Esoteric Survey

Herman Miller fabric, Van Keppel-Green ottoman, Marg Loring owl, Paul Vokening and Howard Warner I'm really fortunate to have some works by Bob Matheny . And also a mask from Bob's wonderful wall of masks.  This photo is from a visit to Bob's house on New Year's day.  2020 has been rough.

While I was at Southwestern College a few weeks ago checking out the original buildings before they get demolished ,  I paid a visit to "Dark" by Bruce Nauman. The sculpture is "a 4’ by 4’ by 4” thick solid steel slab with the word “DARK” written on the bottom. It was purchased as part of the Annual Purchase Award Exhibit: Outdoor Sculpture April 19 - May 10, 1968. $1900 of student funds were used to pay Nauman for the work.  Source: SPEAKOUT , Southwestern College Art Gallery, The First Decade It was a controversy before it was even out of concept form.   Source: Chula Vista Star News, 1968 Little old ladies in tennis shoes did not start this fire. Source: Chula Vista Star News, 1968 Bob Matheny makes a great point.  Source: Chula Vista Star News, 1968 John Baldessari was an instructor at Southwestern College at the time and wrote an essay in defense of "Dark". Here are some of his key points, which are so good and so Baldessari. Read the full essay here ....

Painting by Conrad Woods, 1961 and a planter by Raul Coronel Conrad Woods (1932-1993) was the son of actor Donald Woods .  He studied at UCLA and received a BFA and MFA from the University Illinois, before traveling to Europe and India on a Fulbright Scholarship to study painting and sculpture. Moving to California in 1960, he had gallery representation in Los Angeles and San Diego. While in San Diego, he was included in exhibitions alongside local favorites Richard Allen Morris, Guy Williams, Russell Baldwin, John Baldessari and Bob Matheny.  One such exhibition was in 1964 at Southwestern College. Coincidentally, this relates to my last post on Matheny  since Bob was running the show at the time. It's interesting how things show up out in the field like that. I wonder if Matheny and Morris remember Woods? Image: Objects USA Speaking of out in the field. The painting came from the same estate as these books, which belonged to an architect wh...

BOB MATHENY: ALMOST ANONYMOUS IS THE FIRST MAJOR SURVEY OF THE WORK OF BOB MATHENY This exhibition at the San Diego History Center ends on March 24th!  Since the late 1950s Matheny has developed his expansive practice through the lens of many different disciplines and mediums, including graphic design, sculpture, small press printing, painting, writing, photography, curating and performance. Grounded in the formal tenets of modernist design, but mitigated by a healthy dose of Dada irreverence and Duchampian hijinks, Matheny’s diverse body of work is a singular blend of craftsmanship and concept, idea and object, wit and intelligence. Matheny’s legacy in San Diego’s art community also extends to his role as a committed and progressive educator. In the early 1960s he was the first full-time art instructor at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, a position he held for three decades. During his tenure at Southwestern Matheny founded and programmed the college’s art ...

Bob Matheny: Almost Anonymous is the first major survey of the work of San Diego-based artist Bob Matheny. Since the late 1950s Matheny has developed his expansive practice through the lens of many different disciplines and mediums, including graphic design, sculpture, small press printing, painting, writing, photography, curating and performance. Grounded in the formal tenets of modernist design, but mitigated by a healthy dose of Dada irreverence and Duchampian hijinks, Matheny’s diverse body of work is a singular blend of craftsmanship and concept, idea and object, wit and intelligence. Opening reception: Saturday, December 15, 2018, 4-6 pm                                 San Diego History Center , Balboa Park

Print Culture: Midcentury Modern Graphic Design Curated by Dave Hampton Art Gallery - 9th Floor,   San Diego Central Library Barney Reid and Kay Whitcomb silkscreened textiles    At least the war machine used to have good graphics The defense industry was a huge client for the creatives at the time.  War machine architecture Convair Astronautics by  Pereira & Luckman Convair Astronautics by  Pereira & Luckman. It's long gone.   Photo: Julius Shulman © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles Armin Richter was a great 1950s interiors shop in La Jolla Bob Matheny was commissioned to do a sculpture for Psychology Today. Definitely not a sleeper.  Bob Matheny is smart A wall of exhibition posters by and for some of San Diego's greatest artists. Gary Imhoff, a student of Richard Allen Morris, had his first art s...