Art In the Garden at the Arboretum

The Arboretum Presents

The Nature of Sculpture

April 1 – August 1, 2015

Opening Reception April 11

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden
301 North Baldwin Avenue
Arcadia, CA 91007

Experience our outdoor gallery exhibiting over 80 artists from the Pasadena, Altadena, San Gabriel Valley, Southern, and Northern California, displaying their outstanding work on sites each artist selected specifically for the exhibition. Wander the gardens and see how the harmony of nature and sculpture elevates the human spirit. The sculptures will be on view throughout selected gardens with artists on hand April 11 to share the inspiration behind their pieces. The exhibition, curated by Patricia Ferber, will continue April through the end of July giving visitors the opportunity to walk, see and experience the sculptures, gardens, and artistic talents of our communities.
When: April 1-August 1, 2015
Reception April 11, 2015
Time: Open daily with garden admission 9am-4:30pm
Artist reception April 11, 4-7 pm
Where: Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden
301 North Baldwin Avenue
Arcadia, CA 91007
www.arboretum.org
Admission: $9 to $4; Arboretum members free
Reception- $25 General Admission, $50 Art Supporter
NatureOfSculpture

Welcome to the Nature of Sculpture, and new ways to see art in the
garden!
We invite you to explore the gardens and the sculptural creations of
eighty-five artists. You’ll experience the horticultural heart of the
Arboretum, as a botanical gallery that enhances and balances the broad
display of artistic inspiration and vision.
The Arboretum has a history of supporting the arts and humanities.
Landmark architecture and gardening arts have been a signature of the
Arboretum since its founding. Today, The Nature of Sculpture richly
continues a tradition of creative vision as yet another point of connection
to a beloved public resource.
We thank Patricia Ferber for her invaluable contributions to organizing
the show and bringing it to fruition, and the staff and volunteers who
have worked so diligently to make it a reality. We also wish to thank the
Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation Board of Trustees, the generous
support of our members, and the dedicated staff and volunteers who
have contributed to the project.
Richard Schulhof, CEO

Here are just a few of the exhibiting artists;

Margaret Garcia

Margaret Garcia was born in East Los Angeles in 1951. Her recent exhibits
are Chicano Dreams, Bordeaux, France Muse D’Aquitain, and
Transforming Feminism, South Bay Contemporary. Identified as one of 24
artists who have had an impact on LA Art, History and Culture in the La
Woman exhibit. Her work is in the Cheech Marin collection. She was
Artistic Project Manager for an NEA project in Watts Called “Our Town.”
Her work is on the walls of the Universal City Metro station as part of a
historic tribute to the History of California and the signing of the
Capitulation of Cahuenga, making California a territory of the United
States.
Margaret’s work is personal and embraces the cultural common ground
of her community and the history of Los Angeles. Flat compositional
space is firmly rooted in the tradition of Mexican folk art. She has work in
LACMA and the Laguna Art Museum.

Robert Oblon

Robert Oblon was born in Los Angeles in 1946. Every day
after school, young Robert was at his parents’ flower shop
exposed to their creative process, sitting in the back room
by himself building small sculptures from the floral
arrangement accessories. In the early 1950’s, Robert
became aware of Henry Moore on a visit to LACMA and
this was the moment he knew he was to become a
sculptor.
Robert studied fine art at Cal State University, Long Beach, with an emphasis
in sculpture. After college he established a bronze foundry located in
Burbank, casting his own work along with other notables.
Robert sold the foundry in the mid-1980’s to focus on his own work. His
current sculptures combine the formal approach of strong, geometric circles
and tangents of the arc made from sawn wood and aluminum, with
juxtaposed shapes in gravity-defying angles, incorporating the idea of beauty
in the essence of form.

Brett Goldstone

Born in New Zealand, Brett Goldstone has made public art his
primary activity over the last 35 years. As documented in
various magazines and videos, Goldstone’s 1987-1995 steam
powered sculpture shows in downtown Los Angeles qualify
him as the progenitor of Steam punk.
Goldstone published Spectacle Magazine and Emit
Magazine; produced numerous underground event/shows in
the LA River. Goldstone exhibited in Linz, Austria; Berlin,
Germany; Mexico City and within the United States before
retiring from performing his “Activation Art.” He now designs and constructs
park entrance gates on the Los Angeles River for the State of California, The City
of Long Beach and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

Julie Brooks

Julie Brooks graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art, Magna
Cum Laude and departmental honors from Washburn
University in Topeka, Kansas. She was chosen from her peers
to receive the Pollak Award in 2003. She went on to study
with Yoshiro Ikeda at Kansas State University, Manhattan,
Kansas and received an MFA in Ceramics in 2006. Her
ongoing, successful efforts to create art exhibitions and art in public places
manifests her belief that art as a part of daily life is essential for the health of the
human mind and spirit. She creates the physical sculpture as an intriguing,
understandable, non-threatening, often childlike companion that accompanies
the viewer in exploration of thoughts, feelings and facts, which are not explored
willingly in day-to-day life.

Walter Askin

Walter Askin studied art at the University of California,
Berkeley and the Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford University,
England. He has exhibited throughout the world, including
solo-exhibitions at the Kunslerhaus, Vienna; the Whitney
Museum, New York; and the De Young Museum, San
Francisco. He taught for many years at California State
University Los Angeles where he received the Outstanding
Professor Award. His artwork is included in the collections of
the Tate Gallery, London; the Institute of Contemporary Art,
Chicago; and the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
Walter Askin’s work, “The Sentinel,” was inspired by carved
pieces created by the Dogons in Mali, Africa which focus on
ancestral figures reaching skyward in altruistic poses. These
flame-cut and welded steel pieces continue ideas explored in an earlier series of
cast-iron, enameled totems created while working as an invited artist at Kohler
Arts in Industry program.

William Catling

William Catling, a native of San Francisco, was trained by
artists from the Bay Area Figurative School. He moved to
Southern California in 1991 to continue his work as an artist
and teach at the university level. For him, art and life are a
journey. It is a search for meaning amidst a confusing array of
conflicting forces. Using earthen materials, he explores
ancient references, such as the intuitive connections to
suffering, memories, transcendence and a deep spirituality.
The work is about the continual discovery of the true human
condition residing deep within. The work is symbolic of an internal journey,
quietly impacting the space around it, or a viewer who comes close. The figures
are inspired by the challenges of life experiences, sufferings and recurring
themes that carry a thread of hope.

Brian Carlson

Brian Carlson was born in Los Angeles in 1959 and was raised
in Arcadia from 4th grade through high school. At Arcadia
High School, he learned industrial arts, focusing on ceramics,
wood and metal shop. He went on to Pasadena City College,
where Philip Cornelius mentored him in ceramics.
Brian continues to make his living as a contractor and
craftsman, pursuing art as his motivating passion. Brian is
currently artist-in-residence emeritus at Zorthian Ranch in
Altadena, CA. 24 years and counting…
This new work, “Return of the Ancients” is dedicated in memoriam to ALL
genocide victims, past and current…2015 being the centennial of the Armenian
genocide. “Return of the Ancients represents angeled souls returning to heal and
teach acceptance of all peoples.”