Blue Door Magazine | Issue 21

ITALIAN-AMERICAN CUISINE

American made Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove appliances are nestled seamlessly into beautiful Italian cabinetry from Aranelli in this display at our Laguna Design Center showroom. See similar displays featuring these two brands in each of our Southern California showrooms.

FISCHER AVE, SUITE

COST

714.540

MESA,

714.540

Sue Capelli defines the complete custom design experience. For over 25 years Sue has transformed spaces and helped people build their dream homes. Sue’s extensive scope includes interior design along with custom design pieces, business development and product management.

PHOTOS

22 Scenes

Parties, galas, charitable gatherings, and more.

28 Garden Party

Sherman and Rogers, OC’s garden oases of ease, botany, and beauty, also offer culinary abundance.

32 Family Matters

Rex McKown and Marcy Weinstein set the residential real estate bar high with authenticity and experience.

40 Design Matters

Ideas, insight, and inspiration from the design community.

44 BDM Members

Brian Furstenfeld’s real estate career started with cool cars.

46 Real Estate Gallery

Exclusive OC real estate listings from Blue Door Magazine members.

76 OCMA Arrives

The long-anticipated debut of a stunning new Orange County Museum of Art on the campus of Segerstrom Center for the Arts completes a visionary transformation of Costa Mesa into a center of art, culture, and creativity.

78 Stepping Up

Sanford Biggers’ sculpture Of Many Waters will activate a contemplative space on OCMA’s outdoor upper terrace.

80 Full Circle

Fred Eversley’s OCMA retrospective casts a reflective glow on art, architecture, and perception.

88 Arts Leaders

A broad-based and diverse group of dedicated California arts visionaries are making the dream of a new Orange County Museum of Art come true.

100 California Cool

The California Biennial 2022 allows Orange County Museum of Art to explore the art of an era for a diverse and changing community.

108 13 Women

Honoring the original female founders of Orange County Museum of Art, 13 Women features work from the museum’s permanent collection.

120 13 Women: Joan Brown, Carrie Mae Weems, and Alexis Smith

An expansive look at work by three artists in OCMA’s permanent collection, including in 13 Women and exhibitions in other museums.

154 Land Shaper

The OCMA exhibition Peter Walker: Minimalist Landscape will explore the open spaces of Orange County’s cultural center.

Transitional Textures by the Beach

Brett Hillyard Creative Director/ Photographer

Brett Hillyard (aka “Hilly”) is a Southern California native with a Fine Arts degree from USC. Hilly is a freelance documentary and advertising photographer known for capturing black and white candid photographs. He shoots and processes his own film and finds a genuine richness in the analog process. Hilly resides in Laguna Beach, where the ocean plays a big role in his life, both as a surfer and an open-water swimmer. If you would like to learn more, please visit hillycollective.com.

ON THE COVER

So here was the challenge: we wanted—no needed!—to have the new OCMA building on the cover. The only problem: the stunning new museum designed by Thom Mayne and Morphosis was not and would not be 100 percent finished in time. But thanks to the patience of the museum staff, and the impeccable eye of Blue Door Magazine’s ace photographer, Brett Hillyard, we found a beautiful angle on what will soon be the most photographed building in Orange County. “In this shot, the emphasis is on shape and tone within the given space,” Hilly says. “I was told to find something sculptural, beautiful, and finished. I think we accomplished that. I can’t wait to go back and capture all the beauty of this simple yet complex architectural masterpiece.” hillycollective.com

FOUNDING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kedric Francis kedric@bluedoormagazine.com

ART DIRECTOR

Randi Karabin randi@bluedoormagazine.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Brett Hillyard brett@bluedoormagazine.com

SENIOR EDITOR

Alexandria Abramian

COPY EDITOR

Carrie Lightner

PUBLISHER Maria Barnes 949.436.1590 maria@bluedoormagazine.com

CFO

Jan Super 208.721.7926 jan@bluedoormagazine.com

FOUNDER

Justin Williams 208.720.2142 justin@bluedoormagazine.com

Blue Door Magazine is published by Aspect Media LLC

Copyright © 2022 Aspect Media LLC All rights reserved. The opinions expressed by the authors and contributors to Blue Door Magazine are not necessarily those of the editor and publisher.

PUBLISHER’S

NOTE from Maria Barnes

There is something about walking around the buildings, parks, and gardens across from South Coast Plaza, which includes Segerstrom Center for the Arts and soon Orange County Museum of Art, that makes me feel as if I am in Washington, D.C., or near Lincoln Center. There is a sense of space and archi tecture not usually present in Orange County. I am beyond excited to have the beautiful new museum in our town.

Architect Thom Mayne, truly one of the most talented in the world, and his firm Morphosis, has done the most fantastic work on the museum. My son’s fiance’s parents live in a Thom Mayne-designed residence in Montecito, so I can testify that the design aesthetic is second to none. The world constantly shrinks. Go and enjoy. Orange County has another treasure.

South Coast Plaza, McKenna Motors, and other benefactors have promoted this project, as we all they should, and are part of shaping the future of the arts in Orange County. Thank you for contributing in so many ways.

I have attended two fundraising events this month. CASA Celebration was spectacular, held at the new VEA Newport Beach. It did not disappoint. Well done Karen Jordan. City of Hope, at the Segerstrom Center, was a gala not to miss. Nick Jonas closed the night with a concert that was both magical and intimate. We are so lucky to have City of Hope in this community. City of Hope honored Julia Argyros and though she was missed in person, her spirit was felt throughout—especially when she annonced via video a $25 million donation to City of Hope.

Do me a favor and find some time to go to OCMA and experience the space and the art, and do not miss the museum store. The store is a collaboration created by Please Do Not Enter, a fine curated retailer at South Coast Plaza. We expect the most interesting museum shop ever created.

Cheers to OCMA.

As always, I would love to hear your ideas and feedback and any interest in becoming a part of our magazine.

Maria Barnes, Publisher 949.436.1590

maria@bluedoormagazine.com

PHOTO BY BRETT

EDITOR’S

NOTE

from Kedric Francis

Time flies. When Brett Hillyard took this photograph of me standing by Richard Serra’s sculpture Connector, the construction barriers for the new Orange County Museum of Art behind me had just gone up. Now, there’s a brand-new museum there, and soon everyone will be invited inside.

I have been fortunate enough to have sneak peeks, with hard hat tours of the building while it’s been under construction, and then again when we shot the cover for this issue. I know Orange County will be pleased with its new cultural landmark (and I haven’t even seen it with the art installed). Designed by Thom Mayne and Morphosis, the new museum is amazing, with undulating walls of white terracotta tiles that move from outside to in, multi-level sky bridges, light-filled interior spaces, and an expansive upper terrace that I predict will soon become one of the most popular al fresco spaces in Southern California.

I’m proud to say that no publication has devoted more time and attention to the new museum than we have. How is that defined? Easy. Real estate, as in page count. In the first issue of Blue Door Magazine, we included a 20-page feature on the design of OCMA, as well as other proj ects by the architect from around the world. And we’ve included stories related to the museum in nearly every issue since. In this issue, you’ll see we’ve added a few pages more—75 or so.

I passionately believe that the new OCMA deserves all the attention and accolades it will receive. The new museum changes the Orange County cultural landscape. The debut of an architecturally significant contemporary art museum is impactful if it were standing alone. But OCMA is not alone. It’s joining an arts campus that is already home to American Ballet Theatre Gillespie School, Center for Dance and Innovation, Pacific Chorale, Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Samueli Theater, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and South Coast Repertory.

Nearby, there is a stunning tower designed by Cesar Pelli, landscapes by Peter Walker, a gorgeous bridge created by Kathryn Gustafson, Marion Sampler’s Jewel Court Dome, the undisputed genius of Isamu Noguchi’s California Scenario sculpture garden, and numerous other sculptures and works of art. And of course, there’s the center of creativity, culture, and commerce that is South Coast Plaza itself, without which none of this would have happened. What OCMA does is amplify them all, and I’m hoping that the museum will serve as a uni fying force. Even for those who don’t love contemporary visual art as much as, say, ballet or Broadway musicals, adding OCMA will raise the bar artistically and architecturally. Simply by virtue of it being open during the day, the museum promises to be transformative.

Think I’m over-exuberant? Let’s convene in 10 or 20 years, say, and we shall see. Until we do meet again, stay safe, be kind, and take care of each other, please. kedric@bluedoormagazine.com

PHOTO BY BRETT HILLYARD

CULINARIANS FOR KIDS

The Second Annual Festival of OC Chefs drew 400 guests to Newport Beach Country Club to sample fare from 34 Orange County chefs and wine from Duckhorn, Schramsberg, Chateau Montelena, and other renowned wineries. Co-chaired by Lisa and Cory Alder, Tracy and Kevin Murphy, and Kyle and David Team, the event raised $820,000 to benefit KidWorks.There was a raffle and other games, and everyone’s favorite party band, Flashback Heart Attack, had guests up and dancing.

Photos by Bob Hodson and Reza Allahbakhshi

KidWorks’ incoming Board Chair Cory Alder shared more about the nonprofit’s success story, including the challenges the pandemic inflicted on the pre-K through college students that the organization serves from Orange County’s underserved neighborhoods. “Despite all the challenges,” Alder says, “this is the eighth year in a row that we have 100 percent high school graduations and 100 percent college graduations,” for kids in the program.

