Multiple Intersections

The Long Beach Creative Group is pleased to present “Multiple Intersections,” an exhibition exploring fine art printmaking organized and curated by CSULB Faculty Emerita Roxanne Sexauer. The show is being held in the Rod Briggs Gallery, located at 2221 E Broadway in Long Beach. It opens with a reception on Sunday, June 25, from 1-4pm. The gallery is open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 1-4pm, and the exhibition closes on Saturday, July 22.

Sexauer explained that, “the title of the exhibition arises from the fact that prints are usually classified as identical multiples, each originating from the same matrices. While each of the fifteen artists in the exhibition has a distinctly unique vision, there are often related themes or media that cross paths.”

She observed that “the need for specialized equipment necessarily develops into a space shared by a number of individuals, creating strong community ties and artistic interchange. Thus, it is no coincidence that almost every artist in the exhibition has, at one time or other, taught within a university, college, or related graphic arts studio situation.”

Featured artists include Mary Sherwood Brock, Rob Brown, Jennifer Chen, Helen Cox, Sydney A. Cross, Guerra, Alvaro D. Marquez, Kimiko Miyoshi, Tim Musso, Kiyomi Fukui Nannery, Michelle Rozic, Marianne Sadowski, Todd Smith, Camilla Taylor, and Tava Tedesco.

Helen Cox, Exhibition Coordinator for the LBCG, said, “When one considers the overall impact of this show, it is obvious that these printmakers are an extremely diverse and experimental group of artists; much of the work is cutting edge. Often, printmakers do not receive the recognition they deserve, and we are thrilled to feature them, and the art form.”

Marka Burns, Board President of LBCG, agreed. “Printmaking is an ancient and unsung art form that’s deserving of celebration, and attention. We are excited to collaborate with Roxanne, and all of the artists she’s selected for the show.”

Two or three representative works from each artist comprise the exhibition. Some pieces are small, while one is akin to a mural format, printed entirely by hand. In some instances, prints on paper have moved off the walls to be incorporated into sewing, quilting, and book arts.

The LBCG is also presenting three special events during this exhibition. There will be an artist talk on Sunday, July 9, from 5-7pm. On Thursday, July 13 from 6-8pm, Sexauer will host an event for art collectors where she will discuss the value and importance of various types of prints in making purchasing decisions. On Sunday, July 16 from 1:30 to 3:30pm, artists featured in the show will conduct a Hands-On Workshop, teaching simple printmaking techniques. Families with children are welcome. All materials will be provided.

This exhibition is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Arts Council for Long Beach, the City of Long Beach, and the ongoing support of the Briggs Family Trust.

The LBCG is an established consortium of experienced artists, educators, and art enthusiasts engaged in creating exhibit space and opportunities for local artists through curated exhibits and events. Since 2019, the Rod Briggs Gallery has enabled the group to consistently and professionally present the depth and diversity of artistic expression in Long Beach and the surrounding communities.

The Rod Briggs Gallery is located at 2221 East Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90803. During exhibits, the gallery is open to the public Fridays through Sundays, from 1pm to 4pm. No appointment is required. Follow the LBCG at facebook.com/LongBeachCreativeGroup, and on IG @LongBeachCreativeGroup.

Artist Talk
Sunday, July 9, 5-7pm

The Long Beach Creative Group will present an artist talk with a number of artists participating in “Multiple Intersections.” They will discuss specific works, materials, methodologies, and inspirations, and answer questions from attendees.

Collector’s Event – Printmaking And Prints
Thursday, July 13, 6-8pm

CSULB Faculty Emerita Roxanne Sexauer will host an event for art collectors where she will discuss the value and importance of various types of prints in making purchase decisions.

Free Printmaking Workshop
Sunday, July 16, 1:30-3:30pm

On Sunday July 16, from 1:30-3:30pm, artists Kiyomi Fukui Nannery and Dusty Guerra will host a Hands-On Printmaking Workshop. Participants will experience printing relief patterns from hand-cut blocks (provided), using stamp pads for ink, onto origami papers, which will then be folded into paper cranes. Families with children are welcome. All materials will be provided.

