Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, Ca
Exhibition dates: March 27 - April 24, 2021
Artist Reception: April 3, 2021, at 7 pm via Zoom
Co-curated by VC Projects
Shane Guffogg, “Transformation”, oil on canvas, 8’ x 6’, 1982
Shane Guffogg: “40 Years of Self-Portraits”
Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, Ca
117 S. Sycamore, Santa Ana, California, 92701
Exhibition dates: March 27 - April 24, 2021
By appointment only | contact here to schedule
Artist Reception: Saturday, April 3rd at 7 pm via Zoom
Presented by Orange County Center for Contemporary Art
Shane Guffogg "Untitled Mask 2019-5"
Oil on canvas board, 8 x 10 in.
March 27, 2021, marks the opening of Shane Guffogg: “40 Years of Self-Portraits”, at Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, California. The exhibition explores Shane Guffogg’s, self-portraits, which started in 1981 through to the present. This exhibition is a 40-year visual exploration of the artist’s psyche, beginning as a teenager, full of hope and dreams, to a mature mid-career world-renown artist. The works range from drawings to paintings to sculptures and are autobiographical portraits of his emotions while referencing art history as his backdrop. Some 87 works will be on display for the viewer to contemplate and reflect on.
Guffogg continuously quotes from and appropriates different artistic styles to explore the unspoken dialogue between the subconscious and conscious mind. The drawings, pastels, watercolors, oil paintings, sculptures, sketchbooks, and text (quotes from the artist) range from painterly neo-expressionism to renaissance realism. It will be quite a mix of representational and abstract works that will take the viewer on a journey through art history and the evolution of the artist.
What is interesting and quite unique about this exhibition is that Guffogg is widely recognized for his abstract paintings. What people don’t know is that throughout his career he has also been using and referencing his own image to investigate the human condition. This exhibition is co-curated by VC Projects.
Shane Guffogg, “Self-Portrait with Primary Colors”, pencil and acrylic on paper, 18 x 23 1/4”, 1983
Shane Guffogg, “Fauve Mask, Self-Portrait”, oil on canvas board, 14 x 11” 2018
“When I first started making self-portraits, I was literally sitting in front of a mirror and documenting what I saw. I tried on different artistic styles like a person trying on new clothes to see what fits.
As I entered early adulthood, the idea of earning a living by making art was looming over the horizon. The self-portraits shifted from visual observation to an emotional investigation using neo-expressionism as my landscape.
In 1988, the world as I knew it shifted. Again, I needed to sit in front of a mirror so that I could comprehend what had transpired, and who I had become.
As the world became louder in 2018, I felt an unyielding need to retreat, and protect myself. It was then I began what I now refer to as my mask series, which are in essence, portraits of my psyche.
All the portraits are autobiographical. Each one has aided my ability, and willingness to come to terms with life, and comprehend what it was, is, and may be.” - Shane Guffogg
Shane Guffogg, “The Unveiling - Self-Portrait”, oil on canvas, 1982
Shane Guffogg, “Lovers”, oil on canvas, 36 x 72”, 1983
Shane Guffogg, “Self-Portrait in the studio with creative monsters”, ink on paper, 18 x 24”, 1982
Shane Guffogg is an American artist who divides his time between his home in Hollywood and his four-acre ranch in Central California, where he also maintains a studio. His creativity is admired by people around the world, and coveted and collected by recognizable names such as president, Bill Clinton, and Senator Hillary Clinton, Dustin Hoffman, Meg Ryan, Ed Harris, Sean William Scott, and other world-famous politicians and Hollywood celebrities. Shane Guffogg’s artwork is also in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Armand Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, CA, The Museum of Modern Art at the Duke University, Jumex Foundation museum in Mexico City, St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, The Imperial Museum of Fine Arts, Saint Petersburg, Russia, The Gallery of the Museum Center, Baku, Azerbaijan to name a few. He was born in Los Angeles where he also received an art education from the California Institute of the Arts.