Founded in 1993, KidWorks is a vibrant community development nonprofit that serves central Santa Ana students and families through a fully licensed preschool, after-school programs, tutoring, mentoring, and adult services in the areas of health, parenting classes, and support.

KidWorksoc.org

CASA HOLDS COURT

We knew that pickleball was trending a few years ago when our Maria Barnes began playing, and planing a fashion line around the sport. So it’s no surprise that one of Maria’s favorite causes, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Orange County, has taken up the game, recently hosting its second annual Pickleball Tournament. Chaired by Karen Jordan, Lourdes Nark, Wendy Tenebaum, and Linda

Young, the tourney drew 156 players and 89 spectators to The Tennis and Pickleball Club at Newport Beach. The winners on the competitive court were MoJo Mo’unga and Michael Guberger. The event raised $133,000 to recruit and train CASA volunteers as mentors and advocates for youth in foster care to serve as one-on-one mentor advocates.

casaoc.org

Photos by John Watkins

GARDEN PARTIES

Sherman and Rogers, OC’s garden oases of ease, botany, and beauty, also offer culinary abundance.

As memories of a too-warm summer fade like a suntan in September, the finest time for al fresco dining is finally upon us. Farmhouse at Rogers Gardens and 608 Dahlia, the name and address of the restaurant at Sherman Library and Gardens, are two of the most pleasant OC spaces to enjoy a meal in the open air.

Farmhouse Chef Rich Mead has been going to the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market to buy fresh and unique produce for more than 20 years. It’s the first choice when you’re craving creative green cuisine. Dreaming of roast coriander and cum in-spiced carrots, with grilled peach vinaigrette, burrata cheese, carrot top pistou, pistachios, and mint? Mead will make it for you. He’ll bring the meat, too—you can count on that. Go for a garlic-rubbed pork tenderloin, or the grilled pasture-raised flat iron steak. We never wonder which cocktail to order: it’s always the “swig for selflessness,” where a rotating local charity gets 50 percent of the price of a different cocktail.

At 608 Dahlia, Chef Jessica Roy brings a fresh interpretation and style to garden-to-table cuisine right inside the botanical oasis that is Sherman Library and Gardens. Daily pickings from the Gardens and local farms populate the ever-changing seasonal

Left: The gazebo at Farmhouse Below: Peach and prosciutto pizza at Farmhouse

menu that highlights the best and most flavorful ingredients. Be sure to order the small-batch buttermilk, chive, and gruyere biscuits as soon as you’re seated. They are made to order and not to be missed.

Our fabulous world-traveling friend goes hyperbolic about the Cultivar salad (shaved romaine, market grapes, Point Reyes blue cheese, crispy quinoa, toasted walnuts, house-dried fruit blend, and tarragon herb dressing), calling it her favorite salad ever! If you have a mixed family–vegetarians and carnivores–this is the place. A recent prix fixe dinner offered a choice of vegetarian wild mushroom farrotto, seared lamb sirloin, or seared diver scallop with toasted sweet potato gnocchi. Luckily, being hap pily agnostic, we tried all three. You can’t go wrong with any dessert on the menu, from a house-made almond lemon tart to spectacular Basque cheesecake. They have cocktails, too.

Farmhouse at Rogers Gardens

2301 San Joaquin Hills Road

Corona del Mar 949.640.1415

farmhouse.rogersgardens.com

608 Dahlia

Sherman Library and Gardens

2647 East Coast Highway

Corona del Mar 949.220.7229

Opposite: Chef Jessica Roy at 608 Dahlia. Left and below: Fresh produce in salads and cocktails at 608 Dahlia, Sherman Library and Gardens.

6 Coral Ridge, Crystal Cove, Newport Coast

FAMILY

MATTERS

With some of the most impressive real estate sales in Coastal Orange County, Rex McKown and Marcy Weinstein set the bar high with authenticity and experience.

First impressions are everything, in business and in our personal lives. In 2022, we often encounter brands and individuals online, long before we shake hands and say hello. Still, having a sophisticated online brand is only part of the initial impression. How to signal savvy local knowledge, insight, and experience? For M|W|A, it can be as simple as a photograph.

The McKown, Weinstein & Associates (M|W|A) website is a work of art visually and performs as perfectly as a fine time piece or luxury automobile. The first impression the website gives of the group is amplified by an inspiring aesthetic choice that personifies M|W|A’s business sophistication, magnifi cent marketing instincts, and deep local knowledge.

The online images of Rex, Marcy and the entire M|W|A team aren’t set on a beach or coastal bluff. They are portraits captured at California Scenario, Isamu Noguchi’s masterpiece of sculpture, architecture, and landscape in Costa Mesa. It’s arguably the most artistically significant designed space in Orange County. A photo shoot location may not matter to most, but it is evidence of impeccable attention to detail. Rex, Marcy, and the M|W|A team have made many such choices in their years serving affluent Orange County, all of them lead to a compelling conclusion: they get it.

Certainly, posing for photographs at a place of serene beauty isn’t as important as M|W|A’s reputation in the mar ket, which is impeccable. For more than 30 years, Marcy,

Above: Marcy W einstein and Rex McKown, principals of M|W|A, photographed at Isamu Noguchi’s California Scenario in Costa Mesa.

Left: An aerial view of Pelican Crest, Newport Coast.

Rex, and their team have been the leading sales force in Orange County’s coastal communities and most affluent areas. The duo are business partners, as well as siblings. M|W|A sales reach half a billion dollars annually, and the team consistently sets record prices for sales in the custom home market throughout the Pelicans, Crystal Cove, and beyond.

When local or global clients are researching luxury real estate in Coastal Orange County, the bar for imagery and digital marketing materials is high. Yet for all of M|W|A ’s sophisticated branding, marketing, and content creation that’s as good as it gets, what is most telling is that their globally sophisticated and ultra-high net worth clients still know them as Rex and Marcy. That personal authenticity

is key. Newport Coast can come with a bit of typecasting, where some salespeople try to one-up their billionaire clients by leasing supercars and wearing expensive suits. That’s why the “it is what it is” honesty of Marcy and Rex is so welcome. Marcy’s social media name is Pelican Hillbilly, after all.

Ask Rex and Marcy about their most memorable recent sales, and they may not immediately mention the $70 million Abalone Estate property, or the many other multimillion-dol lar deals they’ve helped their clients achieve. Instead, you may hear about how the M|W|A team guided a couple through the sale of their relatively modest Laguna Canyon home, a muchloved place where they’d spent a lifetime together. Every client

2585 Riviera Drive, Abalone Point, Irvine Cove, Laguna Beach. Sold for $70,000,000. M|W|A represented the buyer.

2538 Monaco Drive, Irvine Cove, Laguna Beach. Sold for $20,150,000. M|W|A represented the seller.

is important—that’s the message that comes through clearly when working with M|W|A.

Experience, authenticity, transparency, and honesty are key to building client loyalty. That’s why the experience of others is crucial. Social proof, the digital and media experts call it. Sophisticated consumers trust each other’s testimonials more than what media or the brands themselves may say. So go online and read the many glowing testimonials from M|W|A clients. Then arrange to meet the team in person. It’s even better in real life.

M|W|A

1600 Newport Center Drive, Suite 250 Newport Beach 949.689.5018 mwaluxury.com

Above: Crystal Cove, Newport Coast.

PHOTOS BY KRIS TAMBURELLO

Game On

“We love pool tables created by 11 Ravens Game Tables. They can be fully customized and are in high demand with our clients. The Theseus Model pool table (pictured) is a harmonious creation that delivers a graceful, beautifully balanced design and a rare sense of scale.”

Rona Graf graceblu.com 11ravens.com

Things We Love

WALLS WITH NO BOUNDARIES

By Annette Reeves

Above: Illuminated exterior feature wall with Palisades design. Residence in Corona Del Mar.

The only limit to what M|R Walls can create is the limit in our minds. Using solid surface Corian, Mario Romano, design and architectural visionary, transforms dull spaces into artistic masterpieces.

Do you remember the days of growing up when our parents chose Corian as the latest and greatest of surfaces for their kitchen and bath remodel? “Corian…that old stuff?!” you exclaim. Well, it’s back and it’s better than ever before.

Romano uses Corian by Dupont as a solid surface base to create a multidisciplinary approach to 3D textured walls. As the founder and CEO of M|R Walls, he specializes in digital fabrication, architecture, and construction. The company, based in Santa Monica, appears small and tucked away on a quiet street, but the designs and projects that are created within those walls are larger than life.

The solid surface, once installed, gives the appearance of handcarved artwork, and provides Romano and his design team with infinite possibilities due to its strength, rigidity, and non-porous, waterproof attributes. The 3D textured surfaces defy the boundaries once held by scale. Fully customizable and tailored to fit any space, the use of Puzzle Technology eliminates seams to form a single continuous assembly. With its ability to accept color and UV-resistance, Romano can design and install the cladding in any location, scaled infinitely without seams, grout ,or repeating patterns.

“M|R Walls is unlimited in any expression, I can design it with backlit lighting, put it behind a large outdoor pool or in a shower. There’s no repetition and it’s multi-dimensional. The surface creates an iconic, nature-inspired atmosphere and provides a unique piece of art in any home or commercial space,” explains Romano.

