Bay Area’s Major Art Movement Showcased in New Gallery Exhibit at Livermore Valley Arts
A dramatic, intriguing new exhibit, “Bay Area Figurative: Emerging from Abstraction,” is on display this spring at the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery through April 23, 2023. This gallery exhibition centers on one of the major art movements with direct roots in the Bay Area, Bay Area Figurative, and highlights the significance of this Movement, considered the first significant North American art movement to be based on the West Coast. The public is invited to experience this exciting exhibit at the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery at the Bankhead Theater in Downtown Livermore, CA.
Around the 1950’s, painters from the Bay Area started creating works that were moving away from Abstract Expressionism and reintroducing recognizable subject matter into their painting. Often times, the subjects were figurative and usually painted with the beautiful strong light for which Northern California is known. A second generation of Bay Area Figurative artists emerged following the 1950’s and the style continues with a new generation of artists today. Looking into specifically what is on display at the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery, artwork from Jerome Carlin (1927-2014), who painted in the Berkeley area starting in the 1970’s, is featured. His figurative works embody the Bay Area Figurative style through the use of color and loose representation.
Also on display are works from Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021), beloved Bay Area poet, painter, social activist, and cofounder of City Lights, as well as well-known local artist Onieda Stowe (1944-2005). Stowe was an accomplished Livermore artist and educator who taught art classes at Las Positas College for fifteen years. The exhibit moreover showcases a number of contemporary artists working in the unique style of Bay Area Figurative.
The UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery is located in the lobby of the beautiful Bankhead Theater at 2400 First Street, Livermore, CA. “Bay Area Figurative Exhibit: Emerging from Abstraction” is free and open to enjoy by ticketed patrons during performances and by the general public Thursdays through Sundays, 1-5 p.m., now through Sunday, April 23.
Dates, times, and ticket prices for other events at the Bankhead Theater are available at www.LivermoreArts.org