Tamarind Institute invites the local community to come do a little “California Dreaming.” Tamarind’s annual guest-curated exhibition, California Dreaming, is on display in the gallery through April 29, open to the public, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or during special hours, 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 1.
The public is also invited to a “Walkthrough with the Curator” on March 24 at 5 p.m. The event is free, but limited to the first 30 who RSVP to tamarind@unm.edu, or (505) 277-3901.
“California Dreaming,” guest-curated by Christina Rosenberger, explores Tamarind Institute's long-standing relationship with California. Founded in Los Angeles in 1960, Tamarind moved to Albuquerque 10 years later—following a tradition of artists moving between California and artistic communities in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos.
“The stories of artists’ epic road trips from California to New Mexico, and vice-versa, always caught my attention,” Rosenberger said. “In the middle of the 20th century, Bea Mandelman and Louis Ribak traveled from Taos to Los Angeles to exhibit their paintings, and artists such as Richard Diebenkorn came to Albuquerque from San Francisco on the G.I. Bill. There was a remarkable fluidity of movement between the two locations, which continues today.”
Rosenberger has selected lithographs from Tamarind's beginnings to more recent projects with some of California's most prominent living artists. Included in the exhibition are works by over twenty artists, including Billy Al Bengston, Tom Berg, Enrique Martinez Celaya, Frederick Hammersley, Hung Liu, Christine Nguyen, Ken Price, Ed Ruscha, and Allison Miller.
“As Tamarind embarks on a new era with director Diana Gaston, a show that acknowledges Tamarind’s roots in California and celebrates the work of many of Tamarind’s recent artists seemed like a perfect fit,” Rosenberger concluded.
Rosenberger received her Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University, where she studied the materials and techniques of modern and contemporary art. Her work bridges the disciplines of art history, conservation and conservation science.
Rosenberger served as research coordinator for the Center for the Technical Study of Modern Art at the Harvard Art Museums and taught modern art at the University of New Mexico. Her book, Drawing the Line: The Early Work of Agnes Martin, is scheduled for release from the University of California Press in May of 2016.
In 2013, Tamarind began a series of guest-curated exhibitions, inviting a local curator to select lithographs from its vast inventory. Last year Brendan Picker, former project coordinator for the City of Albuquerque Public Art Program, curated IntraUrban; in 2014 Claude Smith, education & exhibitions manager at 516 Arts, curated Infinite Histories; and in 2013, art historian John Mulvany guest-curated Good in the Kitchen.
Tamarind Institute is an internationally recognized fine art lithography workshop affiliated with the College of Fine Arts of The University of New Mexico.
For more information, call (505) 277-3901, or email tamarind@unm.edu.