Laguna Art Museum Presents "Jay DeFeo: Trees" Exhibition
EGW LUXURY MAGAZINE
Laguna Beach, California – Laguna Art Museum is set to unveil a captivating new exhibition, "Jay DeFeo: Trees," highlighting the works of renowned California artist Jay DeFeo (1929-1989). Running from September 21, 2024, through January 12, 2025, this exhibition is the first to focus on DeFeo’s profound engagement with trees and her exploration of the natural world.
Jay DeFeo, Untitled (Tree series), 1953.Tempera on paper, 11 3/4 x 17 inches (29.8 x43.2 cm). JDF no. E3020. Collection Laguna Art Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Merle S. Glick, 1991.077 © 2024 The Jay DeFeo Foundation/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Curated by LAM Curatorial Fellow Rochelle Steiner, "Jay DeFeo: Trees" will feature two significant bodies of work: the Tree series drawings from the 1950s and the artist's tree photographs from the 1970s. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to view DeFeo's drawings created in her Berkeley studio between 1953 and 1954, following her extensive travels in Europe and North Africa. These works, influenced by nature, exhibit DeFeo’s distinctive fusion of representation and abstraction, marking a pivotal period in her artistic development. Among the nine surviving works from the Tree series, two are part of Laguna Art Museum’s prestigious collection.
"‘Jay DeFeo: Trees’ provides us a view of an overlooked aspect of Jay DeFeo’s extraordinary body of work, inviting visitors into nature through her eyes," said Julie Perlin Lee, Executive Director of Laguna Art Museum. "Laguna Art Museum’s unique commitment to sharing the California experience through art allows us to spotlight works of well-known artists in new and exciting ways."
Jay DeFeo, Untitled (Tree series), 1954. Tempera on paper, 15 1/4 x 11 3/4 inches (38.7 x 29.8 cm). JDF no. E1408. The Jay DeFeo Foundation, Berkeley © 2024 The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photography: Ben Blackwell.
Jay DeFeo, Untitled (Tree series), 1954. Tempera with collage on paper, 28 1/2 x 35 7/8 inches (72.4 x 91.1 cm). JDF no. E1420. The Jay DeFeo Foundation, Berkeley © 2024 The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photography: Ben
The exhibition will also showcase a collection of DeFeo's black-and-white photographs of trees taken in the Bay Area during the early 1970s. Despite not being exhibited during her lifetime, DeFeo took her photography practice very seriously. Complementing these artworks are archival materials that underscore her enduring fascination with trees and nature.
“It is a rare opportunity to bring together these nine drawings from the 1950s and present them in conjunction with the artist's photographs from the 1970s,” said Steiner. “Throughout her life, DeFeo observed and depicted the natural world, and this exhibition offers an opportunity to see some of her first-hand experiences and impressions of her surroundings.”
An illustrated publication by Steiner, featuring a contribution from Elizabeth A. T. Smith, will accompany "Jay DeFeo: Trees." Steiner's essay delves into DeFeo's drawings and photographs of trees, highlighting her unique artistic approach, while Smith places DeFeo’s work within the broader context of mid-20th-century women artists.
The exhibition and publication have received generous support from The Jay DeFeo Foundation and The Segerstrom Foundation. Coinciding with Laguna Art Museum’s annual Art + Nature initiative in fall 2024, "Jay DeFeo: Trees" will provide a multifaceted exploration of the artist's work within the rich tapestry of the California environment. Through special public programs and educational engagements, the exhibition aims to engage diverse audiences and foster a deeper appreciation for DeFeo's enduring legacy.
For more information about "Jay DeFeo: Trees," visit Laguna Art Museum. Stay connected and learn about upcoming events by following the museum on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Location
Laguna Art Museum is located at 307 Cliff Drive in Laguna Beach, on the corner of Coast
Highway and Cliff Drive.
Hours
Tuesday-Sunday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Closed Mondays, except Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth and Labor Day.
