[Telephotopro]

Tasende Gallery,
Wayne Thiebaud
“Cheers To 100 Years”

Art In The Time Of Covid

Words and photos by Reviewer Rob, telephoto.pro

Man, I needed that. It’s been a while, a year at least, since I’d been to an art gallery. If you were in La Jolla and near the village / Cove Thursday night hopefully you were able to check out the opening going on at Tasende Gallery. The artist is Wayne Thiebaud (centenarian November 15, 1920) and his show runs during November now. Thiebaud is recognized for his colorful works depicting commonplace objects—pies, lipsticks, paint cans, ice cream cones, pastries, and hot dogs—as well as for his landscapes and figure paintings. His work at Tasende Gallery for this show is oil and exquisite pencil drawings! At the opening last night they greeted me with a class of chilled champagne after I walked into the space and the small crowd was exactly what you’d expect for La Jolla. Everything is perfect and beautiful. Art still exists even in a pandemic. Thanks Tasende!

“Reduction in a realist painting is the same as reducing a sauce. You take away by simplification, by leaving out details. But you also put in selective bits of other experiences, or perceptual nuances which enforce it, giving it more of a multi-dimension than if it were done directly as a visual recording.” – Wayne Thiebaud

From tasendegallery.com:
Born in Mesa, Arizona, November 15, 1920, Thiebaud’s family moved to Los Angeles in 1921. In high school he became interested in stage design and lighting, and worked part-time at a movie theater where he made posters for lobby displays, 1935-1938. During this time he also worked as a summer apprentice program in the animation department of Walt Disney Studios, 1936. From 1942 to 1945, Thiebaud served in the Air Force, assigned to the Special Services Department as an artist and cartoonist, and eventually transferred to the First Air Force Motion Picture Unit, commanded by Ronald Reagan. He studied at San Jose State College and Sacramento State College, California where he received his B.A., 1951, and M.A., 1952. He was Instructor of Art, 1951-59, and Chairman of the Department of Art, 1954-57, at Sacramento City College. Thiebaud hit the American Art scene in the 1960’s as Pop Art was beginning to be recognized as ‘acceptable,’ and even though he was not a Pop artist, his chosen subject matter often associated him with this genre. Since 1960, Thiebaud has worked as Professor of Art, University of California at Davis.