SAN JOSÉ, California (January 17, 2018) — David Pagel, Los Angeles Times art critic and professor of art theory and history at Claremont Graduate University, California, will speak about San Francisco painter Raimonds Staprans and his mastery of color and light in a lecture at the San José Museum of Art on Wednesday, January 31, 2018, at 7 PM. His talk will be followed by the opening reception for Full Spectrum: Paintings by Raimonds Staprans, on view February 2, 2018 — May 20, 2018, at 8 PM. Raimonds Staprans will be present to sign copies of his catalogue ($55, available at the Museum store).  Lecture tickets are $12 ($6 for members) and include the reception to follow. Tickets are available online at sjmusart.org/event/opening-paintings-raimonds-staprans.

David Pagel has been a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times since 1991. He is a professor of art theory and history at Claremont Graduate University and has taught in the art department since 1994. He is also an adjunct curator at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, NY. Pagel holds a Master’s in Art History from Harvard University and a B.A. in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University.

About the exhibition

Raimonds Staprans’s paintings showcase the landscape and architecture of California, and are equally rooted in reality and in the artist’s imagination. Taut contours and bold hues define fields, marinas, isolated trees, and architecture, all devoid of people, while scorching sunlight descends from deep blue skies. His still life paintings of fruit, artist’s materials, and chairs share a pervasive loneliness, quality of light, and rich color—sometimes including a full prismatic spectrum. In all of his work, assertive brushwork and traces of revision remind the viewer that his realities are pure paint on canvas, and his subjects serve as formal elements. Staprans’s depth of experience in the Golden State has resulted in work that is in sync with his contemporaries in the San Francisco Bay Area, such as Richard Diebenkorn, Gregory Kondos, and Wayne Thiebaud.  Full Spectrum: Paintings by Raimonds Staprans is organized by the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California.

SAN JOSÉ MUSEUM OF ART

The San José Museum of Art celebrates new ideas, stimulates creativity, and inspires connection with every visit. Welcoming and thought-provoking, the Museum rejects stuffiness and delights visitors with its surprising and playful perspective on the art and artists of our time. SJMA is located at 110 South Market Street in downtown San José, California. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 5 PM and until 8 PM or later on the third Thursday of each month. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students, and $5 for youth ages 7 – 18. Members and children ages 6 and under are admitted free. For more information, call 408-271-6840 or visit www.SanJoseMuseumofArt.org.

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Programs at the San José Museum of Art are made possible by generous operating support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Yvonne and Mike Nevens, a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San José, and the Richard A. Karp Charitable Foundation.