Shane Guffogg, “The Sound not Made by Two Objects Striking”, oil on canvas with resin, 12 x 18 diptych, 1988
Shane Guffogg, “Self-Portrait”, oil, charcoal and ink on paper, 42 x 42”, 1988
Shane Guffogg, “Standing Before the Mirror”, oil on canvas, 40 x 72”, 1983
Shane Guffogg, “Self-Portrait at 18”, oil on canvas, 24 x 18”, 1982
Shane Guffogg, “I Read the News Today Oh Boy, Oct. 26th”, oil on canvas board, 18 x 14”, 2018
Official Poster for “Shane Guffogg: 40 Years of Self-Portraits” exhibition
Orange County Center for Contemporary Art
Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, (OCCCA) is a 501 (c)(3) California non-profit corporation dedicated to the pursuit of professional excellence and freedom of expression in the arts.
Since its inception in 1980, it provides emerging and established member and guest artists a forum to explore and develop ideas in contemporary art in an atmosphere that promotes experimentation and risk-taking, but without the specter of censorship.
In addition, OCCCA develops and actively participates in public education, outreach, community art services. and free admission to all exhibitions.
Located in the heart of the Santa Ana Artists Village, OCCCA also presents a variety of programs: films, forums, concerts, workshops, classes, and first Saturday exhibition opening artist receptions.
Website: www.occca.org | Email: info.occca@gmail.com
“Looking Into the Other World Self-Portrait”, oil on canvas, 12 x 9”, 2019
SLOW ART DAY
ORANGE COUNTY CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART
Features five works from the exhibition to view slowly
SHANE GUFFOGG: 40 YEARS OF SELF-PORTRAITS
Slow Art Day Programming for April 10, 2021, at 1 pm
Located at Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, 117 North Sycamore Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Slow Art Day is an annual event where art galleries, and museums around the world, select five works amongst their collections to view slowly. The act of slowly viewing art reminds us to pause, and understand the maker’s concept of visual language. https://www.slowartday.com
Slow Art Day guidelines: view 5 works slowly (up to 10 minutes each). During this time sit comfortably and open your mind for the optimum experience.
Afterward, meet with the co-curator, Victoria Chapman, and OCCCA staff to share your discoveries. Finally, read the artist’s conclusion about works cited for this special event.
Contact: info.occca@gmail.com
Notes from the artist on Slow viewing
The process of making a drawing or painting first begins with carving out a block of time to be able to tap into a hidden place within. Often, when I begin painting, I do not know exactly what will transpire when I enter my studio, but I do know I have set things in motion. Then it is a matter of getting out of my own way, removing any thoughts or chatter that might be rumbling around in my mind, and just be in the moment.
It takes discipline and time to get to this point with my creative process. These works all took a lot of time to create and are an accumulation of thoughts and experiences. The hours required to make a painting are usually digested by the viewer in a matter of seconds. That is a strange translation of time.
As an artist, I have the luxury of spending countless hours with my creative process and digging within to bring forth a visual interpretation of what it means to me to be alive at this moment in time.
I hope this slow viewing process will help with really seeing what goes into the creating of art.
Shane Guffogg
March 31, 2021
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE OF SELF-PORTRAITS WITH SHANE GUFFOGG
In this discussion, Shane Guffogg and I unravel the psychological landscape of self-portraits. We talk about how social media has affected personal perception. Also, we explore his upcoming solo exhibition, Shane Guffogg: "40 Years of Self-Portraits." What is interesting and quite unique about this exhibition is Guffogg is widely recognized for his abstract paintings. What people don’t know is that throughout his career he has also been using and referencing his own image to investigate the human condition.
Shane Guffogg is an American artist that looks through the lens of humanity at civilizations, both past, and present, and views time as threads that connect all people. His work is a visual language that is informed by the spiritualism of abstraction and the realism of the old masters. These two ideas are usually seen as separate but Guffogg fuses them seamlessly into works that transcend and become testaments to thoughts that inform us of who we are in the 21st century.
To learn more about Shane Guffogg visit, www.shaneguffogg.com
Music by April Aberdeen and Shane Guffogg