Romano has entertained guests including entertainment and film celebrities from all over the world at his factory. He loves the ability to sit down with a client and design their own look, personalized into a one-of-kind wall covering for a living room, entry, kitchen, or outdoor space. “There’s no limit to what we can create…you dream, we create it.,” he says. Romano can often be found outside the factory with his design team, testing walls, running water down the surfaces to replicate an installation, or inside his factory, building out a new design with multidimensional construction and lighting.

Dozens of architects and designers have collaborated with Romano worldwide to transform commercial and residential spaces. Their work can be seen at Hoag Hospital, The Strands Restaurant, Fox Technology Center, and even a Hindu temple. The installation is as simple as a puzzle pieced together with visually seamless precision. Simple to repair, non-toxic with Class A fire rating, the design possibilities are endless.

M|R Walls

Mario Romano

2314 Michigan Avenue, Santa Monica 310.243.6967 orders@marioromano.com

Custom rainbow cliff design, water feature in Deep Nocturne. Residence in Bel Air.

BLUE DOOR MAGAZINE

INSPIRE WITH

FROM

LIVES ALONG THE

COAST

Photo by Brett Hillyard

BRIAN FURSTENFELD

My passion for real estate and cars is deep rooted. At 14 years old, helping my father sell one of his properties, and to secure myself a car by 16, I procured a transaction using a 1978 Lincoln Town Car and two fighting gamecock from Guatemala for a down payment on an $83,000 condo. Five years later, the guy who was once seemingly destined to be tenant, forever living check-to-check on peanut butter sandwiches, was now a multi-unit landlord, came to tears sharing how his fate changed that day when a 14 year old boy wanting his first car called him on his Auto Trader ad. The feeling is hard to describe and I vowed to chase a rewarding career that changes lives every day.

Smart Buys in Laguna Beach

It’s no secret that Laguna Beach is an expensive real estate market. A smart solution to help offset the cost of your primary or vacation home? Buy a property with income built in. The listings above are values compared to surrounding single family homes, and in terrific neighborhoods. Think about it!

170 High Drive l Laguna Beach Two Homes Offered at $4,195,000

2838 Wards Terrace l Laguna Beach Multiple Units Offered at $4,495,000

361 Aster Street l Laguna Beach Two Units Offered at $5,295,000

795 St. Ann’s Drive l Laguna Beach Multiple Homes Offered at $3,350,000

1165 Gaviota Drive | Laguna Beach

Newly Constructed Oceanfront Residence | Offered at

Furnished

1165 Gaviota sits in a perfect location with all the wonder of oceanfront living on one side of the property and the delights of storied Laguna Beach at your doorstep on the other. Newly constructed and stunningly rendered from the plans of renowned C. J. Light Associates and masterfully executed by Robinson Builders, Inc. - Bill Robinson, the residence will be delivered to the new owner furnished by acclaimed designer Michael Fullen. Sophisticated yet casual and welcoming, the vibe is California coastal with a little bit of Laguna twist. The main living level is accessed through a private courtyard beautifully hardscaped with Pennsylvania Bluestone, which features an outdoor kitchen and entertainment venue. The formal entry welcomes one into a great room concept kitchen and living area centered on the panoramic vista of the ocean, Catalina, and coastline views. Retractable Reveal doors form a wall of glass that opens to two generously sized decks above the crashing surf. No expense has been spared in this ultra-luxe appointed residence.

Corona Del Mar $12,898,000

ith the highest level of experience, Leo assures his clients he will achieve their financial goals, whether on the sale or purchase of their most coveted assets.

“I was selling what I consider a trophy property. I interviewed many agents, none of which had the sales spark in there that I was looking for. Then I met Leo. From the moment we met, I knew he was the one to partner with on this property. Within 30 days, we had a qualified buyer who closed as scheduled. Having dealt in many high-dollar real estate transactions, I would rate Leo at the top. If you want the best, look no further.”

– R.H. | Orange County

“We lucked out with Leo and had our offer accepted on our first home viewing! During the escrow, Leo was extremely respectful and responsive to our request. Leo is definitely a helpful and knowledgeable realtor for the southern Orange County coastal area.”

– J. S. | Laguna Beach

Leo Goldschwartz is an ambitious real estate agent whose goal has always been to help people.

“When I need real estate help in OC, I turn to Leo! Leo is punctual, responsible and overly communicative. I’ve found that when it comes to brokers the best ones always over communicate with their clients. If you want a broker that will go above and beyond the extra mile, I highly recommend engaging Leo. You’ll be glad you did!”

— K.C. | Dallas, TX

“Embarking on the journey of whether to sell our home or not and who to call, the choice was obvious after our interviews with other brokers in the Corona Del Mar area. Leo saw the vision with our home, realized its true value and even put his own money in to bring the property up to a saleable condition! By him believing in our property and having the vision, we exceeded the other brokers’ expectations by over $2 million!! 100% this your guy without a doubt!!”

– T. & A.O. | Corona Del Mar

“I have known Leo now for many years, and he has helped our family for many years here in the coastal marketplace. Leo always tries his hardest to go above and beyond to make a deal happen while ensuring the satisfaction of his clients. He’s not afraid to do the extra steps nor go outside the box in order to get a deal together.”

— A. & D.N. | Laguna Beach

“Leo is the best of the best. I have worked with brokers in the coastal market for over the last 30 years, and if you are a buyer, he will fight for the best possible price on the home, and when selling, he will go over and above the call of duty to get you the highest return on your investment. I have been impressed how he is always trying to protect your equity regardless of the side he is representing!”

Rick G. | Laguna Beach

The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted, and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Affiliated real estate agents are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2022 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. 22N76P-DC_OC_9/22

A Great Journey Starts

future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Roosevelt

2201 BAYSIDE DRIVE, CORONA DEL MAR

Occupying one of the best locations on the Newport Harbor, this highly-anticipated Brandon Architects estate in collaboration with Brooke Wagner Design and Patterson Custom Homes, is an achievement of style and comprehensive design with 4 meticulously-calculated levels. A private bay beach, lap pool built into the structure, and shared ownership of one of the Western Seaboard’s longest private piers (accommodating an appx. 100-foot and 75-foot yacht) are among the home’s notable features. 2201baysidedrive.com

*For large teams with 4+ members with Coldwell Banker, Realogy Brokerage Group. Not intended as a solicitation if your property is already listed by another broker. The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted, and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2022 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker logos, Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

REPRESENTED BUYER

NEWPORT BEACH | EAST BLUFF

REPRESENTED BUYER

CORONA DEL MAR | SOUTH OF PCH

REPRESENTED BUYER CORONA DEL MAR | IRVINE TERRACE

REPRESENTED SELLER CORONA DEL MAR | SOUTH OF PCH

REPRESENTED SELLER

RECORD SALE

BEACH

REPRESENTED BUYER | OFF MARKET CORONA DEL MAR | JASMINE CREEK

2190 TEMPLE HILLS DR. LAGUNA BEACH

OFFERED AT $6,595,000

4 beds I 5 baths I 4,531 sq. ft.

This contemporary private retreat, nestled in the serene area of Temple Hills, boasts unobstructed views of ocean and canyon. Natural lighting and ocean breeze flows throughout the home with its open floor plan and vaulted ceilings. The main level includes a formal living room with fireplace, formal dining room, sitting area, full kitchen, and luxurious owner suite with fireplace and access to a full-size deck. Down a short flight of stairs, the second level features a family room, two en-suite bedrooms, full-size sauna, exercise room, laundry room, an additional deck, and tons of storage space. The lowest level highlights a mother-in-law suite with an open kitchen and living space. The private backyard is ideal for entertainment and relaxation, with a poolside cabana, renovated salt water pool, and spa, all overlooking the breathtaking views. Oversized three-car garage and circular driveway with plenty of space for multiple additional cars.

East

20271 SW. BIRCH ST. NEWPORT BEACH IN ESCROW

5,000 sq. ft.

This divisible office condo in the heart of Newport Beach boasts a bright and spacious reception area, conference room, 15 private treatment offices, kitchen, elevator, and large yard. This unique offering is the perfect owner/user office condo. Located only minutes away from Fashion Island, Back Bay Newport Beach, John Wayne Airport and the 73 toll road, 55, 405 freeways.

| 949.922.2274

JONES

ASSOCIATE bronwyn@ogroup.com | 310.800.0013

Glaieul Samadani is a multidisciplinary artist, specializing in abstract art. She is based in Los Angeles, California. She has studied art and has her BA in Design. She has worked in Southern California for 30 years specializing in interior design for luxury homes throughout Southern California. Now she devotes her time to being a professional artist, just last year launching her website and social media. Most recently she has completed an installation at a home on Lido Isle and Southhampton. Currently you can see her work at Artist Eye Gallery in Laguna Beach.

Lady In Yellow Dress, 48” X 72”, Oil on Canvas

Artist Glaieul Samadani with painting: Reflections, 48” X 60”, Oil on Canvas

OCMA

ARRIVES

The long-anticipated debut of a stunning new Orange County Museum of Art on the campus of Segerstrom Center for the Arts completes a visionary transformation of Costa Mesa into a center of art, culture, and creativity.

Fred Eversley, Untitled (parabolic lens), (1969) 2020. Collection of Jimmy Iovine and Liberty Ross. Photo: Jeff McLane, courtesy of the artist and David Kordansky Gallery.

