Arts & culture · Fullerton

College of the Arts Galleries | Public Opening Reception

College of the Arts Galleries | Public Opening Reception Saturday, September 26, 2026, 1:00 – 4:00 PM TOM LADUKE: slowly, the song goes  and  PATRICK MERRILL: Prints from the Permanent Collection, 2004 – 2009 Locati

College of the Arts Galleries | Public Opening Reception Saturday, September 26, 2026, 1:00 – 4:00 PM TOM LADUKE: slowly, the song goes  and  PATRICK MERRILL: Prints from the Permanent Collection, 2004 – 2009 Location: Visual Arts – Building G – College of the Arts Galleries Free and open to the public Join us for an afternoon of art, conversation, and community as we welcome the new exhibition season. About the Exhibitions TOM LA DUKE:  slowly, the song goes: The College of the Arts Galleries at California State University, Fullerton presents  slowly, the song goes , a solo exhibition by artist Tom LaDuke. Bringing together new drawings, recent paintings, and earlier sculptures, the exhibition traces recurring ideas that have shaped LaDuke’s practice for more than three decades, offering a rare opportunity to experience the evolution of one of Southern California’s most influential contemporary artists. Through processes of layering, revision, and transformation, LaDuke’s work blurs distinctions between the natural and artificial, the familiar and the unfamiliar, revealing an artistic practice rooted in continual change as forms, images, and concepts reappear in unexpected ways across multiple mediums. Learn more about the artist:  www.tomladuke.com PATRICK MERRILL: Prints from the Permanent Collection, 2004–2009: Patrick Merrill (1948-2012) was a master printmaker and mixed-media artist known for his monumental woodcuts, etchings, and lithography. His work transformed personal experience and societal concerns into compelling explorations of war, patriarchy, faith, and human resilience. Through complex compositions, Merrill often placed sacred iconography alongside scenes from everyday life, forging unexpected connections between historical narratives and contemporary realities. Drawn from the gallery’s holdings, the exhibition features Merrill’s “Apocalypse” series, a body of work inspired by the Book of Revelation. For Merrill, “apocalypse” was less about an ending than an act of revealing. Through layers of imagery and allegorical figures, he used the visual language of Revelation to expose the fears, determinations, and systems of power that continue to shape the world we inhabit. These works represent one of the most ambitious projects of Merrill’s career, bringing together the technical mastery, symbolic intricacy, and intellectual rigor that defined his practice. Images (L to R):  TOM LaDUKE Future Proof, 2023 Mixed media on canvas, 68 x 80 inches Courtesy of the artist and Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY; PATRICK MERRILL, "Seventh Seal or Whoopee we’re all going to die" (Detail), 2008. Woodcut, lithograph stencil and etching on paper (four combined panels backed by book cloth), 12 x 12 ft. Gift of Debra Winters-Merrill, CSUF College of the Arts Permanent Collection. Accession# [2021.000480]

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