Movie Night At The Gallery

Friday, June 16, 7pm

Basquiat
Directed by Julian Schnable

Basquiat is a 1996 American biographical drama film directed, co-written and co-composed by Julian Schnabel in his feature directorial debut. The film is based on the life of American postmodernist/neo expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. It is the first film about an American painter written and directed by another artist.

Jeffrey Wright portrays Basquiat, a Brooklyn-born artist who used his graffiti roots as a foundation to create collage-style paintings on canvas. David Bowie plays Basquiat’s friend and mentor, pop artist Andy Warhol. Additional cast members include Gary Oldman as a thinly disguised Schnabel, Michael Wincott as the poet and art critic Rene Ricard, Dennis Hopper as Bruno Bischofberger, Parker Posey as gallery owner Mary Boone, Christopher Walken as a devious, intrusive journalist, Willem Dafoe as a supportive artist who’s making ends meet as an electrician, and Claire Forlani, Courtney Love, Tatum O’Neal, and Benicio del Toro in supporting roles as “composite characters”.

In Art in America, the art critic Brooks Adams wrote, “Basquiat can be seen as a huge, lurking self-portrait of the artist-Schnabel, not Basquiat. So laden is the film with the innumerable coincidences of Basquiat and Schnabel’s enthusiasms (among others, for pajamas and surfing) that the movie should be more appropriately called My Basquiat… To a remarkable degree, the movie succeeds, by dint of its authorial slant, in popularizing the myth of Basquiat as a young, gorgeous, doomed, yet ultimately transcendent black male artist, even as it extends and reinflates the myth of Schnabel as a protean, Picassoid white male painter… Yet for all one’s apprehension about the very idea of Schnabel making such a film, Basquiat turns out to be a surprisingly good movie…It is also an art work.”

Movie Night At The Gallery

Friday, July 21, 7pm

Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait
Directed by Pappi Corsicato

An exploration of the personal life and public career of the celebrated painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, whose acclaimed work has turned him into a superstar in the international art world. Schnabel’s acclaimed film works include Before Night Falls, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Basquiat.

New York Times Film Critic Ken Jaworowski wrote of the film, “Surveying Mr. Schnabel’s life from his boyhood through his success in the art world and as a film director, the movie includes interviews with family members who pile on the adulations from the first minutes to the final scenes. Jeff Koons, Bono, Al Pacino and other celebrities also check in to extol Mr. Schnabel’s brilliance. The pieces shown, many of them beguiling, practically beg for their close-ups and for some exploration.”

Movie Night At The Gallery

Friday, August 25, 7pm

Exit Through The Gift Shop
A Banksy Film

Exit Through the Shop is a 2010 British documentary film directed by street artist Banksy. It tells the story of Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant in Los Angeles who, over the course of several years, filmed a host of street artists at work, including Shepard Fairey and Banksy, but failed to do anything with the footage. Eventually, Banksy decided to use the footage to make a documentary, which includes new footage depicting Guetta’s rise to fame as the artist “Mr. Brainwash”. In addition to narration read by Rhys Ifans, the story is largely related by Banksy himself, whose face is obscured and voice altered to preserve his anonymity. Geoff Barrowcomposed the film’s score, and Richard Hawley’s “Tonight The Streets Are Ours” plays during the opening and closing credits.[1] The film premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival on 24 January 2010, and it was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 83rd Academy Awards. Since its release, there has been extensive debate over whether the film is a genuine documentary or a mockumentary. When asked if the film is real, Banksy simply replied: “Yes.”

Los Angeles Times Film Critic Kenneth Turan wrote, “Subversive, provocative and unexpected, “Exit Through the Gift Shop” delights in taking you by surprise, starting quietly but ending up in a hall of mirrors as unsettling as anything Lewis Carroll’s Alice ever experienced. Even when you think you’ve figured this film out, you can’t shake the notion that maybe you haven’t.”