Closed Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
H. Jay DeFeo, Untitled, 1973. Gelatin silver print, 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches (12.1 x 12.1 cm). JDF no. P0185C. Gift of the Jay DeFeo Foun- dation 2015.27.2 Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. © 2024 The Jay DeFeo Founda- tion/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Jay DeFeo, Untitled, 1972. Gelatin silver print, 6 5/8 x 9 5/8 inches (16.8 x 24.4 cm). JDF no. P0199A. The Jay DeFeo Foundation, Berkeley © 2024 The Jay DeFeo Foundation/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Jay DeFeo, Untitled, 1972. Gelatin silver print, 4 1/8 x 2 inches (10.5 x 5.1 cm). JDF no. P0282A. The Jay DeFeo Foundation, Berkeley © 2024 The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Jay DeFeo, Untitled, 1973. Gelatin silver print, 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches (10.8 x 10.8 cm). JDF no. P0284. The Jay DeFeo Foundation, Berkeley © 2024 The Jay DeFeo Founda- tion/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Blackwell.
Jay DeFeo, Untitled, 1972. Gelatin silver print, 4 1/16 x 2 3/4 inches (10.3 x 7 cm). JDF no. P1132A. © 2024 The Jay DeFeo Founda- tion, Berkeley Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.Blackwell.
Jay DeFeo, Untitled, 1972. Gelatin silver print, 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches (6.4 x 8.9 cm). JDF no. P0296. The Jay DeFeo Foundation, Berke- ley © 2024 The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
About Jay DeFeo
Jay DeFeo (1929–1989) was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her BA in 1950 and MA in 1951 from the University of California, Berkeley. Over a career spanning four decades, DeFeo experimented with a wide range of materials, exploring painting, sculpture, drawing, collage, photocopying, and photography, often in unconventional ways.
A pivotal figure in the historic Beat community of artists, poets, and jazz musicians in San Francisco, DeFeo held her first major solo exhibition at the Dilexi Gallery, San Francisco, in 1959. That same year, she was included in Dorothy Miller’s historic exhibition "Sixteen Americans" at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Championed on the West Coast by curator Walter Hopps, DeFeo was included in group exhibitions at Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles and had a solo exhibition there in 1960. She completed her monumental work "The Rose" in 1966 after eight years of labor. First exhibited in 1969 at the Pasadena Art Museum, "The Rose" was later installed at the San Francisco Art Institute before being acquired by the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1995. In 2012, the Whitney organized "Jay DeFeo: A Retrospective," which premiered at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Her work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions and publications, including "Jay DeFeo: The Ripple Effect," Le Consortium, Dijon, France in 2018, which traveled to Aspen Art Museum and "Undersoul: Jay DeFeo," San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California in 2019.
Throughout her career, DeFeo taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, California College of the Arts in Oakland, and Mills College in Oakland, where she was a tenured faculty member from 1981 to 1989. Her works are in the collections of many prestigious museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; de Young Museum, San Francisco; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Menil Collection, Houston; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Tate Modern, London; and Centre Pompidou, Paris.
About the Curator
Dr. Rochelle Steiner is a Los Angeles–based curator, writer, and educator, currently serving as a Curatorial Fellow for Laguna Art Museum. Previously, she was chief curator and director of public programs and education at Palm Springs Art Museum; associate director and chief curator at Vancouver Art Gallery; director of the Public Art Fund, New York; chief curator at the Serpentine Gallery, London; and associate curator of contemporary art at Saint Louis Art Museum. She has curated monographic exhibitions of the works of Glenn Brown, John Currin, Gabriel Orozco, Elizabeth Peyton, Cindy Sherman, Gary Simmons, Monika Sosnowska, and Rirkrit Tiravanija, as well as forthcoming exhibitions on Carole Caroompas, Lari Pittman, and Fred Tomaselli. Her recent publications include "Sarah Charlesworth" (DelMonico•Prestel, 2017) and "Do Ho Suh Drawings" (DelMonico•Prestel, 2014).
For more information, visit Laguna Art Museum, and follow the museum on Instagram and Jay DeFeo Foundation on Instagram.