In 1991 a bunch of us were included in a show called “California Perspective“ at the Modern Museum of Art in Santa Ana, California. At the time I was happy to be involved with something that sounded so bonafide. It was a special feeling to be included in this show, I knew and respected the work of many artists tapped for this fundraiser. I was excited especially to participate in a show at a place called MMOA! Little did I know the place was mere months from folding.
My painting called “California In Reverse“ was selected for the show‘s benefit auction. This very horizontal oil painting was from a series about Orange County and how the surrounding area was between two worlds—agriculture and planned community development. Presumably, this work was auctioned off to someone out there in this world. I have no idea who it went to or where it resides now almost 30 years later.
If any of you out there know of the whereabouts of this painting, I would love to know who acquired it. It's an odd thing to have work auctioned off for a good cause, and then you end up not knowing where it went or who wanted it, or even who owns it.
The upside of having my work disappear into the ether was my chance to meet one of my art heroes, David Hockney. He had shown at the MMOA in 1989 and was available to speak at the opening of the California Perspective show. This was at a time in his career when he was doing printmaking with a color copier by running sheets of paper through it multiple times at one color per pass. This is like other printmaking processes, but with a technology that made prints comprised of toner instead of regular ink.
In this meandering-path, during my career as an unknown artist, there have been events that made me think “this opportunity is an important one, this will give some momentum to my work!" Followed each time by restarts and reboots with scrambling and grabbing towards the next potential show—but at least this one had a catalog.