Speaking with Trees: Contemporary Wood Art

CMATO SPEAKER SERIES PRESENTS KEVIN WALLACE “SPEAKING WITH TREES: CONTEMPORARY WOOD ART”

 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015▪  7:00 P.M.
HILLCREST CENTER FOR THE ARTS COMMUNITY ROOM
403 W. HILLCREST DR.  ▪  THOUSAND OAKS, CA 91360

The California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks (CMATO) Speaker Series presents“Speaking with Trees: Contemporary Wood Art” with  Kevin Wallace, Director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hillside Center for the Arts. 

The illustrated lecture will focus on array of art movements and craft traditions, most notably the contemporary craft movement that took place over the last half of the 20th century.  “Humans have an innate love of wood, having evolved alongside trees”, says Mr. Wallace. “Wood is a material of spiritual importance, found at the very heart of our search for meaning. As a material of such power and workability, humans have utilized wood in ceremony and worship. Indigenous cultures carved deities, masks, and staves, as well as the bowls and containers that bridged the sacred and everyday life. Wood also provided the material for the development of music, from the drums and percussive instruments of tribal cultures, to flutes and stringed instruments of the Western world. Our appreciation of the material itself – the look of grain, the feel of a wood surface, even the smell of wood – led to a natural revolution in the arts.” 

Mr. Wallace is a regular contributor to numerous international publications on the subject of contemporary art and wood sculpture, in particular. Among his celebrated books is The Cutting Edge: The Lipton Collection and Contemporary Wood Art.  The book traces the growth of contemporary wood art through our shared relationship with trees, traditions of woodworking, influential art movements, and the cultural milieu of the 20th century.

Kevin Wallace has guest-curated exhibitions for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, the Cultural Affairs Department of Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport and the San Luis Obispo Art Center. He is the author of numerous books.

In addition to his role as director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, Mr. Wallace serves on the Board of Directors of Collectors of Wood Art (CWA) and on the Advisory Board of the Handweavers Guild of America. He is a contributing editor for American Woodturner and Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot and a regular contributor to Craft Arts International, Woodturning, Woodwork, Turning Points and American Style. 

Admission to this program is free to California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks members with a $5 suggested donation for non-members.  For additional information on the CMATO Speaker Series, contact Bill Mercer, Director of Operations, at (805) 405-5240 or info@cmato.org.

The California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks is a non-profit organization committed to serving diverse audiences through the exhibition, interpretation, and exploration of the fine and design arts. CMATO is dedicated to educating the community about the visual arts and to establishing a premier art museum that will serve Ventura County and surrounding communities.  

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