Sculptor Stars in First Exhibit at New Facility

The work of metal sculptor Betty Gold will be presented in the inaugural exhibition of the newly renovated California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks Operations Center from Sat., Sept. 19 through Sun., Nov. 2.

The exhibition is free and open to the public beginning Sat. and Sun., Sept. 19 and 20 during the Thousand Oaks Arts Festival on the lawn of the Civic Arts Plaza.

Afterward, regular hours will be from noon to 4 p.m. at the Operations Center, west of the Civic Arts Plaza at Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Dallas Drive.

The Betty Gold exhibition features a selection of steel and painted bronze sculptures.

Over the course of her long career, Gold has worked primarily with metal, starting each sculpture with single sheets that she folds and welds into abstract geometric shapes.

Her works range from small, tabletop sculptures to monumental projects that have been installed at museums, universities and as public art around the world.

The sculptures in the inaugural exhibition are from the CMATO collection, Betty Gold’s studio and a local private collection.

After painting for 14 years, Gold was invited by a friend to a sculpture class with Texas artist Octavio Medellín. Gold began her sculpting career while working as Medellín’s assistant.

Gold began in clay sculpture, drawing her own patterns on architectural paper. She was introduced to metal sculpture at the Texas Trade Welding School. In class she began by creating metal figures. Later she would lay out big patterns, and the factory would cut them out in large plastic sheets. From those sheets, she cut and welded and often painted her metal sculptures.

Gold also continues to paint and photograph. Her studios are inVenice, Calif., and Santa Fe, N.M.

For information about the exhibition, call Bill Mercer, director of operations, at (805) 405-5240 or email info@cmato.org.