My Painting Is In A New Show At MOCA

They say the trick is to live long enough.  So, I guess I’m one of the lucky ones.

What other 79-year-old grandmother –– within the span of only 30 days –––has had one of her large paintings included in an important show at MOCA, the prestigious Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles…

At the opening of the latest show at MOCA, With Pleasure: Pattern and Decoration in American Art 1972-1985

…and has flown for an hour in the most famous WW II fighter aircraft, the Spitfire, over the White Cliffs of Dover?

Ready to take off in a Spitfire.

May I please have another month like that?  Soon? Any time?

I think almost every artist dreams about being in a show at MOCA. My dream came true when I was asked to be in the new show, “With Pleasure: Pattern and Decoration 1972-1985”  which will be in Los Angeles until May 11, 2020.

The exterior of The Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Los Angeles.

Then it travels to the East Coast for its opening at the Hesse Museum of Art at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY from June 27, 2020 - November 29, 2020.

Granted, I’ve had exciting things happen to me over my decades in the art world. I’ve been on the covers of art publications, featured in books and international magazines, had articles written about me and my work and received some great reviews. I’ve been very fortunate, but, somehow in spite of all that, I never expected to be in a major show curated by MOCA. 

It almost didn’t happen and here’s why. I receive a lot of emails. It’s embarrassing to admit I have 5,710 in my IN box at the moment. So, when I received an email from MOCA’s curators, I almost deleted it. I thought it was spam, but luckily, I didn’t trash it. I glanced at it, then reread it and gasped. Anna Katz, the MOCA Curator and her associate, Jessica Lowry  wanted to see my work for a future show.

Initially, Jessica came alone to my home where my studio is located. We talked and nibbled on some goodies while I explained how I created my work, from concept through execution. 

Jessica was also interested in my experience of being in the Los Angeles Pattern and Decoration show at the ARCO Center for Visual Art. ARCO, was funded by the Atlantic Richfield Company and was considered the Whitney Museum of the West Coast at one time. The curator was Fritz Faushiger who had heard about my work from Sandy Ballatore, the editor of Images and Issues, a West Coast art publication of some importance. Sandy was an enthusiastic fan of my work and unbeknownst to me, she suggested that Fritz should see my paintings. He did and that was that.  I was in. 

One of three of my paintings in the Pattern and Decoration show at ARCO.

Here’s an excerpt from just one of the reviews. I wanted to have t-shirts with this printed on it.  Come to think of it, I still may.

Then Sandy Ballatore surprised me by featuring a detail of my painting, Blue Batik, on the cover of Images and Issues and wrote a glowing review.

Detail of my painting, BLUE BATIK

But, getting back to MOCA, while I had enjoyed a lovely afternoon talking about art with Rebecca Lowry, months went by and I never  heard from her or anyone at the museum. Naturally, I was disappointed and came to the conclusion that they were simply not interested in my work. I reluctantly accepted that rejection is just a part of life in the creative world.

Eight months later, I was wading through a few hundred emails and whoa! there was another message from MOCA and this time, both Anna Katz, the Curator and Rebecca Lowry, the Assistant Curator wanted to look at my work again. To be honest, I was let down that I hadn’t heard from them and didn’t know why they were coming back unless it was for the nibbles I laid out.

But boy, was I wrong. Anna and Rebecca could not have been more appreciative and interested in my work. At the end of their visit, Anna asked if I would like to be in their show. Of course, I accepted but what really put the proverbial icing on the cake was when she quietly studied my painting again, turned to me and said, “You know, this is a masterpiece.” 

Do you enjoy art shows and museum? Have you gone to downtown Los Angeles and seen the exciting new art scene?