The Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton has exhibited a steady pace of art exhibitions that showcase top artistic talent locally and globally. From May 5 to July 3, they are showcasing “Embrace – 2022 KAWAA Annual Exhibition” organized by the Korean American Women’s Artist Alliance. This exhibition is curated by Cal State Long Beach faculty member Sunook Park, and features a multitude of contemporary artists, some based in Korea, and others who live locally.

The curator’s statement reads: “This exhibition features 11 Korean artists and 15 invited artists. The exhibition suggests fostering harmonious coexistence of diverse cultures working and living in Los Angeles. Through this exhibition, KAWAA (Korean-American Women’s Artist Alliance) would like to express a renewed sense of community as a symbolic gesture to embrace differences and participate in building active, compassionate unity.”

Sculpture pieces by Young Shin Kim and Marsha Judd. Photo by David Olivares.

This exhibit celebrates the diversity in our artistic community, as well as a wide range of emotional and personal expression through uses of different media, including ceramic work, diptychs and triptychs, acrylic on canvas, wooden frame sculptures, textiles, and photography.

All works share clearly defined personal voices by their artists, whether its abstract compositions, everyday objects, or vivid realistic representations.

Mark Steven Greenfield’s “Three Sisters” is a vibrant, energetic acrylic piece that visually explodes in different directions.

“Music of the Spheres L #1” by Koojah Kim takes a wonderfully innovative, Kandinsky-esque approach to a mixed media piece with 3 dimensional accents to the picture plane.

Koojah Kim’s ‘Music of the Spheres L #1. Photo by David Olivares.

Muckenthaler curator Lisa M. Berman said that accessibility was one of the most unifying details of all artworks in the exhibit – not necessarily by price, but by the size and portability of all the artworks. Unlike the large-scale Renaissance frescoes of the past or massive abstract paintings that typically hang on museum walls, most if not all paintings were designed to be around 30 inches or less in width.

Close up of Mark Steven Greenfield’s ‘Three Sisters.’ Photo by David Olivares.

The Muckenthaler has held numerous art exhibitions in the past, from an annual showcase of various artworks from Fullerton’s local high school students to a long-term photography project about shipwrecks from Italian photographer Stefano Benazzo. Before the current “Embrace” exhibit, the Muckenthaler previously hosted “Into the Bonnieverse,” a photography gallery of iconic celebrity figures from photographer Bonnie Shiffman.

Besides visual art showcases, the Muckenthaler is home to world class musical performances, lively family events, and local festivals. For more information about the Muckenthaler Cultural Center and its upcoming events, go to www.themuck.org.