Curators: UC Irvine Visual Studies Ph.D. Student Dada Wang and
Ph.D. Candidates Ileana De Giuseppe and Zachary Korol Gold
February 8 – May 17, 2025
Common Ground explores how artists’ communities in Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and La Jolla contributed to the development of California plein air painting in the early 20th century. Southern California experienced rapid growth during this period, as marked by population increases, suburban expansion, and the rise of automobile culture.
Amid such transformations, a new wave of artists, many recent arrivals to the region, gravitated toward the region’s scenic locales. There they formed friendships and alliances that enabled artistic exchange and members gathered for painting trips, group exhibitions, and social events. These collaborative efforts honed their individual practices, gave plein air painting national visibility, and enriched the cultural fabric of their communities. The exhibition presents artworks by Franz A. Bischoff, Alfred R. Mitchell, Edgar Payne, Elsie Palmer Payne, Guy Rose, William Wendt, and others.
Curated by graduate students from UC Irvine’s Visual Studies Ph.D. program, this exhibition explores the vibrant artistic communities that developed in Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and La Jolla at the turn of the 20th century. Including 36 paintings, works on paper, porcelain, and bronze pieces, Common Ground highlights how these locales shaped a distinctive aesthetic in response to Southern California's dynamic landscape and cultural shifts occurring in these decades marked by population growth and societal change.
In the video (Common Ground Overview by Dada Wang February 2025), UC Irvine graduate student researcher Dada Wong shares how this exhibition reveals the region’s evolving artistic identity and the stories behind it.
Public Programs
Saturday, February 8: Gallery Talk with Exhibition Curator, UC Irvine Visual Studies Ph.D. Student Dada Wang
Saturday, February 22: Workshop - Exploring the Landscape through Collage and Drawing with Artist Fran Siegel
Saturday, April 26: Live Performance - Songs of Common Ground: Voices of a Creative Community