Oceanside Museum Showcases Luminous ‘Gold Coast’ Paintings

A century ago, the California Art Club held its first exhibition — especially important because the club's promotions included the works of women and sculptors excluded from other art groups at the time.

In honor of the anniversary of that first exhibition, the Pasadena-based club is sponsoring a “Painting the Golden State” series of shows.

One of those opened April 30 at the and runs through June 12.

“Gold Coast: Paintings of Southern California by the California Art Club” contains 40 works in oil, watercolor, pastel and acrylic by club members living in Orange and San Diego counties.

Subject matter ranges from landscapes of lush meadows to depictions of children playing on the beach in settings including Carlsbad and La Jolla.

The mission of the 3,000-member club is to promote California impressionism.

“Similar to the French impressionists' interest in the effects of light in nature, this new West Coast style was able to capture the diverse scenery of California,” said Danielle Susalla Deery, director of exhibits and communications at the Oceanside museum.

Although the art club is old, most of the work on exhibit “has been done rather recently,” Deery said. “All are current artists. I think people are going to love this show. It's a fun show because you know a lot about the artists. We are fortunate to have one” of the eight exhibitions planned statewide, she added.

Other museums hosting an exhibition are in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, San Marino, Pasadena, Bakersfield and Oxnard.

Lisa Cavelier, managing director of the Pasadena club, said it actually was founded in 1909 as an offshoot of the Los Angeles Painters’ Club, but it did not put together its first exhibition until 1911.

Another show is coming to the Oceanside Museum of Art this month.  It is  called “The Virgin's Dream: Beatrice Wood Drawings and Ceramics.”

Wood (1893-1998) was the only woman artist to be associated with the Dadaist group in New York during the 1920s.  Wikipedia describes dadaism as political as well as artistic in nature, included sentiments against war and in favor of anarchy.

Deery said Wood is best known for her lusterware plates, heavily glazed vessels, playful autobiographical drawings and relationship with Modernist artist Marcel Duchamp.

The museum at 704 Pier View Way is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. General admission is $8; seniors 65 and over pay $5, and students and active military are free.

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