STEPPING UP

Sanford Biggers’ sculpture Of Many Waters will activate a contemplative space on OCMA’s outdoor upper terrace

Orange County Museum of Art has seized the attention of the contemporary art world by commissioning a sculpture by artist Sanford Biggers as an early curatorial collaboration. The 24-foot-tall sculpture Of Many Waters will be boldly jux taposed against the undulating and pristine white walls of the new museum designed by Morphosis. The sculpture will com bine an archetype of a European reclining male figure from classical sculptures with a 19th-century African double-face mask made from metal sequins.

Biggers, who was raised in L.A. and lives in NYC, describes the work as an “object for a future ethnography,” to be studied, researched, and continuously reconsidered. Museum visitors and passers-by on the arts plaza may be inspired to consider how Biggers’ work merges cultures and eras, collaborates with the past, and speaks to current and historic social, political, and economic happenings.

Biggers recently set a thematically similar sculpture at Rockefeller Center. Called Oracle, it referenced the antiquity, mythology, and art that is woven through the NYC Art Deco arts campus.

Heidi Zuckerman, CEO and Director of OCMA, was inspired by Oracle to commission Of Many Waters. “If there is a state ment in this piece, it is to say that the museum is a place where everyone’s welcome, that we are a site of openness,” Zuckerman has said.

Of Many Waters... (2022) will be on view through February 5, 2023. Sanford Biggers will be honored at the museum’s Opening Gala on October 1, 2022.

Rendering of Of Many Waters (2022) by Sanford Biggers on the Sculpture Terrace of OCMA, opening to the public in October 2022.

Portrait of Sanford Biggers by Matthew Morrocco

FULL CIRCLE

Fred Eversley’s retrospective casts a reflective glow on art, architecture, and perception

It isn’t every day that art and architecture coalesce in such seamless spatial alignment. But two curvaceous worlds are poised to collide with the inauguration of the new Orange County Museum of Art and the first museum retrospective of Fred Eversley’s work in more than 40 years.

The building’s undulating bands of terracotta panels set a sculptural stage for Fred Eversley: Reflecting Back (the World) , which in itself arches back to and expands upon the groundbreaking 1978 exhibition of the artist’s work at OCMA (then known as the Newport Harbor Art Museum).

A pioneer in the Light and Space movement, Eversley’s ground-break ing pieces don’t just occupy the new museum on the campus of the Segerstrom Center of the Arts as much as interact with it. Using the work from OCMA’s collection as a springboard, for example, an unti tled black lens from 1976, Reflecting Back (the World) nestles within the curved architecture of OCMA’s Mezzanine Gallery. Throughout the sculptural space, a visual call-and-response between artist and architect—both Eversley and OCMA architect Thom Mayne of Morphosis called Southern California home for most of their lives— reflects in a seemingly unending sequence.

Untitled, 1976 by Fred Eversley. Cast polyester resin, 19-3/8 x 19-3/8 x 7 in (49.2 x 49.2 x 7 cm). Collection of Orange County Museum of Art. Given in fondest memory of Gertrude Fleischman by Pat and Carl Neisser, 1978.001. Photo: of studio © Fred Eversley.

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It is a compelling experience of Eversley’s work: The 81-year-old artist developed his signature process more than 50 years ago, one that involves spinning liquid plastic around a vertical axis until the centrifugal forces create a concave surface. Evoking mirrors or large optical lenses, Eversley casts liquid plastics tinted with pigments in molds before spinning them on modified turntables, producing parabolic forms that he hand-polishes to a lustrous sheen.

The result is a series of seductive fish-eye lenses that lure viewers into mes merizing optical and acoustic experiences, coloring and reframing the world through and around his lenses.

Eversley did not originally set out to become a ground-breaking artist whose work has been featured in more than 200 exhibitions at prestigious museums, galleries, and art festivals worldwide. Instead, the Brooklyn-born innovator studied engineering at Carnegie Mellon, where he remembers being the only African American in the department.

From there he followed his father into the aerospace industry, supervising the design and construction of high-intensity acoustic and vibration test laboratories at NASA facilities in Los Angeles. The move proved pivotal. Eversley found himself surrounded by artists including James Turrell, Richard Diebenkorn, and Larry Bell, among others. Suddenly a new lan guage of engineering emerged and with it, Eversley’s singular vision of reflecting worlds of resin.

“The parabola is the perfect concentrator of all energy to a single focal point,” says the artist.

Unlike his Light and Space and Finish Fetish peers however, who often out sourced fabrication of their work, Eversley’s technical understanding as a scientist enabled him to utilize materials in ways that uniquely contributed to the movement. His process of working in polyester resin also allowed him to challenge himself to innovate in his exploration of color and composition, a key aspect of new works that he is still making today.

Fred Eversley: Reflecting Back (the World) spans five decades of the artist’s works, which are currently in the permanent collections of 35 museums. Focusing primarily on the crux of his creative practice, his work in cast polyester resin, the deceptively complex, dazzlingly reflective pieces offer an exploration of optics, perception, and energy.

Fred Eversley: Reflecting Back (the World) Orange County Museum of Art October 8, 2022-January 15, 2023

A visual call-andresponse between artist and architect.

South Coast Plaza is proud to welcome to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus

GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM

Porsche GT3 German, 2022-2023

• Engine: 4.0-liter Flat Six.

• Horsepower: 520 hp.

• Torque: 346 lb-ft.

• 0-60 mph: 3.0 seconds.

• Transmission: 7-Speed Dual Clutch-

The McKenna Family is proud to support the new Orange County Museum of Art. Opening October 8, 2022.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

The long-awaited Orange County Museum of Art completes Henry T. Segerstrom’s vision for a world-class museum on the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus. We welcome OCMA as it joins us in creating one of the most vibrant cultural art centers in the country.

The Ultimate Kinetic Sculpture

The McKenna Family is proud to support the new Orange County Museum of Art. Opening October 8, 2022.

Artist: Jeff Koons BMW M3 GT2

OCMA ARTS LEADERS

A broad-based and diverse group of dedicated California arts visionaries are making the dream of a new Orange County Museum of Art come true.

Photos by Brett Hillyard

The OCMA Board of Trustees

Craig W. Wells, President

Ellen R. Marshall, Vice President Annette Wiley, Secretary

J. Steven Roush, Treasurer

Dr. James B. Pick, Chair, Collections

Bob Olson, Chair, Building Lucy Sun, Chair, Governance and Nominating James Bergener

Barbara Bluhm-Kaul

Phil Bond

Lauren Chalmers

David Emmes Susan Etchandy

Idit Ferder

Sean Green

Debra Gunn Downing John Gunnin

Alison Hoeven

Julia Holland

Teri Kennady Mark Kerslake Cheryl Kiddoo

David Lake

Heidi Lynn Curt Lyon Linda P. Maggard

Lisa Merage

Lilly Merage

Pame Schmider

Tracy Schroeder

Anton Segerstrom

Hal Struck

Jennifer Van Bergh

Trustees Emeriti

Frances A. Bass

Joan F. Beall, Chair Emeritus

Donald L. Bren

Harry G. Bubb

Gilbert E. LeVasseur, Jr.

Carl Neisser

Thomas H. Nielsen, Chair Emeritus

Joan Riach-Gayner

Thomas B. Rogers

Judge James V. Selna, Chair Emeritus

Claudette Shaw

Thomas Tierney

Timothy W. Weiss

Jennifer and Anton Segerstrom

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELVES

We have been supporters of Orange County Museum of Art and the museum’s move to Segerstrom Center for the Arts for some time. Anton is a Partner of South Coast Plaza, which donated the land to build the new Orange County Museum of Art. Jennifer has decades of nonprofit fundraising experience. We are co-chairing the Million Dollar Donor Dinner at the museum, and Jennifer is co-chairing OCMA’s opening gala. We have two children, ages 20 and 21.

HOW DID YOU DEVELOP YOUR INTEREST IN VISUAL ART?

ANTON: My mother was an artist and an early supporter and docent of the Fine Arts Patrons of Newport Harbor (pre decessor to the Newport Harbor Art Museum). I vividly remember my mother taking me to a show at the Balboa Pavilion Especially for Children in 1965. She also took me to an early Warhol show in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, and many art trips and studio visits when I was older. Jennifer and I are passionate collectors and always make time to visit galleries and museums when we travel.

JENNIFER: Growing up a few hours from Toronto, the go-to museum is the Art Gallery of Ontario, designed by Torontoborn Frank Gehry. We were there countless times as kids.

HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH THE ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART?

ANTON: I first joined the board of OCMA in 1996 and helped organize the di Suvero Orange County show in 1998. I presently serve on the Executive Committee, Collections Committee, and Governance Committee of the museum.

JENNIFER: I have served continuously on OCMA’s executive committee in various capacities for the annual fall gala, have chaired the gala multiple times, and stewarded partner ships that benefitted the museum financially.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ARTIST IN THE OCMA PERMANENT COLLECTION?

OCMA has a number of spectacular works in its collection. Jennifer’s favorites include Ken Price, Uta Barth, Bruce Conner, and Richard Jackson. Anton’s favorites are Chris Burden, A Tale of Two Cities , John Altoon, Ocean Park Series, and Ed Ruscha, Annie.

IS THERE AN OPENING EXHIBITION YOU ARE MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?

ANTON: The California Biennial, as it has historically been an insightful survey of emerging and overlooked talent from California. The museum has discovered and launched many artists’ careers through the Biennial.

JENNIFER: I am most looking forward to seeing the Sanford Biggers exhibition, which is generously supported by David Yurman.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE OPENING OF OCMA WILL IMPACT ORANGE COUNTY?

