July 2021 - Carolyn Mary Kleefeld

Construction at Massive New CSULB Art Museum

Jul 12, 2021 | Press

Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum

California State University, Long Beach

A longtime goal of the Cal State University, Long Beach campus is well on its way to being realized with the renovation and expansion of the Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, formerly known as the University Art Museum.

Though still in the trenches of construction, the new exterior walls of the museum are up which now encompass an additional 4,000 square feet of land—most of which is dedicated to the Main Gallery, an impressive near-3,000 square foot windowless expanse that will be built with moveable walls, allowing for multiple exhibitions at a time.

Two galleries were typically the most the museum could host before. The remaining square footage—11,000 in total including new outdoor gardens and seating areas—will feature a state-of-the-art education laboratory, a reading and archives room, an office space, a visitor’s lobby and reception area, a retail shop, a temperature-controlled storage room and three permanent gallery spaces, some of which will have multipurpose uses.

“Expanded, professional-grade galleries will host several different exhibitions at a time and allow the museum to deepen its leadership in the exploration of abstraction,” said newly appointed museum director Paul Baker Prindle in a statement.

Clark Construction Group began working on the museum in June 2020, alongside renovations to the museum’s neighboring Horn Center which is in the process of retrofitting and converting its computer lab and undergraduate advising center into 10 classrooms, two lecture halls, and additional all-gender restrooms.

The total cost for both projects is $24 million, according to CSULB. While state funding is paying for the Horn Center, private donations are footing the bill for the new museum. Its greatest benefactor is the museum’s new namesake, artist Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld, who donated $10 million, as reported by the Daily 49er.

The museum also includes a 521-square-foot gallery built in her honor that will be outfitted with barrel ceilings and hardwood floors. The Kleefeld Gallery room will house a permanent collection of some of her works in addition to a rotating selection by other artists.

The Kleefeld Gallery room will be the only space with hardwood flooring—the rest of the museum, save for the carpeted offices, will be laid with concrete. With this cozy feature, the gallery room will also be used as a community hall where visitors can reserve quiet, loud, evening or weekend hours for use.

“We definitely don’t want to be another ivory tower in the museum space, that’s really the antithesis of what we’re working towards,” Amanda Fruta, public affairs and communication specialist for Kleefeld Contemporary explained. “With the quiet hours, loud hours, extended hours, gardens, multi-use spaces, learning spaces and all-gender bathrooms, we want really want everyone to feel welcome here.”

Pfeiffer Partners Architects will be adding a new, glass vestibule to the original mid-century façade designed by famous architect Ed Killingsworth. The near 15-foot-tall diamond offset structure will act as an eye-catching attraction, hopefully encouraging passersby to stroll through the museum, something the space had previously struggled to do, Fruta said.

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Original Article from Long Beach Post by Cheantay Jensen

Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Gifts Collection to University Art Museum

Jul 7, 2021 | Museum News

Her words provoke and inspire. Her highly acclaimed paintings express in symbolic imagery the passions of the heart and a reverence for the wilderness. It’s this quest for creative experimentation and spiritual knowledge that has made Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld an award-winning poet, writer, visual artist, and now benefactor to the University Art Museum and College of the Arts at Cal State Long Beach.

Kleefeld, whose paintings have appeared in numerous museums and galleries around the world, has gifted 120 of her works to launch what she and the university expect to be a long and fruitful partnership. Her vast portfolio includes an extensive and diverse body of paintings and drawings, ranging in style from Expressionist to Abstract to Figurative.

Kleefeld’s award-winning art is in the permanent collections of – among others – The Downey Museum of Art, Pepperdine University’s  Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, The Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur and The Dylan Thomas Theatre in Swansea, Wales.

“Carolyn’s impact on California art has been nothing short of remarkable and we are delighted that the University Art Museum will be part of her lasting legacy, as well as provide us with the opportunity to showcase her work and that of other significant artists,” said President Jane Close Conoley.

Kleefeld was born in Catford, England, but grew up in Southern California. She studied art and psychology at UCLA. In 1980, she moved to her current home in Big Sur, California, where she studies, writes and paints.

She is the author of 20 books, a number of which have been used by healing centers and universities. Kleefeld’s writings have been translated into over 15 languages. Her book, “Climates of the Mind,” was translated into Braille and has been used in psychology courses at Cal State Long Beach.  Kleefeld’s literary and personal archive, as well as a complete set of her published books will join her gift of artwork at the museum.

“A profound circle has magically manifested,” said Kleefeld of the new relationship with the university. “When my parents, S. Mark and Amelia Taper, came to this country from England with my brother, sister, and myself, we first stayed for some time at the Biltmore Hotel in Long Beach, and later my father began his extensive housing for veterans there. So, now for my life’s work to be  part of the Long Beach community is a destiny fulfilled.”

Cyrus Parker-Jeannette, dean of the College of the Arts, is delighted at the addition of the Kleefeld Collection to the University Art Museum.

“The University Art Museum seeks to serve our students in ways that expand their understanding of the complex roles that art plays in culture,” Parker-Jeannette said. “It means so much to us that Carolyn’s legacy as an artist, a poet, and a historical figure will be celebrated here, and I am happily foreseeing that many great opportunities will emerge from this relationship.”

“As I express in my artist statement, ultimately art is an innocent interactive mirror of my innermost process, whisking me out of time into the Timeless,” said Kleefeld. “My life’s passion is to create art from this unconditioned well of being and to inspire such a journey in others. Thus, to have my art and writing in this educational setting is a dream realized, and my aspiration is for the students and visitors to the university to embark on their own journeys of inner discovery and creative expression, learning from my own experiential explorations.”