Pashgian uses industrial materials such as polyester, epoxy, and acrylic plastics to create sculptures and installations that explore light and perception, as in her current exhibition now on view at LACMA through June 29, “Light Invisible.”
Getty Conservation Institute scientist Rachel Rivenc will host a screening of a new short documentary, "Helen Pashgian: Transcending the Material," followed by a discussion with Pashgian about her artwork, materials, and processes, as well as her thoughts on the -more- conservation of her works for the future. Also participating in the discussion will be Carol Eliel, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) curator who worked with Pashgian on the “Light Invisible” exhibition.
Many of Pashgian’s early works were translucent objects featuring delicate colors and precisely finished surfaces. As the viewer moves around them, the perception of these works shifts; they seem at times to be solid forms, and at others, to be dissolving into space.
In addition to her current exhibition at LACMA, Pashgian is the subject of the new short documentary film to be screened during the evening, which explores the conservation of her works as part of the Getty Conservation Institute’s Art in L.A., a study of materials and fabrication processes used by Los Angeles-based artists since the 1950s and the implications these materials and processes have for conservation. The project, part of the GCI’s Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative, seeks to engage a wide mix of the Los Angeles art community—first and foremost artists, but also fabricators, conservators, and curators—in a creative dialogue about broader issues in the conservation of contemporary art.
Helen Pashgian: Transcending the Material will be held on Tuesday, June 10, at 7pm in the J. Paul Getty’s Museum Lecture Hall. Tickets are free, but reservations are recommended. Parking at the Getty is $10 after 5 pm. Visit www.getty.edu to make reservations, or call (310) 440-7300.
About the Panel
Helen Pashgian is known today as one of the main pioneers of the Light and Space movement. Born in Pasadena, she completed her undergraduate work at Pomona College before heading to Boston University for her master’s degree. She returned to the Los Angeles area in the 1960s and joined a number of artists in exploring the artistic possibilities of industrial materials, such as plastics and resins.
Carol S. Eliel is curator of modern art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where she has worked since 1984. Most recently she curated the exhibition "Helen Pashgian: Light Invisible" and is currently working on a John Altoon retrospective that opens in June. From 2011-13 she served as President of the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) of which she is now a lifetime trustee.
Rachel Rivenc is an assistant scientist at the Getty Conservation Institute and leads Art in L.A., a research project to study the materials and fabrication processes used by Los Angeles-based artists since the 1950s and the implications these materials and processes have for conservation. The book based on her PhD dissertation Made in Los Angeles: Materials, Processes and the Birth of West Coast Minimalism will be available from Getty Publications in 2015.