Up Close: New Acquisitions

Main Gallery, February 10 – May 7

Up Close: New Acquisitions presents a selection of over one hundred works added to Kleefeld Contemporary’s permanent collection since 2023. Featuring artwork by more than sixty artists spanning painting, photography, printmaking, assemblage, sculpture, fiber, and new media, the exhibition celebrates Kleefeld Contemporary’s ongoing commitment to expand and share a permanent collection that reflects the complexity and diversity of the contemporary art world.   

Including works from the 1960s to today, the recent acquisitions touch on a wide range of subject matter, from considerations of race and identity to explorations of gender, sexuality, and the body. Many of the works build key areas of the Museum’s collection, such as different approaches to abstraction and material innovation. Adding depth and breadth to Kleefeld Contemporary’s permanent collection, the acquisitions advance opportunities to illuminate new connections across time, place, and media.  

Up Close will also showcase new additions of archival materials and ephemera that shed further light on the Museum’s collection, such as exhibition announcements and invitations, mail art, artist books and publications, and other printed matter.  

Since its founding in 1974 as the University Art Museum, Kleefeld Contemporary’s holdings have grown to over 2,000 objects, including historically significant works by celebrated modern artists as well as works by some of the most innovative artists of today. Kleefeld Contemporary’s acquisition program aims to catalyze learning by engaging its permanent collection as an evergreen pedagogical resource, fostering understanding through arts integration at California State University, Long Beach and beyond.    

Featured artists: Laura Aguilar; Phillip Argent; Phyllis Davidson; Aaron Curry; June Edmonds; timo fahler; Simone Gad; Joe Grillo; Candida Höfer; Terrence La Noue; Barry Le Va; Ericka Lopez; Arnold Mesches; Mark Milloff; Judy Pfaff; Guillermo Srodek-Hart; Laurie Steelink; Barbara Thomason; Hap Tivey; and Rita Yokoi, among others.

Up Close: New Acquisitions was organized by Chief Curator Erin Stout, PhD, and the staff of Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum. We acknowledge with gratitude the generous support for this exhibition and accompanying programs provided by the CSULB Instructionally Related Activities Fund, the Elizabeth and Charles Brooks Endowment, and the Arts Council for Long Beach and the City of Long Beach and Percent for the Arts