Six Contemporary Artists Present New Visions of Landscapes in Group Exhibition at CMATO

Landscape Through the Eyes of Abstraction opens February 18 and runs through July 31, 2022, at the California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks (CMATO). The exhibition brings together nationally and internationally recognized artists Luciana Abait, Kim Abeles, Charles Arnoldi, Laddie John Dill, Cynthia Ona Innis, and Claudia Parducci. Together, they examine landscape from a conceptual perspective. In doing so, they invite viewers to rethink the genre and reflect on humanity’s complex relationship with the natural world.

The show features paintings, video, installations, mixed media, sculpture, and photography. By combining diverse media, the artists challenge traditional landscape art. At the same time, they address contemporary environmental attitudes, perceptions, and values.

According to Lynn Farrand, Senior Curator at CMATO, “We are presenting installations, video, photography, sculpture, and paintings by some of today’s most exciting contemporary artists. Landscape Through the Eyes of Abstraction encourages reflection on landscape art, one of the oldest subjects in art history. As a result, these artists provide timely and critical examinations of our rapidly changing surroundings.”

FEATURED ARTISTS

Luciana Abait creates site-specific mixed-media and installation works that explore climate change and mysterious landscapes. Additionally, she examines human presence and absence. Her work has appeared nationally and internationally, including solo exhibitions at Mackey Gallery in Houston, the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles International Airport, Grados de Arte Contemporaneo in Buenos Aires, and Taikoo Place in Hong Kong. Currently, she serves as a resident artist at 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, Calif.

Kim Abeles uses installations and community projects to explore biography, geography, and the environment. Moreover, she experiments with unusual materials and processes. She often collaborates with organizations such as the Bureau of Automotive Repair, Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, California Science Center, and the Lakota Indians of South Dakota. In addition, her work appears in public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art Library Collection in New York, LACMA, Berkeley Art Museum, and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Abeles also holds the title of Professor Emeritus at California State University, Northridge.

Charles Arnoldi combines bold, colorful abstract painting with sculpture. His work ranges from geometric compositions to fluid, lyrical linework. Furthermore, he often incorporates tree branches and plywood. Through these arrangements, he evokes architecture, Modernist painting, and tropical plant life. Arnoldi has exhibited widely, including at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Museum of Modern Art. Consequently, his work is held in major collections such as the Art Institute of Chicago, National Gallery of Art, LACMA, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Laddie John Dill, a central figure in the California Light and Space movement, crafts luminous sculptures, wall pieces, and installations using light, concrete, glass, sand, and metal. In addition, he draws influence from environmental artists such as Robert Smithson and Dennis Oppenheim. Dill has exhibited extensively since the 1970s. His work appears in more than 25 museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Moreover, Dill has received Guggenheim and NEA Fellowships and taught at UCLA, UC Irvine, and Art Center in Pasadena.

Cynthia Ona Innis lives and works in Berkeley, Calif. She earned a BA from UC Berkeley and an MFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. Her mixed-media paintings, moreover, are included in collections at the San Jose Museum of Art, US State Department Art in Embassies, Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive, and Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Innis has received multiple awards and fellowships, including two James D. Phelan Awards, a MacDowell Colony Fellowship, and a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award. Additionally, she has taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, UC Berkeley, San Francisco State University, and the Maine College of Art.

Claudia Parducci works across drawing, painting, and sculpture. She earned her MFA from CalArts in 2006. Since then, she has exhibited her work in Los Angeles, nationally, and internationally, most recently at MAAAC Museum in Cisternino, Italy. Parducci draws on architectural imagery to explore themes of conflict, survival, and endurance. Through her work, she creates pieces that convey both instability and hope.

PROGRAMMING

CMATO will offer lectures and events to engage the community:

• A panel discussion with the exhibiting artists will take place on Thursday, March 17, at 7:00 PM. Debra Herrick, editor and co-founder of Lum Magazine, will moderate.
• An environmental discussion led by Citizens Climate Lobby will be held on Thursday, April 21, at 6:00 PM.

ABOUT CMATO

The California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks (CMATO) engages and educates the community through contemporary art. Since its founding in 2008, the museum has showcased both established and emerging artists. At the same time, it emphasizes participatory experiences. Through rotating exhibitions, guest lectures, and educational programs, CMATO connects people to creativity, ideas, and one another.

The museum welcomes visitors on Thursday from 2:00–6:00 PM and Friday through Sunday from 12:00–6:00 PM. General admission is free, with a suggested $6 donation.

For more information or to become a member, visit www.cmato.org.