Esoteric Survey

  Inside the Design Center Ilse and Lloyd Ruocco’s Design Center, located in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego, was a foundation for the modern design community of the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. Inside the Design Center brings to life a vignette of mid-twentieth century interior, lighting, and furniture design, featuring pieces by significant California designers, manufacturers, and craftspeople as selected by Ilse Ruocco for her 1950 showroom. This exhibition offers an immersive, revelatory window into San Diego’s culture of modernism through the lens of architecture, design, interior decorating, home goods retailing, landscape architecture, graphic design, and photography. Historic images of the Design Center set the backdrop for over 30 original pieces of modernist furnishings. Works by designers such as Ray Eames, Charles Eames, Greta Magnusson Grossman, Dorothy Schindele, Milo Baughman, and Edith Heath of Heath Ceramics are included.  Guest Co-Curators: Dave Hampton wi...

  Boundless: Reflections of the Southern California Landscapes in Midcentury Studio Ceramics explores how the physical, social, and political landscapes of the area shaped craft. Nearly 150 objects from Mingei’s permanent collection, set against large-scale photography, transport us to the breathtaking locations reflected in the ceramics. Through these landscapes and the awe-inspiring science of clay, glaze, and fire, this exhibition celebrates Southern California mid-twentieth century ceramics. Curated by  Guusje Sanders There are a large number of Laura Andreson pieces in the exhibition and there's a reason for that. Andreson started the ceramics department at UCLA in 1933. Over 5,000 students studied under her  until she retired in 1970. This includes Martha Longenecker in 1939, who founded Mingei International Museum in 1978.  In 1982, Mingei organized the exhibition Laura Andreson — A Fifty-Year Retrospective in Clay. It was curated by Mingei founder and then D...