
September 25, 2015 to January 3, 2016

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A Professor and Chair of the Roski School of Fine Arts at the University of Southern California where she has taught since 1986, Margaret Lazzari is the Fresno Art Museum’s Council of 100 Distinguished Woman Artist of 2015. A classically trained painter who received her MFA from Washington University in St. Louis, Lazzari’s works are abstractions that can be interpreted as metaphors for moments in life involving transformation, upheaval, or energized states. Curated by Michele Ellis Pracy, FAM Executive Director & Chief Curator, and Kristina Hornback, Curator, the selected paintings employ bold color juxtaposed with free flowing forms and expressive brushstrokes and range from monumental to intimate. In the words of the artist, “painting is another word for feeling.”

Images:  Margaret Lazzari, Water Cycle, 2012 and Copper Landscape II, 2015, acrylic on canvas

Exhibition Support: Fresno Art Museum's Council of 100


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In recognition of the legacy of local photographer Hanna S. Barsam, the Fresno Art Museum is proud to host a biennial photography exhibition with the generous support of the Hanna S. Barsam Estate Funds of the Fresno Regional Foundation

Guest curated by Jay Belloli, former director of the gallery programs at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, the theme of the 2015 Hanna S. Barsam Photography Invitational is Urban California. Mr. Belloli has selected eleven photographers from Southern California, Central California, and the San Francisco Bay Area to take part in this exhibition. Each selected photographer explores the urban experience and the human reaction to the man-made environment as captured through a lens. Just as Mr. Barsam was known for his innovative and often avant-garde approach to photography, this invitational showcases photographers that push the envelope with regards to technique and subject matter.

Images:  Connie Samaras, Edge of Twilight 16, 2010-2013, archival pigment print, courtesy of the Artist and DeSoto Gallery; and Mark Swope, Los Angeles, CA (M02-0014), 2002, archival pigment print, courtesy of the Artist and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, California.


 

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The eight works exhibited in from The Lake were realized while Ron Wigginton lived temporarily at Morris Graves’ studio, “The Lake”, as an artist-in-residence over a three-week period. Cocooned in Morris Graves’ highly personal physical environment, Wigginton was inspired to make these particular paintings and to keep a journal of his accompanying thoughts. 

 

Morris Graves' retreat served to support and enhance the creativity of Ron Wigginton by providing him uninterrupted time for work and reflection in a setting of intimate natural beauty. Included in this exhibition are two artworks by Morris Graves, objects from his studio and house, generously loaned by the Morris Graves Foundation.

 

Images: Ron Wigginton, Full and Empty Form, 2011, co-polymer, dye, colored pencils and metalics on 140 pound cold press Arches paper; and Bridge (Sambhogakaya), 2011, co-polymer, dye and metalics on Persimmon paper

 


 

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The portfolio exhibited here, entitled Insetos, was created by California artist Bob Nugent. It consists of twenty etchings, each watercolored by hand, depicting the colorful and diverse insect life that make their home in the Amazon Basin. Accompanying the renderings of the Amazonian insects is a poem by Donn Brannon, a National Humanities Scholar poet. The portfolio is part of the Fresno Art Museum's permanent collection.