The Pasadena Museum of California Art Shows Roland Reiss' Miniature Tableaux

Written by Travis Cunningham Friday, 16 September 2011 23:30

Pasadena, CA.- The Pasadena Museum of California Art is proud to present "Roland Reiss: Personal Politics Sculpture from the 1970s and 1980s", on view from September 18th through January 8th 2012. Roland Reiss has been called one of Southern California’s “key living artists,” one who “has pushed the envelope of art” continually over the past five decades. Recent exhibitions have highlighted his influence as a painter, sculptor and teacher. In the 1960’s Reiss began work on a series of miniature sculpture tableaux. These have been described as being “among his most famous and groundbreaking works.” These small-scale sculptures explored the nature of American values and life style during the 70’s and 80’s with prophetic implications for the present moment. They probe the social and psychological aspects of everyday experience ranging from panic to pleasure. Based on semiotics, “clues and cues” become cultural signifiers revealing unexpected meaning. The museum will be showing 24 of these miniatures along with a major life size installation of a fabricated living room titled “The Castle of Perseverance.” The exhibition was curated by Kate Johnson and is sponsored by the Pasadena Museum of California Art.

Roland Reiss has exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad. His work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art and at Documenta in Kassel, Germany. Exhibitions include museums in Brazil, Mexico, China, Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan and Taiwan. He is the recipient of four N.E.A. grants and of more than forty prizes and awards, including the College Art Association’s Distinguished Teaching of Art Award in 2009. His work is located in many public, corporate and private collections. Reiss studied at the American Academy of Art and UCLA. Before coming to Claremont, he taught painting and drawing at UCLA and at the University of Colorado. At Claremont Graduate University he was Chair of the Art Department for 29 years and Benezet Professor of the Humanities. He also served as Director of the Center for the Arts and as Director of “Paintings Edge”, an advanced program in painting for Idyllwild Arts.


The Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA) is dedicated to the exhibition of California art, architecture, and design from 1850 to the present. Informed by the state's rich mixture of cultures and inspired by its impressive geography, California art has long been defined by a spirit of freedom and experimentation. PMCA exhibitions and educational programs explore the cultural dynamics and influences unique to California that have shaped and defined art in all media. Museum founders Robert (Bob) and Arlene Oltman are long-time Pasadena residents and art collectors. Oltman is a general partner of Space Bank Mini Storage, a company he co-founded 25 years ago. The impetus to build a museum devoted to California art grew in recent years as the Oltmans' collecting activities began to focus on artists from California. In 1999 the Oltmans commissioned the Los Angeles architectural firm MDA Johnson Favaro Architecture and Urban Design to create the museum. Ground was broken for the building in December 2000, and the museum became open to the public in June of 2002. "With the Oltmans, we had the freedom to make a statement with a public institution that we anticipate will become a cultural centerpiece in the redevelopment of the historic Playhouse District," said Steve Johnson, the museum project manager and principal partner. PMCA, located just north of Colorado Boulevard at 490 East Union Street in Pasadena, is a 30,000 SF three-story, mixed-use facility. An open-air staircase accentuated by ever-changing natural light from an oculus above creates a dramatic entrance into the museum. The stairs lead to the second-floor lobby, 8,000 square foot gallery spaces, a bookstore, and a community room. The third floor includes a 2,000 square foot Founders’ Gallery and a vast rooftop terrace (4,000 square feet) that is accessible to the public during scheduled hours. The terrace commands a breathtaking vista of the 1927 City Hall dome and the San Gabriel Mountains to the north. Visit the museum's website at ... http://pmcaonline.org

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