Past Exhibitons
This summer the Bowers Museum and the historic California Art Club are partnering to exhibit the 111th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition. Throughout the last century, the Annual Gold Medal Exhibition has gained an enduring reputation as one of the country’s premier events showcasing Contemporary-Traditional fine art.
The California Art Club was founded in 1909 by the early California Impressionists, including many artists who were also actively involved with the Laguna Art Colony from 1918 to 1935. Today, the organization continues its dedication to furthering classical techniques in painting and sculpting and encouraging their use in contemporary interpretations.
The Gold Medal Exhibition is un-themed and fashioned after the European art salons of the 19th century, for which artists submitted their finest works for jury review. Similarly, the Gold Medal Exhibition has a history of encouraging artists to take artistic risks in creating what they consider to be their most important works, which typically range from environmental preservation to social interests and cultural perspectives.
For the first time, this year’s Gold Medal Exhibition will be unveiled at the Bowers. The expansive showcase of more than 200 paintings and sculptures is selected from several hundred entries submitted by current qualified California Art Club members for review by a panel of art experts and leading artists. The final collection spotlights today’s most exemplary works by both renowned and up-and-coming artists.
During the length of the exhibition, on view from July 17 to August 21, there will be a variety of programs that will allow visitors to meet and ask questions of the exhibiting artists. This unique and defining quality of the Gold Medal Exhibition continues the California Art Club’s legacy and rich tradition of enriching our culture for future generations.
