CSUSB MUSEUM OF ART TO HOST LECTURE AND BOOK SIGNING BY LEWIS DESOTO

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), in collaboration with the CSUSB Department of Art, will hold an artist talk and book signing Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 6:15 p.m., to celebrate the release of Lewis deSoto’s book “Empire.”

The event will accompany the department of art’s senior seminar lecture series as well as RAFFMA’s current exhibition of deSoto’s photographs.

In “Empire,” curated by artist and CSUSB professor emerita Sant Khalsa, deSoto explores the sublime landscapes that encompass so much of southern California, from snow-capped mountains to blistering desert. In this series, deSoto has returned home to rediscover the place where he came of age as an artist and to uncover personal memories and cultural history deeply rooted in the land of his ancestry.

Like his exhibition, deSoto’s book features images of his Inland Empire homeland joined with essays about his youth spent in the region. “Empire” is published by Heyday books, in partnership with RAFFMA and the Inlandia Institute.

deSoto is an American artist of Cahuilla Native American ancestry. Born in the Inland Empire, deSoto earned his B.A. in studio art from the University of California, Riverside and his M.F.A. from Claremont Graduate University. deSoto’s work, which has exhibited widely across the United States and abroad, has been included in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the California Museum of Photography, the Orange County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Seattle Art Museum.

About RAFFMA

The Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art is a nationally recognized museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The only accredited art museum in San Bernardino, RAFFMA has accumulated a permanent collection of nearly 1,200 objects focusing on Egyptian antiquities, ceramics and contemporary art. Located at Cal State San Bernardino, RAFFMA houses the largest permanent and public display of Egyptian art in Southern California.

General admission to the museum is free. Suggested donation is $3. Parking at Cal State San Bernardino is $6 weekdays and $3 on weekends.

The museum is open Monday – Wednesday and Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and closed Friday and Sunday. For more information, call (909) 537-7373 or visit the RAFFMA website at http://raffma.csusb.edu.

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