This survey presents the work of Charles Arnoldi, a nationally renowned painter and sculptor based in Los Angeles. Arnoldi has been described as an artist who “draws in space” to create his unique assemblage works of art. Throughout his long career he has been fascinated with shape and pattern as they apply to advanced formal concerns, from his 1970s paintings made entirely of natural forms, to his current geometric work. Internationally renowned architect Frank Gehry has said that, “the maturing Arnoldi has a secure color sense and the ability to work at large scale as well as to produce tiny, exquisite watercolors.” Gehry cites Arnoldi as an influence in his own work, stating that “this is an artist whose best is yet to come, who is still experimental and still willing to risk.”

About the Artist

Charles Arnoldi has been making art for over 35 years, first achieving major acclaim in the 1970s. A decade later he had established himself as one of the most prominent painters working in southern California. Arnoldi’s work resides in numerous collections and museums throughout the United States, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain.

About the Authors

Frank Gehry is an internationally renowned architect based in Los Angeles whose groundbreaking work has been a major influence on an entire generation of architects. Dave Hickey has published essays and criticism in Rolling Stone, Art in America, Artforum, Interview, and Harper’s, as well as several books, which include Air Guitar and Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty. He is noted for reintroducing the notion of beauty into art-world discourse.