JENNIFER: OCMA will complete the campus of SCFTA and bring a renewed interest and engagement to the arts that we have never been able to fully realize. Access to everyone is paramount—even more so given the times. The new building will now showcase important works from the permanent collection, many of which have never been shown before, and allow much needed programming on every level.

ANTON: The opening of the Orange County Museum of Art will help create one of the most unique arts campuses in America. The opportunity for collaboration between the visual and performing arts and the concentration of venues will be a real gift to Orange County. Thom Mayne’s building is amazing. The glazed terracotta skin is exquisite and drapes over the building in a fluid fashion. The rooftop garden with its native trees and plantings will be a popular oasis and a new destination for Orange County. The new museum building is clearly the most significant structure in Orange County. It has no rival.

Jennifer and Anton Segerstrom photographed at California Scenario, Costa Mesa, by Isamu Noguchi.

Cheryl Kiddoo on Argyros Plaza, Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Cheryl Kiddoo

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

While living on the East Coast, I was fortunate to attend The College of William and Mary and received a Masters in Museum Education, and that launched a wonderful career/vocation, using my time and passion to support museums in the varied commu nities we have lived in. For me, museums are magical places. I like to think of museums (all kinds of museums!) as ‘hubs for the curious’. Who knew there would be a profession out there to work as an educator solely in museums?

HOW DID YOU DEVELOP YOUR INTEREST IN VISUAL ART?

While an undergrad at UCLA, my roommate and I took a Baroque Art History class in anticipation of our two-month European backpacking trip. What a joy it was to view Michelangelo’s work in person, and to come face-to-face with my first Goyas and Vermeers.

When you’re exposed to the way artists use their media to tell the important stories of their time, the world cracks wide open! I feel the same way today when closely looking at contemporary art; the artist is using a visual language to share something with the audience. We become more empathic citizens when sharing experiences through the viewing of art.

HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH THE ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART?

In November 2020, I met a wonderful longtime OCMA sup porter, Linda Maggard, through another arts support group called the Fellows of Contemporary Art. Over a two-hour lunch, Linda spoke effusively about all of the exciting things happening at OCMA and she was so welcoming and enthusiastic that I was immediately hooked. It is such an expansive and exciting time for OCMA. The energy of our director, Heidi Zuckerman, and everyone involved with OCMA is simply off the charts.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ARTIST IN THE OCMA PERMANENT COLLECTION?

Diana Thater is a huge favorite of mine. Her work in OCMA’s collection, entitled Wicked Witch from 1996, is a completely immersive video installation that is spellbinding.

IS THERE AN OPENING EXHIBITION YOU ARE MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?

I can’t wait to see what Narsiso Martinez is showing in the California Biennial; his work focuses on the people perform ing the labors necessary to fill produce sections and restau rant kitchens around the country. Martinez’s portraits of farmworkers are painted, drawn, and expressed in sculpture on discarded produce boxes collected from grocery stores.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE OPENING OF OCMA WILL IMPACT ORANGE COUNTY?

Game-changer. The building itself is simply genius; the way the indoor and outdoor spaces allow art experiences to happen all around. And the galleries are stunning; OCMA’s curators and educators are creating exhibitions and experi ences that are welcoming to all citizens of Orange County and beyond. We take our mission of equity and inclusion seriously, and want to put out the welcome mat to everyone.

WHAT OTHER BENEFITS WILL THE NEW MUSEUM BRING?

There is so much research regarding the positive impacts of visiting an art museum. I saw an article recently about how visiting an art museum is good for one’s mental health. The research was produced by the University of Pennsylvania, and the findings are pretty astonishing. Think about the benefits for school students and their teachers who are grappling with the aftermath of the pandemic. Visiting OCMA is free to everyone, so everyone can avail themselves of the wonderful benefits of spending time at OCMA.

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

I was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in Toronto, Canada. I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. My mother Beryl Green is major inspiration, as she ran a maidservice business. I had limited means as a young kid. Today, I’m the CEO and Founder of the leading tech startup in the art world, ARTERNAL, and GP of Black Ops VC, a fund to lead seed investments in Black-owned tech startups.

HOW DID YOU DEVELOP YOUR INTEREST IN VISUAL ART?

I’ve always been a fan of creativity and multiple art forms having been in many church plays as a young kid, played piano at the royal conservatory of music, and had strong interest in other art forms like music, film, and theater; art is just an extension of those visually. So naturally when I was introduced to art, after a few shows/exhibits, I became super intrigued.

HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH THE ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART?

Heidi Zuckerman and I connected years ago on LinkedIn and over the pandemic we built a strong connection. We hosted a Clubhouse show called Step Into the Art World, where we interviewed prominent players in the scene, including dealers, artists, curators, etc. Heidi told me about her new position and after several months presented me with a folder at lunch one day in L.A. and told me to take a look at it and then get back to her. It was a request to be on the board of OCMA. When you have a powerhouse individual like Heidi whom I respect and is full of energy and has a similar go-getter attitude to my own, you have to oblige and I accepted her request.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE ART WORLD?

My friend Zeina told me she was quitting her job and then followed it up with, “I’m becoming an artist full time.” I wondered to myself, what was that? And then asked her, “How are you going to pay rent?” I then decided to build a platform to help drive art collectors into artists studios.

That business failed and I had to pivot to the point where I found myself behind the white walls of the gallery and came upon the organized chaos. This is how ARTERNAL was birthed; I built the first CRM (client relationship management) platform in the art world connected to inventory management.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ARTIST IN THE OCMA PERMANENT COLLECTION?

I love Hank Willis Thomas. He’s one of the most special artists of our generation. It’s a treat that we have him in the permanent collection.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE OPENING OF OCMA WILL IMPACT ORANGE COUNTY?

In a major way. First the building is beautiful and people will be attracted to just see it IRL. Second, I think it’s a coming together moment for the community and an opportunity to bring a diverse crowd into the building. Third, it will provide a place for deeper conversations around art, which is why we’re all here to begin with and bleeding that conversation out to the local community is an integral part of this new physical space.

Sean Green

Sean Green photographed at The Ram, 1979, by Charles O. Perry, one of the many works of art and architecture in the South Coast Plaza collection.

Lucy Sun photographed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts with Fire Bird by Richard Lippold and the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall by Cesar Pelli in the background.

Lucy Sun

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND

I spent my entire career working for Goldman Sachs, doing business in New York, Hong Kong, and London over a couple of decades. I also raised two children in the process, mostly in London, where our family lived for 22 years. Being pretty nomadic professionally, I’ve actually lived 1/3 of my life in Asia, 1/3 in the U.S., and 1/3 in Europe. Now my husband and I have made Orange County home, because we love it here.

HOW DID YOU DEVELOP YOUR INTEREST IN VISUAL ART?

I learned at my mother’s knee. She was passionate about the visual arts, and actually became the first ever docent at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, where many imperial treasures from the Forbidden City are still kept. Even though I ended up getting an MBA and pursuing a career in investment banking, she inspired me to major in art history as an undergraduate. Then I went back to graduate school at University of London, in the middle of my banking career, to get an MA in art history, which I did part-time. My interest in art has never left me.

HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART?

My husband and I have owned our home in Orange County since 2001. It was a vacation home for us while living in London, so we spent a month or two here every year. But whenever I came to OC I would check up on what was going on at OCMA. Then when Dan Cameron was Chief Curator I became very interested in what he was doing and showing. I got to know him, and began to support the OCMA Triennial. At that time I was already a Trustee and later became Board Co-Chair at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, so I wasn’t really in a position to get involved for some time, not until that commitment ended and we moved to Orange County full-time.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ARTIST IN THE OCMA PERMANENT COLLECTION?

I find favorite artist questions too hard to answer, but I will say that I had one of the most memorable art-related expe riences because of an OCMA artist at an OCMA event. During one of the Triennials, I was invited by the museum to a small private dinner in honor of Chris Burden, whose work Tale of Two Cities is in the OCMA collection. I spent the most fascinating couple of hours seated next to him. Despite his avant-garde reputation and iconoclastic body of work, to my surprise he was incredibly down to earth as a person, easy to talk to, and highly relatable. He talked a lot about walking his dog in Topanga, which he loved. Not what I expected from a pioneer of performance art who crawled over broken glass and had his hands nailed to a Volkswagon.

IS THERE AN OPENING EXHIBITION OR WORK OF ART YOU ARE MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?

The building itself, Thom Mayne’s incredible creation, is the work of art I am MOST excited to see. After years of seeing drawings and renderings and walkthroughs of the construc tion site, I believe this building will be one of the great, small museums of the world. There is nothing quite like it, and it is a worthy tribute to the 3.2 million people of Orange County, to whom it belongs.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE OPENING OF OCMA WILL IMPACT ORANGE COUNTY?

To me, this is a “coming of age” moment for Orange County, culturally and artistically. OC has for some time been one of the fastest growing, most successful counties, not just in California but in the country. Culturally and artistically, we are now catching up with our economic achievements. The completion of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts with the addition of a visual arts museum will also mean that all of the arts are now represented in one spectacular cultural campus. The purpose of cultural institutions is to integrate the commu nity and bring people together. What better statement could there be of our values and of our intentions than this campus?

Lisa Bhathal Merage

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND

I am currently on the Board of OCMA where I serve on the Executive Committee as Secretary, and I co-chair the Governance Committee. I am also Co-Chair of the Opening Gala with Jennifer Segerstrom. In my day job, I run an alternative investment platform called Revitate with my brother Alex that focuses on real estate, consumer products, and sports. We started it after selling our family swimwear business, RAJ Swim. At home, my husband Richard and I have a blended family of five wonderful sons.

