If the walls at the Long Beach Creative Group’s latest gallery could talk, they would probably try teaching an art lesson.
The LBCG’s latest gallery “In Memoriam” is filled with works from late educators and artists from Long Beach’s colleges in an effort to “honor their legacies,” said Marka Burns, LBCG founder and president.
All of the prints, paintings and sculptures on display are also up for a silent auction, where residents can submit competing bids until Saturday, July 16 at 3 p.m. when the winners will be notified.
“It was sort of one of these organic processes where we were talking about people who had influenced us as artists,” Burns said. “And one thing led to another … we decided to have a show that would honor the legacies of these artists.”
Each artist featured has taught the arts to students in the community for many years, whether at Cal State Long Beach, Rio Hondo College or within the Long Beach Unified School District. All of the late professors selected have a connection to at least one of the LBCG’s board members whether through school, their careers or personal lives.
Since the creation of LBCG, the group has highlighted students and colleges in the area. In January, the Rod Briggs gallery at LBCG held a graduate masters of fine arts show called “Points of View” displaying the work of many graduating students from Cal State Long Beach.
Rod Briggs, both a featured artist in the auction and the namesake for LBCG’s gallery, was a teacher in the LBUSD for decades and a prominent member of the city’s artistic community before passing away in 2017. His photo-realistic paintings of Long Beach document the city’s aesthetic transformation from the mid 20th century to the early 21st century.
The late Domenic Cretara and Howard Hitchcock both taught at Cal State Long Beach for years, the latter of whom hired Burns for her first teaching job at the same college. Cretara also died in 2017 and his work includes oil paintings and a handful of film projects.
Hitchcock was a printmaker, painter and sculptor who “pioneered the ceramic shell casting process for bronze sculpture, taught the course at CSULB for many years” and wrote a book on the topic, according to the LBCG’s website.
“We were reminiscing about our days at the college,” Burns said. “I guess that’s how it sort of came about. And [reminiscing about] how important these professors were to us. We were talking about it at a meeting and we just said, ‘Hey, why don’t we put that on our calendar to do as an exhibit?’”
The late Stephen Werlick, whose work includes sculptures that celebrate societal human conditions through connection as well as the feminine form, was married to one of the LBCG’s board members, Dorte Christjansen.
Richard Lopez is the sole artist who did not teach in Long Beach, though he graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in fine arts. Lopez taught drawing and painting at Rio Hondo College in Whitter for over 30 years. His paintings explore the balance between the spiritual and the physical, according to the LBCG’s website.
Pieces were hand selected by the remaining heirs of each artist—Hitchcock’s son, Lopez’s wife Trina, Cretara’s wife Betty, Werlick’s wife Dorte—who worked with the LBCG for the past six months putting the auction together. The gallery will feature about 10 pieces of work from each artist, totaling over 50 original artworks up for auction.
The money raised will also benefit Long Beach not-for-profit Able ARTS Work (AAW), whose mission is to provide creative art activities and resources for people of all ages and abilities in the city. They will receive 10% of the profits made.
“Able ARTS Work is honored to be a partner of the LBCG’s exhibit ‘In Memoriam,’” said Kristy Glass, Able ARTS Work’s director of community advancement. “This exhibit is a tribute to incredible Long Beach artists. LBCG and AAW share a common effort in promoting the creative arts and creating spaces that promote creative growth within the community.”
The Long Beach Creative Group’s gallery is located at 2221 E Broadway and open daily from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Bidding ends at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 16. To view a slideshow of the items included in the auction, visit LBCG’s website.
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