Roger Rossi with the Legacy Award from the Salmagundi Club in New York.
Roger Rossi receives Legacy Award
Roger Rossi joined the Salmagundi Club in 2007 and quickly became an integral part of its artistic community. Soon after becoming a member, he joined the Art Committee and founded the Auction Help Team, going on to serve four years on the board. With his dedication extended to the Admissions and Collections/Archives Committees, and as Chairman of Auctions, Rossi broadened the club’s presence through expanded social media initiatives, now serving as a key pillar of the club’s public relations efforts. The Salmagundi Club recently honored Rossi with its Legacy Award, for his ongoing engagement, outreach and dedication that exemplify the spirit of Salmagundi. During his time with the club, Rossi also revitalized its plein air program, now known as “Salmagundians and Their Friends,” which has grown to four active chapters, with two additional ones launched in 2017.
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An aerial view of Lucas Museum construction in September 2025. © 2025 Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Photo courtesy of Hathaway Dinwiddie. Photo by Pedro Ramirez.
New LA Museum opens next fall
Founded by filmmaker George Lucas, the brand new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will open to the public on September 22, 2026. Housed in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park, the Lucas Museum seeks to explore how stories connect people and capture the human experience. “Stories are mythology, and when illustrated, they help humans understand the mysteries of life,” says Lucas. The museum was built on the belief that illustrated storytelling is a universal language.“This is a museum of the people’s art—the images are illustrations of beliefs we live with every day. For that reason, this art belongs to everyone,” says co-founder Mellody Hobson. “Our hope is that as people move through the galleries, they will see themselves, and their humanity, reflected back.” The Lucas Museum’s permanent collection holds more than 40,000 works, representing one of the most significant collections of narrative art. The building’s 35 galleries occupy 100,000 square feet.
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Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), Self-Portrait with Loose Hair, 1947, oil on Masonite, 24 x 17¾ in. Private collection. © 2025 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, CDMX / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Image courtesy Dallas Museum of Art. Photo by Brad Flowers.
Making Moves
Making Moves: A Collection of Feminisms illustrates the breadth of materials and approaches artists have employed to represent women’s experiences. Ranging from figurative depictions to more abstract expressions, the exhibition examines the evolving complexities of femininity and feminism that have inspired generations of visual artists. Organized thematically, Making Moves explores ideas of self-representation, care, sentimentality, the erotic and memory. The artworks featured are drawn from the Crocker’s permanent collection, alongside generous loans and gifts from private collections. And for the first time at the Crocker, Frida Kahlo’s work will be on view. The iconic 1947 painting Self-Portrait with Loose Hair, on loan from a private collection, affirms Kahlo’s cultural identity in the years following the Mexican Revolution and stands as a powerful expression of feminine strength and self-definition. The exhibition will be on view through May 3.
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Funlola Coker, one of the 2026 artists-in-residence. Photo by Carolina Porras Monroy.
JMKAC announces artist residents
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) and Kohler Co. announce their 2026 Arts/Industry artists-in-residence: 12 artists from around the world invited to transform an active factory into their studio. Selected from 700-plus applicants, the cohort includes Jiha Moon, Sharif Farrag, Michelle Im, Jason S. Yi, Esther Elia, Chase Barney and others working across a wide range of media. For more than 50 years, Arts/Industry has been a singular experiment in art and manufacturing, offering artists full access to Kohler Co.’s industrial foundry and pottery—supported by the expertise of its factory associates—to realize new works in cast iron, brass and ceramics. Past residents include Theaster Gates, Arlene Shechet, Ghada Amer and Woody De Othello, among other artists who have used the experience to radically expand their practices and create innovative works of art. —Powered by Froala Editor
