Tag archives: SBMA

Museum Moments
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 13, 2022

Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Parallel Stories investigates the concept that while something gets lost in translation, maybe also there’s something to be gained in the process, at least in relation to poetry, serving to build bridges across borders and between cultures via introducing new syntactic strategies, rhythms, and image repertoires. Poet, translator, and literary […]

Talking Kinetic and Optical Art with Alexander Alberro
By Joanne A Calitri   |   September 6, 2022

Art historian Alexander Alberro, PhD presented his research on Kinetic, Op and Participatory Art at Mid-Century at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art on August 31. He has written about this topic in his 2017 book titled, Abstraction in Reverse: The Reconfigured Spectator in Mid-Twentieth-Century Latin American Art. He is a Virginia Bloedel Wright Professor […]

New Board Member at Camerata Pacifica
By Richard Mineards   |   July 12, 2022

Joan Davidson, who currently serves on the Santa Barbara Museum of Art board, where she co-chaired the recent $50 million “Imagine More” capital campaign, has joined the board of 32-year-old Camerata Pacifica. Davidson also served as Third District member of the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission and its county art in public places committee, and […]

Abstract Art at Mid-Century
By Lynda Millner   |   July 12, 2022

Larry J. Feinberg, Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Director of the Board of Trustees of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, invited various folks to Going Global: Abstract Art at Mid-Century – the latest exhibition at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA). It features 35 works from the Museum’s permanent collection. It runs the gamut […]

A Global Opening
By Richard Mineards   |   June 28, 2022

After its hugely successful Van Gogh exhibition, Santa Barbara Museum of Art launched Going Global: Abstract Art at Mid-Century. The show, which runs through September 25, features 35 works from the museum’s permanent collection running the gamut of mediums, from painting and sculpture to photography and lithography, and artist-invented mediums, including forms of kinetic art […]

Painting the Stage
By Richard Mineards   |   May 31, 2022

Ensemble Theatre Company staged its tour-de-force one-man show Vincent at the New Vic, originally presented by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in March to sold-out audiences as it mounted its highly acclaimed Vincent Van Gogh exhibition. The play paints a thoughtful, imaginary scenario about one of the most famous names in the art world […]

The Sleuths Return
By Lynda Millner   |   May 10, 2022

After several years, Mystery in Masterpieces returned to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA). The event sold out in two days. President of the SBMA Women’s Board Julie Blair said this: “Excitement is in the air as Mystery in Masterpieces returns, bringing us together to celebrate a stunning exhibit of art from the Museum’s […]

New Members for SBMA Women’s Board
By Lynda Millner   |   April 26, 2022

Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) Women’s Board held their annual new members meeting at the Santa Barbara Club – this year 12 new names will be added to the roster: Christine Nachman, Kathy Wenger, Jenn Kramer, Mimi Baer, Hsiu–Zu Ho, Janet Budreski, Debra Joseph, Martha Townsend, Debra Cochrane–Vercammen, and Kathy Hartz. The mission of […]

Four Hands, 20 Fingers Add Up to Finesse and Fluidity
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 19, 2022

Most of the time we see piano four hands – which finds two pianists sharing the same keyboard – it comes off as something of a lark, a lighthearted diversion during a more serious recital from a piano studio. But there’s lots of beautiful and important music written specifically for the format, said Gil Garburg. […]

Arod Around Again
By Richard Mineards   |   April 5, 2022

After two years of pandemic restrictions, the Mary Craig Auditorium at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art echoed to the strains of music again when the Paris-based Arod Quartet, a Fab Four of players in their 20s, entertained. They shot to global fame – winning the coveted first prize at the ARD International Music Competition […]

Seeing Through Vincent’s Eyes
By Lynda Millner   |   March 22, 2022

Wow! The old 1912 post office never looked better since its $50 million makeover into one of the finest art museums on the West Coast. And what could be more exciting than a Vincent van Gogh exhibit, Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources, with 20 of his works mounted right here in our […]

Go Van Gogh
By Richard Mineards   |   March 8, 2022

Santa Barbara Museum of Art has joined the big leagues with the West Coast debut of Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources, featuring an astonishing 20 original works by the Dutch genius. The extraordinary show also features 55 works by artists he admired, including Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Camille Pissarro, and […]

Go to Gogh
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 24, 2022

It’s been a very long time, or perhaps ever, since Santa Barbara has eagerly anticipated an exhibition as exciting as “Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources,” a landmark show that launches February 27 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The exhibition boasts 20 works of art by the Dutch master from his […]

In the Clouds
By Richard Mineards   |   February 8, 2022

CAMA – Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara – hosted the second concert of its international series at the Granada with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which has visited out Eden by the Beach more than 144 times since the venerable venue was built in 1924. Both organizations are celebrating their 103rd anniversaries. Under guest […]

Hone Your Shopping Craft by Going Local
By Nick Masuda   |   December 21, 2021

The pandemic has brought about a lot of changes to people’s everyday lives, with eating out replaced by delivery services, while brick-and-mortar shopping took a temporary backseat to online services. But, along the South Coast, small business is the spine of our community, the glue that keeps us all together. And that has never been […]

Grand Reopening
By Lynda Millner   |   September 7, 2021

After six long years of renovation and $50 million, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) has reopened its doors to the public. As Mercedes Eichholz Director and CEO Larry Feinberg put it, “If you’re wondering where all the money went, realize that much of it is out of sight like seismic retrofitting; replacement of […]

Promoting Inclusivity: Community Helps Rethink SBMA’s Mission
By Nick Masuda   |   August 24, 2021

For Kandy Luria-Budgor, it was like looking at a very good-looking person, only to see them wearing the wrong clothes. So, she and dozens of other donors did something about it. And now the Santa Barbara Museum of Art looks glorious — both outside and inside. “The museum it was didn’t fit the scholarly and […]

Ready for its Close-Up: Guided by Montecito Architect, SBMA Reopens
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 19, 2021

On the eve of Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s grand reopening of its galleries following a six-year, $50-million renovation that saw hulking construction equipment and a boarded up facade dominate its downtown space, the project’s architect, Montecito resident Bob Kupiec, recalled a story that illustrates why he leapt at the chance to spearhead the redesign […]

Where Art Thou? Museum is Baaaaaaaack!
By Richard Copelan   |   August 5, 2021

Santa Barbara Museum of Art is back in business! As the venerable 60,000-square-foot institution, a former Post Office, celebrates its 80th anniversary and its reopening on August 15 after the lengthy pandemic lockdown, not to mention a $50 million, six-year renovation expanding exhibition space enormously making it possible to show more of the 27,000 works […]

3 Qs with Delila Moseley: Finally Free to Dance on Film
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 28, 2021

The opening sequence of UCSB Dance Department’s COVID-coping triptych of dance films shows a series of eerily empty spaces all over the seaside campus. But it’s not meant to be a metaphor or pandering to the pandemic, said artistic director Delila Moseley, a longtime professor of dance at UCSB. Moseley has been able to actually […]