PR: Mexican-American Artist Hugo Zayas Transforms Guns Into Sculptures – Laguna Art Museum, California

Press Release:

LAGUNA ART MUSEUM WILL UNVEIL GUN SCULPTURES BY LA ARTIST VICTOR HUGO ZAYAS AS PART OF MI OBRA EXHIBITION

UNVEILING: FEBRUARY 25, 2012
EXHIBITION: FEBRUARY 26-April 29, 2012

 

*** MEMBERS OF THE PRESS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THE UNVEILING ON FEB. 25 AT 5:00 PM ***

LAGUNA BEACH, CA (February 25, 2012)—Los Angeles artist Victor Hugo Zayas and Laguna Art Museum will unveil Zayas’s new sculpture series made out of more than two tons of destroyed guns from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Gun Buyback Program at Laguna Art Museum on Saturday, February 25, 2012. The sculptures will be on display at the museum February 26-April 29, 2012 as part of Zayas’s exhibition Mi Obra. The sculptures will then be donated to the LAPD. In partnership with the LAPD and numerous community and faith based organizations, the Gun Buyback Program encourages individuals to surrender their firearms with no questions asked. Using these guns, which were capable of causing violence, Zayas’s sculpture will symbolize peace.

“The LAPD is proud to be a partner in this ambitious and inspirational project,” said Commander Andrew J. Smith, commanding officer of the LAPD’s Public Information Office. “Removing weapons from the street and transforming them into artwork is another step towards making our communities safer.”

Victor Hugo Zayas: Mi Obra (on display February 26-April 29, 2012) is guest curated by Gregorio Luke and focuses on the past twenty years of Zayas’s career including paintings and sculptures in addition to his new gun sculpture series. “Mi obra” means “my work” in Spanish, Zayas’s native language.

The exhibition will also feature two Univision Family Days on Sunday, March 11 and Sunday, April 15, 2012 from 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. These free days, presented by KMEX Univision 34, will allow patrons and families free admission to visit the exhibition and meet the artist. Univision Family Days will feature art workshops for children from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and a tour of Mi Obra with Victor Hugo Zayas at 1:00 p.m.

“Univision Los Angeles is pleased to be a part of this cultural project,” said Alberto Mier y Terán, senior vice president/general manager for Univision 34 and TeleFutura 46. “We are excited to witness the unveiling of this symbolic sculpture that represents peace, while also taking a step toward reducing gun violence in our communities.”

With a keen sense of observation, Zayas paints swiftly. His subject matter encompasses the figure, landscape, and cityscape, and the breadth and generosity of his paints cover canvas and paper. Looking to artworks by European masters such as Velázquez, Titian, Rembrandt, Fragonard, and Goya, Zayas has developed an expressionist style of paint handling that renders landscape as visceral, moody, and passionate.

The exhibition will also include Zayas’s metal sculptures; these largely linear and abstract works convey a sense of kinetic movement as they draw attention to form. The expressionist energy seen in the paintings is transformed in the formal composition and negative spaces of his sculptures.

Born in 1961 and raised in Mazatlan, Mexico, Zayas came to the United States in 1979. He graduated from United States International University in 1981 with a BFA and was awarded a Robert Kanyon Memorial Scholarship to attend Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where he earned another BFA in 1986. He taught at Loyola Marymount University from 1987 to 1993. In 2005, Zayas created the Maestro Fine Arts Program in collaboration with Art Center College of Design, underwritten by the James Irvine Foundation. Along with Errol Gerson, Zayas founded the Dwight Harmon Memorial Scholarship Fund at Art Center. Zayas has lived and worked in Los Angeles for the past thirty years.

Guest curator Gregorio Luke is an expert on Mexican and Latin American art and culture, Luke is also a compelling speaker and lecturer. He is the former Director of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, former Consul of Cultural Affairs of Mexico in Los Angeles, and the First Secretary of the Embassy of Mexico in Washington, D.C.

Accompanying the exhibition is a catalogue produced by Laguna Art Museum and designed by The Small Ad Shop, featuring select essays by art writer Peter Frank, a foreword by Gregorio Luke, and an introduction by Janet Blake.

PROGRAMMED EVENTS

Admission to programmed events is free for museum members and free for non-members with paid museum admission. Univision Family Days are free and open to the public.

February 26, 1:00 p.m.: Victor Hugo Zayas, Part I: Paintings

Lecture by Gregorio Luke, followed by a book-signing with Victor Hugo Zayas

March 11, 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.: Univision Family Day, FREE admission

11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. art workshops for children, 1:00 p.m. exhibition walk-through with Victor Hugo Zayas

April 15, 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.: Univision Family Day, FREE admission

11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. art workshops for children, 1:00 p.m. exhibition walk-through with Victor Hugo Zayas

April 29, 1:00 p.m.: Victor Hugo Zayas, Part II: Sculptures

Lecture by Gregorio Luke, followed by a book-signing with Victor Hugo Zayas

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This exhibition will be on display at Laguna Art Museum at the same time as The Postwar Era: From the Collection, 1945-1980.

Victor Hugo Zayas: Mi Obra is presented by ROHL, LLC. The lead sponsor is Sierra Nevada Investment Group and the media sponsor is Univision 34.

ABOUT THE LAPD GUN BUYBACK PROGRAM
An initiative of Los Angeles’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development Office (GRYD), the Gun Buyback Program rewards the voluntary surrender of firearms, while engaging the community towards a common goal of reducing gun violence. In partnership with the LAPD and numerous community and faith based organizations, the gun buyback effort encourages individuals to surrender their firearms with no questions asked. In 2010, the Gun Buyback Program collected over 2,500 firearms from across Los Angeles in one day, and in its first year in 2009, the Gun Buyback Program collected almost 1,700 firearms.

ABOUT LAGUNA ART MUSEUM

Laguna Art Museum is a museum of American art with a special focus on the art of California. Its purpose is to provide the public with exposure to art and to promote understanding of the role of art and artists in American culture through collection, conservation, exhibition, research, scholarship and education. Working within the tradition of the oldest cultural institution in Orange County, Laguna Art Museum documents regional art and places it in a national context. The museum maintains its historic ties to the community and is responsive, accessible, and relevant to the area’s diverse population.

The museum’s exhibitions, catalogues, and educational activities illustrate an ongoing examination of California art, which includes historical and contemporary art. Through collections, publications, and research on the art of California, Laguna Art Museum promotes understanding of the role of California art and artists in the development of the visual arts nationally and internationally.

CURRENT & UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

California Artists: Late Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Century, from the Collection | On display through May 20, 2012

The Postwar Era: From the Collection, 1945-1980 | February 26-April 29, 2012
Victor Hugo Zayas: Mi Obra | February 26-April 29, 2012

Clarence Hinkle and the Group of Eight | June 10-October 7, 2012

MUSEUM INFORMATION

Laguna Art Museum is located at 307 Cliff Drive in Laguna Beach, on the corner of PCH and Cliff Drive, next door to Las Brisas restaurant.

New Hours (Beginning February 26):

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday: 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Thursday: 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.

Closed Wednesdays

 

Admission:
General admission: $7.00
Students, seniors, and active military: $5.00
Children under 12: FREE
Museum members: FREE

 

MEDIA CONTACT

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Marni Farmer, Director of Communications, at 949.494.8971 x208 or at mfarmer@lagunaartmuseum.org.

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