HOW DID YOU DEVELOP YOUR INTEREST IN VISUAL ART?

I’ve been around a form of visual art my entire life, growing up in the fashion industry. But I think my most memorable experience was when I was eight years old and my parents took me to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. I was mesmerized and while other 3rd graders wrote reports on Washington and Lincoln, I wrote mine on Vincent Van Gogh.

HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED WITH THE ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART?

Anton Segerstrom tapped me on the shoulder… and you can’t say no to Anton! I am actually grateful he did because it’s exciting and fun to be involved with something so significant in our Orange County history.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ARTIST IN THE OCMA PERMANENT COLLECTION?

I am a fan of Catherine Opie’s work. She has been mentor to my photographer and filmmaker sister-in-law Lauren for many years.

IS THERE AN OPENING EXHIBITION/ARTIST/ WORK OF ART YOU ARE MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?

We have some amazing exhibitions coming up like 13 Women, but I am most excited about the possibility of fashion-related exhibitions in our future. You know we are just across the street from South Coast Plaza.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE OPENING OF OCMA WILL IMPACT ORANGE COUNTY?

The completion of OCMA will make Segerstrom Center a true arts destination. I don’t know anywhere else you can go in the world that has a campus of visual arts, performing arts, a concert hall and symphony, and a playhouse. We will be buzzin’!

Lisa Bhathal Merage photographed near Neptune Water Spouts, 1975, by Betty Davenport Ford. The elaborate waterworks are in the courtyard behind the lobby at Westin South Coast Plaza.

CALIFORNIA COOL

By Liz Goldner

The California Biennial 2022 allows Orange County Museum of Art to explore the art of an era for a diverse and changing community. The California Biennial at OCMA began in 1984 and was critically acclaimed with each iteration through 2010, and with the subse quent California-Pacific Triennials in 2013 and 2017. California Biennials support young and emerging artists when they need it the most and provide audiences in Southern California with the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in art.

Elizabeth Armstrong, Essence Harden, and Gilbert Vicario are co-curating CB22, which continues the museum’s six-decade history of presenting new devel opments in contemporary art and identifying emerging artists on the verge of national and international rec ognition. Elizabeth Armstrong, who served as OCMA Deputy Director and Chief Curator from 2000 to 2008, answered a few questions about the upcoming Biennial and her rich history at OCMA.

Claire Rojas, Circle of Infinite Chaos, 2022. Oil on panel, 64 x 56 in (162.6 x 142.2 cm).

Courtesy the artist and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco. Photo: Eric Ruby

Sadie Barnette, Feelings, feelings, feelings, feelings, feelings, feelings, feelings, 2022.

Powdered graphite and colored pencil, 60 x 48 in (152.4 x 121.9 cm). Courtesy the artist and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco. Photo: Eric Ruby

Alex Anderson, Lovely Shade Flower, 2021. Earthenware, glaze, and gold luster, 22 x 17 x 2 in (55.88 x 43.18 x 5.08 cm).

Courtesy the artist and Sargent’s Daughters.

Tania Aguingia, Extrano 9 (Strange 9), 2020.

Dyed cotton rope, flax, 77 x 20 x 6 in (195.58 x 50.8 x 15.24 cm).

Courtesy the artist and Volume Gallery, Chicago.

BLUE DOOR MAGAZINE: TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE EXHIBITIONS THAT YOU CURATED DURING YOUR TIME AT OCMA.

LIZ ARMSTRONG: Girls’ Night Out (2003) explored female adoles cence through the lens of women artists. Villa America (2005) was an opportunity to share one of the great collections of American Art (1900-1950) from a collector who lived part-time in Orange County. Birth of the Cool: California Art, Architecture, and Culture at Midcentury (2007) celebrated the syncopating forms and roots of California modernism in painting, design, architecture, film, and jazz that epitomized California cool in the 1950s. These exhibitions, while very different in content, found large audiences and critical acclaim as they traveled throughout this county.

BDM: WHO ARE SOME OF THE IMPORTANT ARTISTS WHO EMERGED FROM YOUR OCMA BIENNIALS?

ARMSTRONG: In 2002, Evan Holloway, Stephanie Syjuco, and Roman De Salvo. In 2004, Mark Bradford, Kota Ezawa, and Glenn Kaino. And in 2006, My Barbarian, Sterling Ruby, and Hank Willis Thomas.

BDM: TELL ABOUT THE UPCOMING OCMA CALIFORNIA BIENNIAL 2022.

ARMSTRONG: When Heidi Zuckerman, OCMA’s CEO and Director, invited me to curate a new biennial, I was thrilled, because it would require a deep immersion in artists’ studios. And curating the biennial would provide the opportunity to

Narsiso Martinez, Pacific Gold, 2021. Ink, gouache, charcoal, collage, acrylic, and small paintings on produce boxes, 82 x 40 x 48 in (208.28 x 101.6 x 121.92 cm). Courtesy the artist and Charlie James Gallery. Photo: Yubo Dong of studio

Lily Stockman, Canyon Fire, 2022. Oil on linen, 84 x 62 in (213.4 x 157.5 cm). Courtesy the artist and Charles Moffett, New York.

participate in one of the first exhibitions in the new OCMA building. I teamed up with two co-curators who bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the organization. Essence Harden grew up in Oakland and worked on her PhD at UC Berkeley in the African Diaspora program before moving to L.A. as an independent curator. Gilbert Vicario, Selig Family Chief Curator, Phoenix Art Museum, and a first-generation Mexican American, grew up in San Diego.

BDM: CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE CURATION PROCESS?

ARMSTRONG: The artists were emerging from an unusual time in their careers and lives. And the notion of “a new skin,” and of regeneration and the forms it took in the hands of the artists we visited, became our lodestone. We were attracted to those whose pursuits were enhanced and expanded during this time—whether by a practice that was spiritual or healing in nature, or that was engaged by revisioning past histories, or that reimagined a more equitable, humane, and often fantastical future.

BDM: WHAT ABOUT THE VETERAN ARTISTS IN THIS BIENNIAL?

ARMSTRONG: Veteran artists might be the biggest surprise to art audiences. Raul Guerrero has been making history paintings re-envisioning the story of indigenous peoples in the Americas over four decades. Alicia McCarthy’s (founding member of the Mission School art movement) site-specific wall painting brings the energy of San Francisco street art into the pristine galleries of the building. Sharon Ellis’ ecstatic landscapes painted in the high desert positively exude spiritual wonder. Ben Sakoguchi grew up in San Bernardino, was incarcerated as a child with his fam ily in an internment camp during World War II, and graduated from UCLA with an MFA. His complex, socially realistic paintings are highly attuned to racial discrimination, combined with the dark humor of great artistic satire.

California Biennial 2022 October 8, 2022–February 26, 2023

Sharon Ellis, Night Storm, 2012-19. Alkyd on canvas, 30 x 40 in (76.2 x 101.6 cm). Courtesy the artist and Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles.

13 WOMEN

Curated by the museum’s CEO and Director Heidi Zuckerman, 13 Women marks the museum’s 60th anniver sary, paying homage to the 13 women who founded the Balboa Pavilion Gallery, OCMA’s predecessor institution, which was opened in 1962. Presented in two rotations over the course of an entire year, 13 Women presents work from the 1960s to the present by the artists central to the muse um’s permanent collection.

Centered on the work of pioneering female artists, each of whom share the visionary qualities of the museum founders, the multigenerational group exhibition celebrates OCMA’s shared history—one distinguished by innovative and ground breaking exhibitions, thoughtful programming, and a deep commitment to artists. From timely and prescient works by AliceAycock, Lee Bul, and Barbara Kruger, through to iconic works by Joan Brown, Vija Celmins, Mary Corse, and Mary Heilmann, 13 Women looks back to look forward, exempli fying the museum’s commitment to sharing outward through objects and storytelling.

Additional highlights include Charles Ray’s work Ink Box (1986) and Self Portrait (1990), both acquired from OCMA’s presentation of Ray’s first solo museum exhibition, alongside important works by John Altoon, Chris Burden, and Richard Diebenkorn, among others.

Catherine Opie, Surfer for Women, 2018. Pigment print. Collection of Orange County Museum of Art. Museum purchase. Acquired by OCMA as part of the 60th Anniversary Initiative. Courtesy Regan Projects. © Catherine Opie.

Honoring the original female founders of Orange County Museum of Art, 13 Women features work from the museum’s permanent collection.

Above: Vija Celmins, Untitled (Moon Surface Luna 9, #2), 1969. Graphite on acrylic ground on paper. Museum purchase with funds provided through prior gift of Ben C. Deane, 1986.005. Collection of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Opposite: Mary Heilmann, Surfing on Acid, 2005. Oil on canvas. Museum purchase with funds provided through prior gift of Lois Outerbridge, 2005.002. Collection of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Agnes Pelton, The Guide, 1929. Oil on canvas. Collection of Orange County Museum of Art. Museum purchase with funds provided through prior gift of Lois Outerbridge.

Opposite: Barbara Kruger, Untitled, 1989. Gelatin silver print. Collection of Orange County Museum of Art. Gift of Eugene C. White and the estate of Robert H. Tyler.

© Barbara Kruger.

