Photo Gallery: Two Altadena Artists Selected for Pasadena Museum of California Art Show

With vastly different styles, but equal acclaim, Altadena artists Tim Solliday and Jove Wang are among a select group of artists whose paintings have been chosen for the prestigious 100th California Art Club (CAC) Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition.

The exhibition will be on display at the Pasadena Museum of California Art starting today and running through April 24.  It coincides with the publication of California Light: A Century of Landscapes - Paintings of the California Art Club. The new book includes work by Solliday and Wang.

Irvine Museum of Art Executive Director Jean Stern who co-authored of California Light served as a juror for the CAC exhibition and selected Solliday and Wang for the display.

“More entries were turned down than accepted, but Tim Solliday and Jove Wang are held in high respect not only in the California Art Club, but in the entire art community,” Stern said.  “Both have books on their art and both are teachers. They are excellent painters with sterling reputations and we take for granted that whatever they turn in will be of significant importance.”

The jury chose Solliday’s “Mexican Hat” for the exhibition. “The composition was very clever,” says Stern of the piece, “an elegant arrangement of diverse objects with the hat being the dominant object. I particularly liked the colors; he likes to use a lot of opposite colors together to create a very bright, ‘contrasty’ sense of light.”

Stern describes Wang’s work, “He is a great painter with a very loose impressionist style. He is very fast and quick and the result is a feeling of natural light and fluidity.” In Wang’s “Russian Woman” which was included in the exhibition “he captured the feeling of the woman, the light and the setting. It is a very economical piece that leaves a lot of opportunity for viewers to create our own idea of what she looks like.”

Landscape and figure painter Solliday was born in 1952. Inspired by his artist-father to begin painting when he was very young, in the late 1980s he studied with early California Impressionist, Theodore N. Lukits (1897-1992).

His paintings have appeared in numerous prestigious group exhibitions and his work is frequently featured in national publications, including Art of the West, International Artist and American Artist. Art & Antiques magazine referred to him as one of “California’s top plein-air artists.”

Although much of his current work features Native American and Southwest themes and settings, Solliday says he doesn’t have to look far beyond his Altadena backyard for subject matter and scenes to paint.

“This city has had a heck of an effect on me. There are a lot of great historical places.  We have a beautiful mausoleum, horse stables and mountainous areas.  I go up there to paint," Solliday said. "Although I do have to get away to Santa Fe and other places to work, I get about 80 percent of my outdoor reference material right here in Altadena. For instance, Oak trees are kind of universal and we have some beautiful oaks here.”

Jove Wang was born in 1962 in Jilin, China. At age seven he began studying drawing and watercolor and acrylic with the renowned master artist, Guo Gang. He continued his studies graduating with honors from Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts.

In 1990 Wang immigrated to the United States where he soon met with success, the beginning of a career that has garnered him national recognition. He has received recognition in exhibitions across the United States and abroad.

“I’ve dedicated my career as an artist to depicting in my paintings my fascination of both Western and Eastern cultures,” says Wang. “Traveling and exploring regions around the world provide new experiences that keep my creative eye open and have a positive effect on my work.”

When asked what inspires him to paint a scene, he explains, “First, the subject matter. It isn’t the object in the place that matters; rather, it is the soul of the place and the context of everything in it. Then, when following the painting principle, an artist needs to think about design, color and brush stroke unity.”

He says he doesn’t really have a process when he works. “I don’t plan, I just paint, but before painting I reflect a lot about design, value, rhythm line and brush stroke with strong power.”

Frequently recognized in their careers Solliday and Wang are cognizant of how significant an honor it is to be included in the CAG 100th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition. Solliday says he is “very glad to be included” because thanks to Peter Adams the Club “has been rejuvenated” to its original importance when in the early 20th century it helped bring American artists, to world attention.

A man of few words who allows his paintings to speak for themselves, Wang acknowledges the honor of participating in Exhibition.  “It’s a great show. I am excited!”