Fresno Art Museum

NEWest NEWS 5/5/21

Thank you Richard Amend. This was exhibited in the recently closed A Family Dynamic exhibition in our Moradian Gallery.

Need a last-minute Mother’s Day gift or Friday night plans? Join us for a virtual fundraiser! Sip & Sketch on Friday, May 7, 2021 @ 6:30 pm via Zoom. All participants will create their own pastel flower masterpieces with FAM Teaching Artist and muralist Sam Lazcano. Attendees will sketch while sipping on your choice of wine and snacks that we will provide along with the art supplies, enough for two people to share.... Register and get more info here: fresnoartmuseum.org/mom2021 AND Check out our online Museum Store for more gift ideas: https://fammuseumstore.shopsettings.com/ Flower image by Sam Lazcano. #sipandsketch #fresnoartmuseum #fresno #virtualfundraiser #wineandcharcuterie #pastel #morhersday #mothersdaygift #fridaynightplans

Thank YOU Rick Freitas!!

Congratulations Commissioners!! We at FAM (adjacent to Radio Park) look forward to working closely with you.

NEWest NEWS 4/28/2021

NEWest NEWS 1/6/2021

The agricultural landscape of the San Joaquin Valley was an important element in August Madrigal’s paintings. He used it to illustrate the constant renewal of nature. It was equally as important for Madrigal to incorporate geometric elements into his art. Madrigal said that the geometric elements in his art are a metaphor for the importance of the mind in giving natural energy its form. He strived for a balance between these two objects. In his Fresno Art Museum Retrospective... Mediations, 1966-2002 exhibition catalog, August Madrigal is quoted as saying, In the end, an artist may explain or express what he consciously intends to do in a painting but it is the force of the subconscious, that which cannot be explained, that gives a work its strength and its mystery. Because, while a work of art can be conceived intellectually, its final resolution must be intuitive and come from the depths of the soul. That is my goal and hope. . . . August Madrigal's history as an artist and teacher is expansive. Madrigal was born on a farm in Reedley in 1926. He found his love of painting while taking art classes at California State University, Fresno. He was called to duty during the Korean War but afterward continued his education as far as getting his Masters in Art at Columbia University in New York. Madrigal was a successful professor (at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut for over 28 years) and artist, repeatedly exhibiting his art all over the world. After retiring from teaching in 1986, he returned to his family farm in Reedley and continued to paint, remaining heavily involved in the cultural arts of the San Joaquin Valley, including the Fresno Art Museum, the Reedley Historical Society, and the Fresno Philharmonic. Madrigal died in 2016. [August Madrigal, Renaissance, 1990, Oil on canvas, Gift of the Artist, FAM90.70] #fresnoartmuseum #workoftheweek #museumfromhome #museummomentofzen #centralvalley #fresno #fresnoartist #artmuseum #museumlover #agriculture #reedley #landscape #sanjoaquinvalley #augustmadrigal

We have worked day and night to launch our Museum Store on-line in time for your HOLIDAY SHOPPING!! Please help support your Museum with great gifts for those you love!

As 2020 comes to a close and we welcome the arrival of 2021, we give you a #MuseumMomentofZen by artist Elen Feinberg. Feinberg is an American painter whose imagery depicts spaces that suggest memories or dreams. Her serene landscape leaves us feeling hopeful for the future. Find this work and many others in our new online Gallery Guide found here: https://mobile.fam.yourcultureconnect.com//elen-feinberg-b . .... . [Elen Feinberg, Bottomless Lake Series II, 1989, Oil on linen, Gift of Robert Estrada, FAM2001.3] Elen Feinberg #newyear #fresnoartmuseum #museumfromhome #museumlover #seeyanextyear #membershipmatters #artmuseum #narm

Our Museum Store is online and full of unique gifts! Calendars, one-of-a-kind trinkets, games, puzzles, art books (including the beautiful Gifted catalog), and children’s books are just a few of the items available. And don’t worry about the items shipping to you in time; we are offering same-day curbside pickup! ... #shopsmall #curbsidepickup #fresnoartmuseum

Thank you ALL who in 2020 rode this wild pandemic ride with us. With new digital platforms you can visit FAM virtually, engage in our programs, become new or remain members, and enjoy our relevant and excellent exhibitions even though our doors are temporarily closed. We raise our glass to a post-pandemic and vital 2021 for us ALL. See you at the Museum!!