A PLACE OF PERMANENCE

Orange County Museum of Art’s opening exhibitions include iconic works of California contemporary art owned by the museum.

Above: Sol LeWitt, Incomplete Open Cube (8-18), 1974-84

© The LeWitt Estate / Artist’s Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Top right: Charles Ray, Self-portrait, 1990. Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery. © Charles Ray. Photo: Reto Pedrini.

To showcase important and popular art from the museum’s permanent collection, the 13 Women exhibition will also include art by men.

Since 1962, the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA), along with its predecessor institution, the Newport Harbor Art Museum, has enriched the lives of a diverse and changing community, presented exhibitions of 20th and 21st century art that have traveled nationally and internationally, and built a collection of more than 4,500 works, with a focus on artists from California.

OCMA’s collection forms the cornerstone of the institution and is a significant cultural resource for the community. The collection’s focus is on modern and contemporary art and includes painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, printmaking, video, digital, and installation art.

The museum is noted for its major holdings of California-centric art, highlighting such movements as early and mid-century modernism, Bay Area Figuration, assemblage, California Light and Space, Pop Art, Minimalism, and installation art.

The museum has an established history of actively discovering and engaging with living artists at pivotal points in their careers.

Over the past six decades, OCMA has presented more than 500 exhibitions, ranging from encyclopedic surveys of 20th century art movements to one-person retrospectives. OCMA helped launch the careers of now internationally-renowned artists such as Mark Bradford, Joan Brown, Chris Burden, Vija Celmins, Richard Diebenkorn, Fred Eversley, Robert Irwin, Catherine Opie, Charles Ray, Deborah Remington, Ed Ruscha, and Sterling Ruby.

John Altoon, Untitled (Ocean Park Series), 1962.

© The Estate of John Altoon.

Chris Burden, A Tale of Two Cities, 1981. Mixed media installation. Collection of Orange County Museum of Art. Museum purchase with funds provided through prior gift of Ben C. Deane. © The Chris Burden Estate and Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park #36, 1970. Collection of Orange County Museum of Art. Gift of David H. Steinmetz, 1977. © Richard Diebenkorn Foundation.

Ed Ruscha, Annie, 1965. Collection ofO range County Museum of Art. Museum purchase with additional funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, 1978.

© Ed Ruscha.

OCMA PERMANENT COLLECTION

JOAN BROWN

The Bay Area artist is included in Orange County Museum of Art’s 13 Women exhibition, and a career retrospective of her work will travel to OCMA after its debut at SFMOMA.

Joan Brown, The Journey #5, 1976. Collection of the Orange County Museum of Art.

LIFE AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

The Art of Joan Brown

The Bay Area has produced some of America’s most celebrated art ists, but few have been as fiercely independent and unapologetically dismissive of her critical reception as Joan Brown. It should therefore come as no surprise that Director Heidi Zuckerman selected Brown for one of OCMA’s new exhibitions, 13 Women (October 8, 2022August 20, 2023), celebrating the institution’s 60th anniversary and honoring the museum’s 13 founders.

Achieving early acclaim as the youngest artist exhibited in Young America 1960 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Brown refused to conform to the abstract paintings that had first won her notice. Instead, she followed her own path, adopting differ ent styles of figurative painting that she continually reinvented. If there is one condition of her work that remains constant, it is perhaps her subject matter—prosaic visions of people, experiences, and memories drawn from her life.

Brown’s evolution as an artist can be seen in SFMOMA’s upcom ing retrospective (November 19, 2022 - March 12, 2023), which will come to OCMA in 2023-2024. Her career truly blossomed in the early 1960s after her marriage to sculptor Manuel Neri and the birth of her son, Noel. Applying paint across large canvases

By Erin Kennedy

Joan Brown, Self-Portrait, 1970; The Buck Collection; © Estate of Joan Brown; photo: courtesy the Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art.

with prominent brush strokes or palette knives, Brown created surprising depth by transfix ing simply drawn figures against broad fields of color. In Noel and Bob (1964), she depicts her son in red and white against thickly-tex tured, rich hues of blue, brown, and crimson, accompanied by the family dog. This and other domestic scenes like it became the focus of her work—a bowl sitting on a table, Noel and Bob in the kitchen, a self portrait in a bathing suit. Brown’s centering of the day-to-day is at once irreverent and profound, an emphasis on female lived experiences uncommon at the time.

Brown continued to experiment and refine her approach throughout the 1960s, pivot ing briefly to more intimate black-and-white paintings and then back to highly stylized figures floating, dreamlike, against brightly colored backgrounds. Grey Cat with Madrone and Birch Trees (1968) is representative of the latter shift, the animal gazing brazenly ahead as it sits on a flat expanse of ground, flanked by a solitary madrone tree and two incongruous birch trunks. The painting is as unsettling as it is engaging, the stiffness of the figures somehow at odds with the banality of the scene.

Opposite: Joan Brown, Grey Cat with Madrone and Birch Trees, 1968; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Paintings Special Fund; © Estate of Joan Brown; photo: © 2022 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Right: Joan Brown, Noel and Bob, 1964; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, museum purchase, American Art Trust Fund, Mr. and Mrs. J. Alec Merriam Fund, and Morgan and Betty Flagg.

The turn of the decade signaled another shift as Brown began incorporating more elements of fantasy and whimsy in her work. The Bride (1970), for example, embodies this emphasis. It features a cat with white-tipped ears and icy blue eyes standing primly in a bridal gown amidst a field of flowers and cerulean sky of flying fish, a large brown rat on a leash at her feet. On its face, the imagery is absurd, yet the rigidity of the figures and the cat’s sober gaze give the painting a contemplative air.

Among the most arresting of Brown’s works are her self portraits. She painted herself often, at various stages of her life. In Self Portrait (1970), the artist is depicted in a dark field of images ranging from dogs, cats, and peo ple to shoes, teapots, birds, fish, and books. The portrait’s somewhat vacant countenance is suggestive of the work’s dreamlike quality, as if the artist is hovering just outside of reality in a world of her own making. Her self portraits created at the time of her first attempt at the all-women’s Alcatraz Swim, in which she became disoriented and nearly drowned before being

Opposite: Joan Brown, The Bride, 1970; University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, bequest of Earl David Peugh III; © Estate of Joan Brown; photo: Johnna Arnold/Impart Photography.

Above:Joan Brown, Gordon, Joan + Rufus in Front of S.F. Opera House, 1969; Collection of Adam Lindemann; © Estate of Joan Brown.

rescued, are also notable for their lack of facial expression. In both The Night Before the Alcatraz Swim (1975) and After the Alcatraz Swim #1 (1975), Brown appears calm and pensive, the poses unremarkable considering the gravity of the experience she is referencing. It is only the artworks on the wall that betray the artist’s true state of mind; in the first painting, Alcatraz is a black silhouette floating in an eerily flat sea, while in the other, a lone swimmer attempts to navigate churning blue waters with jagged peaks, no land in sight.

Personal symbolism became more pronounced in Brown’s artwork as she matured. The late 1970s ushered in an interest in New Age spirituality and eastern religions. Ancient Egyptian and Hindu iconography feature in much of her later work, such as The Journey #5 (1976), though she did not deviate from her figurative and rep resentational style, even when branching into sculpture. Nor did she ever abandon the self-reflective purpose of her art making.

By the time of her death in 1990, Brown had created a visual diary of her life, capturing the most important milestones alongside the everyday. In vivid color and with an unflinching honesty, Joan Brown painted those things that spoke to her—the mundane, the extraordinary, and everything in between.

Joan Brown SFMOMA 151 Third Street San Francisco sfmoma.org

Above: Joan Brown, Woman Preparing for a Shower, 1975; di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa, California; © Estate of Joan Brown; photo: courtesy Venus Over Manhattan, New York.

Opposite: Joan Brown, The Night Before the Alcatraz Swim, 1975; GUC Collection, Highland Park, Illinois; © Estate of Joan Brown; photo: Michael Tropea.

PERMANENT COLLECTION

CARRIE MAE WEEMS

One of the most significant artists of her generation, Weems explores history, identity, and the structure of power through photography, video, performance, and works of public art. One of her works is part of the permanent collection of Orange County Museum of Art, and will be included in an upcoming iteration of 13 Women.

OCMA

Carrie Mae Weems. Untitled (Ella on silk), 2014. Collection of Orange County Museum of Art. Gift of Ralph and Susan Brennan in honor of Dan Cameron, 2014. © Carrie Mae Weems.

Carrie Mae Weems, Louvre, 2006, © Carrie Mae Weems, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

CULTURAL DIALOGUE

Carrie Mae Weems is widely renowned as one of the most influential American artists living today.

Carrie Mae Weems is an influential American artist whose work gives voice to people whose stories have been silenced or ignored. Investigating history, identity, and power, she finds connections between personal experience and the larger structures and institutions that shape our lives.

“The focus of my work is to describe simply and directly those aspects of American culture in need of deeper illu mination,” Weems says. Since the 1980s, Weems’ acclaimed body of work using photographs, text, fabric, audio, digital images, installation, and video has been seen around the world. She has inspired a generation of artists with her poetic and original approach to storytelling.

Throughout her career, Weems has exposed the belief sys tems that have maintained the status quo. In her iconic Kitchen Table Series, from 1990, Weems builds emotionally complex narratives through simply staged black and white photographs, casting herself in the role of lover, friend,

Opposite: Untitled (Playing harmonica), 1990, by Carrie Mae Weems. Gelatin silver print © Carrie Mae Weems, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

mother, and solitary woman. It is widely con sidered one of the most important series in contemporary photography.

