Dan McCleary

Brand 48, the Annual National Juried Exhibition of Works on Paper sponsored by the Associates is scheduled to open on September 12. Chairperson Debra Thompson and Shannon Currie Holmes, Exhibitions Supervisor at Brand, are working with Library and City of Glendale staff to fashion access to the exhibition that will allow for a safe and satisfying viewing experience for everyone. Current plans are for an opening event on Sunday, September 12 from 2-4 p.m. With ever-changing guidelines governing the opening of cultural venues, we remain optimistic but realistic, and are investigating interesting virtual platforms for viewing the show should the need arise. Look for updates in your email and on this site in the coming weeks.

Our juror this year is Dan McCleary, a Los Angeles-based figurative artist who has exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the United States and abroad for the past 30 years. His works are included in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Harvard Art Museum, among many others. In addition to his own painting practice, he has taught painting and drawing at UCLA and USC and in 2012 was an artist-in-residence and drawing instructor at the Getty Center.

In 2010, McCleary founded Art Division, a non-profit dedicated to training and supporting under-served youth who are committed to studying the visual arts. Located in the Rampart District, which is one of the most densely populated and under-served communities in Los Angeles, Art Division engages an at-risk group of young adults aged 18-26 and provides the focused instruction, individualized tutoring and personal support that are needed to pursue higher education and careers in the arts. Studios for painting and printmaking as well as an art library of more than 8,000 titles are the heart of Art Division which also provides classes in Creative Writing, Film, and Art History.

Brand 48 continues the tradition of seeking to include an increasingly diverse array of three-dimensional artworks as well as an expanding range of approaches to the two-dimensional paper surface. Despite a call for artists which opened on April 1 near the beginning of the pandemic, national artists have responded enthusiastically and we had over 900 entries of which 108 will be on exhibit.

Remember, Brand Library & Art Center has been a cornerstone for the arts in Southern California since 1956. It is a unique public library that houses over 110,000 items on the visual arts and music, overseen by subject-specialist librarians. Our gallery exhibitions, concerts, lectures, dance performances, films, and hands-on craft programs are always free to everyone. Your ongoing support through memberships, donations and art purchases allows the Associates of Brand Library & Art Center to continue to serve the community.