The 1982 exhibition Views of Yosemite: The Last Stance of the Romantic Landscape included paintings, watercolors, drawings, and photographs created by renowned landscape artists of the 19th century. Two of the many important artists featured were Thomas Hill and Karl Wilhelm Hahn. Sometimes led by naturalist John Muir to especially favorable perspectives, artists and photographers were among the early visitors who chronicled the marvels of Yosemite Valley and brought public a...wareness of the existence of this magnificent land. It has a special place in the history of California art. The exhibition provided a complete overview of both the nature of the place and the artists who chronicled it. In the 19th century, painters traveled with photographers, sharing not only campsites but inspiring and learning from one another’s work. The rough landscape made painting in the field on a grand scale impossible. Though bulky, the early camera was a tool for the Yosemite painter. Using field sketches, color studies, and photographs, the Yosemite artists completed their grand paintings in the studio, sometimes with the guidance of photographs from the photographers they traveled with. This exhibition was curated by Kathryn Funk and the Fresno Arts Center (as it was then still called) and evoked a peaceful nostalgia. Please share your memories of Yosemite in the comments below. Also check out our current exhibitions which include another exhibition on the subject of Yosemite, Bonnie Peterson: Another Glorious Sierra Day. . . . [Views of Yosemite 1855-1900: The Last Stance of the Romantic Landscape, June 11 - August 8, 1982] Image 3: Thomas Hill, Vernal Falls, 1888 Image 4: Karl Wilhelm Hahn, Return From Glacier Point, 1874 #flashbackfriday #museum #museumfromhome #museumlover #museumgram #yosemite #yosemitevalley #vernalfalls @yosemitenps #fresnoartmuseum #yourmuseum #membermatters #narm

The Museum Store is Online! Online ordering and curbside pick-up from The Museum Store are available for your holiday shopping! You will be happy to find all the new and unique merchandise we have in stock, perfect for holiday gift giving!... New items added daily including one-of-a-kind consignment items by our FAMily of artists. SHOP HERE: https://fammuseumstore.shopsettings.com . . . #shopsmall #museumstore #museumgiftshop #fresnoshopping #curbsidepickup #fresnoartmuseum #yourmuseum

NEWest NEWS 12/9/2020 YOU CAN SHOP OUR STORE FROM HOME STARTING NOW !

Looking for some creative stay-at-home activities? Check out our Museum Store online and pick it up in person. Learn a new skill with unique activity books and a crochet kit Practice a beloved pastime with new cookbooks or a book club kit Start a new hobby with a colorful origami book. ... Click here to shop: https://fammuseumstore.shopsettings.com/

Step inside an artist's studio with us! Join a live lunchtime Zoom studio tour with artist and illustrator Will Bullas! It is a members-only event; become a member to take part! Join us at noon on Thursday, November 12, 2020 for a live event via Zoom with Carmel Valley artist Will Bullas from his studio. Attendance is limited to 30 people. This studio visit will include a PowerPoint presentation by Will that will give you insight into his background and how he works, a look ...around his studio, and an opportunity to chat and ask questions. Register here http://fresnoartmuseum.org/studiotour You can visit Will's current exhibition, Will Bullas: M is for Masterpiece, at FAM. His children's book is available in The Museum Store. #studiotour #fresnoartmuseum #membershipmatters #YOURmuseum #FAMFRESNO #fNARM #museumfromhome

NEWest NEWS 12/30/2020

Does this painting capture your memories of the circus? The artist Varaz Samuelian recounts his memories of the circus and circus acts in his 1981 book 1979’s Sketch Pad (Watercolors, Pen and Ink Sketches). One memory Samuelian included was, In Paris I frequently saw acrobats and jugglers performing in the streets. I was impressed when I saw a young man and his small son doing acrobatics. I saw them several times. After a while I started to do acrobatics too, however not ver...y successfully. Later people would toss coins in my direction when I performed, this helped pay for my expenses through art school. Later in the book, he goes on to say that he "painted 95 watercolors and drawings of circus memories at 63 years of age in mixed up times, with a mixed up mind and with mixed up feelings. Acclaimed painter, sculptor, and author Varaz Samuelian (1917-1995) is well known for his monumental copper statue of the legendary Armenian hero David of Sassoon (1970) that stands in Courthouse Park in downtown Fresno and for his bronze bust of his friend William Saroyan (1984) that stands in front of the William Saroyan Theater of the Fresno Convention Center. [Varaz Samuelian, Circus, c. 1968, Oil on canvas, Gift of Roslyn Robbins and William Dienstein] . . . #workoftheweek #museumfromhome #museumlove #circus #museum #museumcollection #fresno #fresnocalifornia #fresnoartist #fresnoart #fresnoartmuseum

PLEASE....and Thank you

NOTE: FRESNO ARTISTS! You can apply for up to $5,000 in grant funds provided by the City for pandemic relief.

As always!! Thank you Donald Munro for sharing critical updates on funding possibilities for Fresno’s arts organizations. The president kept arts groups on edge with his veto threat of the stimulus plan, but $15 billion is now on its way. What will it mean for Fresno's Good Company Players, Fresno Philharmonic, Fresno Art Museum and others? DM

Thank you YourCentralValley.com!!

