Art alumnus shows work at Castro Valley, Pacifica, Fremont

• October 26, 2010 10:30am

Larry Van Deusen, Art ’76, is showing “The Painting is the Story” at the Castro Valley Public Library, 3600 Norbridge Ave, through December. During November, he will have pieces in “Bay Area Open” at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, and he has a permanent installation of 29 pieces at the Centerville Library, 3801 Nicolet Ave., Fremont.

Van Deusen uses the collage method for the composition in his non-linear paintings, ignoring the symbolic nature of an object, to instead concentrate on connections among items that bring meaning to the painting in its entirety.

He considers his artwork a metaphor for the modern world, where we understand that at all levels everything is connected to everything else. His 3-by-4-foot acrylic paintings are closely associated with the Post Modern movement, because of how he blends original images with mass and world cultural images. He hopes his work inspires dialogue on such topics as entitlement, progress, race, religion, and sex. 

Van Deusen has shown extensively in the United States and Europe, with 16 solo and 45 group shows, as well as at many art festivals, open studios, artist panels, and television interviews and discussions.

Following graduation, he did an internship at the Oakland Museum, and independent painting study with Joan Brown at the University of California, Berkeley. He founded and ran City Arts Gallery in Hayward from 1994 to 2006.

DD