Oakland Museum Exhibition

The Oakland Museum of California presents a selective look at the vast and vibrant Southern California art scene via 11 influential artists, in L.A. PAINT. The exhibition opens October 4, 2008 and continues through March 15, 2009.

Curated by Chief Curator of Art Philip Linhares, L.A. PAINT highlights The Date Farmers (Armando Lerma and Carlos Ramirez), Brian Fahlstrom, Steve Galloway, Loren Holland, Hyesook Park, Steve Roden, Linda Stark, Don Suggs, Esther Pearl Watson, and Robert Williams.

The exhibition is the result of numerous Southland visits by Linhares to explore galleries, cultural centers, and studios, often pursuing suggestions from colleagues and artists.

Rene de Guzman, senior curator of art at the museum, steered Linhares to The Date Farmers, who collaborate to create groupings of painted images on salvaged corrugated metal and old signs. Lerma and Ramirez use commercial (Sponge Bob, Coca-Cola, and Playboy) and religious icons to explore American culture in images familiar to Mexican Americans.

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