Left Coast: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Art

Since it opened its doors in 1941, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art has consistently been dedicated to collecting—an activity that has contributed to the growth of the permanent collection in significant ways. Art produced on the West Coast is a major part of this endeavor. Left Coast presents an overview of the Museum’s collecting habits in contemporary art over the past five years. Featuring over thirty works in a variety of media, including painting, photography, works on paper, and sculpture, many of the works in the exhibition are on view at the Museum for the first time. Tying these works together is the pervasive sense of individuality demonstrated in each, adding weight to the justification of the delineation of this side of the country as not just the West Coast, but also the “Left” Coast.

The exhibition is comprised of works from artists in various stages of their careers, ranging from emerging to established, and regionally to internationally recognized. All of these artists have at one time lived, worked, or exhibited in Southern California. Artists: Amy Adler, Kevin Appel, Brian Bress, Dan Connally, Russell Crotty, Tony De los Reyes, Roy Dowell, Carlee Fernandez, Mark Flores, Llyn Foulkes, Jack Goldstein, Ken Gonzales-Day, Lyle Ashton Harris, Zach Harris, Adam Helms, Richard Jackson, Kim Jones, Mike Kelley, Elad Lassry, Allison Miller, Kori Newkirk, Lari Pittman, Ken Price, Lucas Reiner, Steve Roden, Sommer Roman, April Street, Robert Wechsler, and Mario Ybarra, Jr.