Art by Marta Chaffee
An exhibition of Marta Chaffee’s new body of work, Grasses, will open at Gallery 169 March 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. Residents and art lovers are invited for an evening of community filled with art, food and drink. Valet parking is available.
Chaffee, a Los Angeles native born in 1936, has been using Southern California landscapes for her art for more than six decades.
Born and raised in Pasadena, Chaffee earned her bachelor’s degree from Occidental College and her master degree from Otis Art Institute after studying at UCLA and the Art Students League in New York.
Her work has been exhibited at major institutions including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum, Santa Barbara Art Museum, and the Newport Harbor Art Museum.
Her pieces are held in private and public collections such as the Total Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, The Beverly Hilton Hotel, and Bank of America. Notably, Chaffee was the one of two female Los Angeles artists depicted in Kent Twitchell’s iconic mural, “Six Los Angeles Artists” (1980, Torrance), and was a finalist in the 1984 Olympic International Art Competition.
Her new body of work, Grasses, is a collection of closely observed drawings that blur the boundaries between abstraction and representation. Using soft pencil tones and erasing out shapes Chaffee’s compositions reflect both the majesty and the often-overlooked complexity of these humble plants. Her series of whiskery, graphite drawings are at once precise and gestural can be read as meditative reflections on time, light, and the changing shape of the natural world.
Grasses will be on view through April 27. In addition to this opening exhibition, the artist will be present on Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. The gallery is also open by appointment. Chaffee will have a solo exhibition in New York this summer.
A portion of the proceeds from sales will go to the relief efforts for artists impacted by the recent fires. To see more about the artist click here.
About Gallery 169: 169 W. Channel Road, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Open by AppointmentContact: Frank Langen (310) 963-3891 franklangen@mac.com Instagram: @gallery169