Our Bus Excursion was postponed but you can visit textually here:

A #Throwback to Body/Land: A 25 Year Retrospective of Anne Scheid. The retrospective exhibition showed how Scheid transformed her style from practice drawings into a monumental and multi-faceted art form. Her retrospective was held in three-venues, the two other venues being Fresno City College and Arte Américas. Body/Land: A 25 Year Retrospective of Anne Scheid, January 22 to May 1, 2016, was curated by Gordon L. Fugile, Director and Head of Curatorial Affairs of the Central... California Museum of Art. FAM's current exhibition Here She Stands: Women Artists from the Permanent Collection features a large work by Anne Scheid. . . . Photo credit: Randy Vaughn-Dotta #fresnoartmuseum #membershipmatters #YOURmuseum #FAMFRESNO #Fresnoart #fresnoartist #fNARM #museumfromhome

FAM is hosting LIVE Studio Visits with artists in current FAM exhibitions in November, December, and January! These are available to museum members in thanks for your continued, unwavering support. Please become a member to join us for these special art events; members please register! ... We promise you fun and illuminating insights into our selected artists by visiting their studios.

Reactivated our Google listing today!

Considering a visit to the Museum? On Thursday, November 5th, we are reopening to the general public, and we can’t wait to see you! Our new policies and procedures include: Advance timed-entry reservations... Pay by credit or debit card, no cash Face masks at all times Feeling unwell? Please reschedule your visit Six feet of distancing One-way traffic New hand-sanitizing stations Reserve your tickets today by calling (559) 441-4221. Open 11am-4pm, Thursday to Sunday . . . [Clement Renzi, Take My Hand, 1983, Bronze, Gift of Thomas R. Richardson, M.D., in memory of his mother, Catherine W. Richardson. FAM86.22 Clement Renzi, Used with permission of the Renzi Family] Photo credit: Randy Vaughn-Dotta #fresnoartmuseum #membershipmatters #YOURmuseum #FAMFRESNO #Fresnoart #fresnoartist #fNARM #museumfromhome

NEWest NEWS 11/4/2020

Can you still relate to this scene painted 100 years ago? Our #WorkoftheWeek is The Porch, California (1920) by Marguerite Zorach (1887-1968), an artist known for advancing Modernism in the United States. She has ties with Fresno because her family moved here when Marguerite was young. She attended Fresno High School. Zorach lived the kind of life found in history books. She was a part of a small group of women who were admitted to Stanford University, but she did not finish ...her degree because she decided to accompany her aunt to France. There, Zorach socialized with notable figures such as Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, and Henri Matisse. In France, she discovered the Fauvist art movement and the striking and controversial forms of Cubism that would influence her subsequent work. Another painting by Marguerite Zorach is in our current exhibition Here She Stands: Women Artist from the Permanent Collection. The Fresno Art Museum is open 11 am to 4 pm Thursday to Sunday. . . . [Marguerite Zorach, The Porch, California, 1920, Oil on linen, Gift from the Collection of the Zorach Children] #fresnoartmuseum #membershipmatters #YOURmuseum #FAMFRESNO #Fresnoart #fresnoartist #museummomentofzen #museumfromhome

This installation makes a spectacular demonstration of Bitters’ theory that art and life ought to merge in everyday life. - The Fresno Bee, September 23, 1979 For this week's #ThrowbackThursday we are taking a look back at local artist Stan Bitters’ 1979 exhibition. Bitters’ has had a career in ceramics and influenced California architecture for six decades. His installations are commonly commissioned for public spaces, industrial complexes, and private residences. Stan Bit...ters’ art adds visual appeal to the stark, blank walls of corporate offices and public spaces. In this particular exhibition, Bitters was able to show a large body of his work. As you can see from the photographs, the installation of his sculptures in the Museum’s galleries would have required a large crew. The Museum’s front glass doorway had to be removed to allow for the installation of the 8 x10 foot pool, decking, arbors, and large ceramic sculptures. In an interview about the exhibition, Stan Bitters was quoted by The Fresno Bee as saying, We need spaces like this to survive the sheer ugliness of much of what surrounds us. . . . [Stan Bitters: Sculpture, September 8 through October 14, 1979] #stanbitters #ceramics #fresnoartist #fresno #fresnoart #fresnoartmuseum #fresnoartmuseum #museumfromhome

NEWest NEWS 10/28/2020

Anita Shanahan, 2019 Horizon Award (Citizen) honoree, on the reasons why she has happily spent her 100 years living, breathing, and loving art. Producer: Lisa Herrick/Fresno Arts Council Videographer: Jason Wada (https://jasonwada.com/) Location: Fresno Art Museum

Caption this oil painting by James Strombotne. We will start: Wearing trench coats in October even though it’s 80 degrees out. . . . [James Strombotne, Trucking, 1972, Oil on canvas, Gift of Adam Mekler in honor of Stephen Dent and Yumi Kinoshita]... #fresnoartmuseum #narm #workoftheweek #museumfromhome #fresno