In 2013, Weems was the recipient of a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation, and in 2014 she became the first Black woman to have a retrospective at the Guggenheim. When awarding its grant, the MacArthur Foundation cited Weems for uniting “critical social insight with enduring aesthetic mastery.”

That social insight is evident in Museum Series , which shows Weems dressed in black standing with her back to the camera at muse ums and major cultural institutions. Weems has described her character as a witness who invites the viewer to consider how power is inscribed in the architecture of these spaces. Who is welcomed and represented in the museums she visits?

In Blue Notes, the viewer sees grainy blue por traits of Black pop culture figures and artists whose faces are hidden by blocks of solid color. This concealment of identity suggests the ways in which society values Black cultural production, but often erases the influence of Black people’s cultural contributions to society.

Similarly, Slow Fade to Black comments on the invisibility of Black women in music, while also paying homage to their influence. The blurred portraits of icons such as Mahalia Jackson have an ethereal, ghostly quality, which speaks to the way that these Black women have vanished

Opposite: American Monuments I, 2015-2016 by Carrie Mae Weems. Digital c-print © Carrie Mae Weems, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Right: Mahalia, 2010 by Carrie Mae Weems. Inkjet on paper © Carrie Mae Weems, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

from the communal recollection of pop culture, due to both the passage of time and racial prejudice.

With From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, 1995-96, Weems collects photographs of enslaved men and women and other Black subjects from museum and university archives. Pairing these images with powerful texts, Weems reveals the role pho tography has played in supporting and shaping racism. Weems’ expansive practice has often overlapped with activism; in addition to her solo work, she has led collective public art projects and multi-disciplinary performances.

“As a woman artist, there has never been a moment in my life that I haven’t followed the artistic brilliance of Carrie Mae Weems,” says Catherine Opie, an artist who, like Weems, is in the Orange County Museum of Art’s permaent collection.

Weems has also brought together activists, artists, musicians, poets, theorists, and writers, convening events such as Past Tense/ Future Perfect at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and The Shape of Things at the Park Avenue Armory, where Weems was artist-in-residence.

You Became Mammie, Mama, Mothe & Then, Yes, Confidant-Ha/Descending the Throne You Became Foot Soldier & Cook, 1995-96 by Carrie Mae Weems. © Carrie Mae Weems, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Color Real and Imagined, 2014 by Carrie Mae Weems. © Carrie Mae Weems, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Weems has received numerous awards, grants, and fellowships, including the U.S. State Department’s Medal of Arts, the Joseph Hazen Rome Prize Fellowship from the American Academy in Rome, NEA grants, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, among others.

Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Tate Modern, London; and Orange County Museum of Art.

Weems’ work is regularly exhibited at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City, was recently featured at Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, and will be seen at The Getty Museum in 2023 for Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue.

Jack Shainman Gallery

513 West 20th Street New York, New York jackshainman.com

Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue

April 4 – July 9, 2023

The Getty Museum Los Angeles getty.edu

Wifredo, Laura, and Me, 2002 by Carrie Mae Weems. © Carrie Mae Weems, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Above: All the Boys (Profile 2), 2016 by Carrie Mae Weems. © Carrie Mae Weems, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Opposite: The Assassination of Medgar, Malcolm and Martin, 2008 by Carrie Mae Weems. © Carrie Mae Weems, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

COLLECTION

ALEXIS SMITH

UCI-educated Alexis Smith pioneered a world of mixedmedia collage. Her work included in OCMA’s permanent collection will be part of 13 Women at the new museum, and MCASD will also honor her with a career retrospective.

Alexis Smith, “The Promised Land” for Peggy (From Porgy & Bess), 1981, Mixed media. © Alexis Smith Collection of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Alexis Smith, Valedictorian, 1994, Mixed media collage, found objects on paper, Gift of Gary and Tracy Mezzatesta © Alexis Smith Collection of the Orange County Museum of Art.

MIXED MESSAGES

Artist Alexis Smith resurrects a singular world from the discarded detritus of pop culture.

Alexis Smith wasn’t named after a faded Hollywood film star at birth. Rather, the artist changed her name from Patti Anne Smith to Alexis Smith during her first year at UCI. There, studying alongside artists Vija Celmins and Robert Irwin, the Los Angeles-born Smith adopted the moniker of the 1940s actress who later went on to have a notable Broadway career in the 1970s.

This name change was far from a whim: Instead, it provided an existential foundation that has grounded her career as one of the world’s premier collage artists and a pioneering provo cateur of fame.

With work featured around the country—including at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American

Alexis Smith, Men Seldom Make Passes at Girls Who Wear Glasses, 1985. MCASD.

Alexis Smith, Aperture, 2010. Courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery.

Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art—Smith is known for her meticulously crafted mixed-media collages. She performs her own artistic alchemy combining images, objects, and texts from what has been called “the detritus of culture.”

Pop culture, feminism, fantasy, fame, and infamy all inter twine within her work, as seen in OCMA’s 13 Women exhibi tion, and 50 examples of which are included in Alexis Smith: The American Way at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. The first retrospective of the artist in more than 30 years, the exhibition features work produced throughout Smith’s career.

The 1980 collage The American Way, from which the MCASD exhibition takes its name, combines text from the John Dos Passos trilogy of novels, U.S.A., with a variety of

Alexis Smith, The Girl Can’t Help It, 1985.

Above: Alexis Smith, Vanity Fair, 2001. Julie & Barry Smooke.

Right: Alexis Smith, Degree of Difficulty, 2002. Brooke and Erik Parker, Brooklyn, New York.

objects, news clippings, and advertising images to illu minate ideas about consumption and success that appear throughout Dos Passos’ fragmented text.

Smith’s first appearances at MCASD were in group shows, including an exhibition of artists from the University of California, Irvine in 1975, followed by Southern California Styles of the ‘60s and ‘70s three years later. By the early 1990s, Smith had established herself as a prominent public artist, working on commissions across the country.

At both MCASD as well as in the work in OCMA’s permanent collection, Smith combines images, objects,

Alexis Smith, Isadora, 1980-1981, Collection of Thomas Solomon and Kimberly Mascola.

Alexis Smith, Starlight, 1982. Courtesy of the artist and the Estate of Margo Leavin.

Top: Alexis Smith, The American Way, 1980. Gift of Margo Leavin and Wendy Brandow in memory of Jim DeSilva.

Above: Alexis Smith, Adios, 1990. Gift of The Burrows Family.

and texts—pulp novels of the 1940s and 1950s, postcards, road maps, movie stills, and advertising art—to create her own compelling commentary.

“There’s a kind of symbiosis to it—the things, the words, the background, and the objects. It’s fused into a whole where they seem like they’ve always been together, or were meant to be together,” she says. “The people who look at them put them together in their heads.”

13 Women

October 8, 2022–August 20, 2023

Orange County Museum of Art 3333 Avenue of the Arts Costa Mesa ocma.art

Alexis Smith: The American Way

September 15, 2022–January 29, 2023 Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego 700 Prospect Street La Jolla mcasd.org

Alexis Smith, Easy Rider, 2016, Courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery.

An aerial view of Fountains and Plantings by Peter Walker, which is between Cesar Pelli’s Plaza Tower, Samueli Theater, and the Orange County Museum of Art. Photo courtesy PWP Landscape Architecture.

LAND SHAPER

The OCMA exhibition Peter Walker: Minimalist Landscape will explore the open spaces of Orange County’s cultural center.

It’s tempting to take the open space in and around Segerstrom Center for the Arts for granted. Do not give in to the temp tation. The parks, plazas, and walkways that make for a pleas ant promenade from South Coast Plaza to the new Orange County Museum of Art are primarily the work of a master landscape architect, Peter Walker, who will be the subject of an opening exhibition at OCMA.

Through architectural drawings, photographs, and a newly commissioned historical recreation of models, Peter Walker: Minimalist Landscape will highlight two iconic OC projects: Fountains and Plantings—the entry court for Cesar Pelli’s Plaza Tower—and Arrival Gardens—the ramped entrance to Segerstom Center for the Arts. The exhibition will also

feature works in OCMA’s collection by Frank Stella and John McCracken, artists who influenced Walker’s minimalistic approach to landscape design.

Walker, whose career spans five decades, is widely rec ognized as one of the most accomplished landscape architectural designers of his time, forging the renais sance of landscape architecture as a discipline.

The scope of his work is expansive, ranging from the design of small gardens to the planning of cities around the globe, with a particular emphasis on corporate headquarters, plazas, cultural gardens, aca demic campuses, and urban regeneration projects.

Walker was one of the chief designers of the National September 11 Memorial, “Reflecting Absence,” in New York City. Other prominent projects include Jamison Square Park in Portland, Oregon; the Nasher Foundation Sculpture Garden in Dallas, Texas; Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland; and Millennium Park in Sydney, Australia.

Above: Arrival Gardens—the ramped, maze-like entrance to Segerstrom Hall, courtesy PWP Landscape Architecture.

Peter Walker Minimalist Landscape October 8, 2022–January 2, 2023 ocma.art

Above: Newport Beach Civic Center and Park, designed by Peter Walker. Photo courtesy PWP Landscape Architecture.

Glenstone Museum, Potomac, Maryland. Photo by Iwan Baan.

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