For the first time ever, the California Art Club’s annual Gold Medal Exhibition, now in its 110th year, will be showcasing juried selections in Orange County, California. Last year would have been the first time the exhibition was held outside of Los Angeles County, at the Hilbert Museum of California Art, but COVID changed the scene. The 2020 event was conducted entirely online, but the 2021 exhibition is an exciting one, as it will be open and ready for in-person viewings at the Chapman University-based museum, where collectors and spectators will be privy to a spectacular 160 works by 155 artists.
Andrea Mosley, Garden of Eden, oil on canvas with gold leaf, 14 x 11"
“This is our hallmark event every year,” says landscape artist Michael Obermeyer, vice president of the California Art Club, “and what’s nice about it is that it’s an un-themed exhibition. It gives the artists the ability to be more creative and try new things. There’s a lot of great work because it’s unique and there’s so much diversity in subject matter, style and medium.”
While the exhibition is “un-themed,” the artworks still go through a juried process to be included in such a time-honored, prestigious event. The show is chosen for representational art that pays tribute to today’s realism movement and California impressionism, as well as contemporary and traditional pieces.
“I like to see a good cross section or a variety of subject matter,” says Obermeyer, “but because [the exhibition] is in Orange County this year, the museum thought it would be nice to also have more Orange County scenes; landscapes, cityscapes, there’s a little bit of everything.”
John Cosby, Morning Swimmers, oil on linen, 36 x 40"
This includes artists such as Andrea Mosely, with her show piece Garden of Eden featuring a portrait of a young, beautiful woman against a gold background covered in leaves. Obermeyer describes the piece as “powerful” and notes that Mosely has astounding figure paintings year after year, making it an easy selection for the exhibition.
There will also be sculptural work such as Adam Matano’s nature-inspired bronze piece Odyssey, and some beach scenery in that painting Morning Swimmers by John Cosby.
Adam Matano, Odyssey, bronze, 9 x 7 x 6"
An added element to the exhibition is the miniature series of work that is 9 by 12 inches or smaller, and will have their own dedicated wall space. Artist Mary Kay West will be displaying her 10-by-8-inch painting The Silver Goblet, a captivating, traditional still life scene of a goblet, red-faced warbler and a piece of fruit.
While the exhibition will have an in-person showing, there will be virtual opportunities as well, including artist interviews, tours of the show and a virtual opening reception on Saturday, July 10, at 5 p.m. This is when the winner of the Irvine Museum award is presented to the artist of their choosing. The exhibition will run through August 7, with all purchases first-come, first-served.
Mary Kay West, The Silver Goblet, oil, 10 x 8"
Obermeyer adds, “I just hope that people get out and see the show, so we can reintroduce them to the artists and the work and make it a little more personal and up close. Orange County will also introduce us to some new, wonderful and well-informed collectors who don’t always make it to the shows because it was too long of a drive for them in the past. We’re happy to expand the location and open doors to new collectors…and to get back to where we all were two years ago.” —
110th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition
When: July 10-August 7, 2021
Where: Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University,
167 N. Atchison Street, Orange, CA 92866
Information: (310) 472-9323, www.californiaartclub.org/goldmedal
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