Festival of Arts Gallery
June 24 - September 15, 2011

Exhibit: "The Shakespeare Series" by David Rosen
Located in Wells Fargo Building - 3rd Floor in Laguna Beach

June 24th through September 15th, 2011, the Festival of Arts is proud to present a very special must-see exhibit entitled, The Shakespeare Series at Wells Fargo Bank - third floor gallery. The exhibition pays tribute to the late artist David Rosen and marks a milestone as the first of many exhibits investigating the history of art in the region, utilizing the resources of the newly established Festival Collections Research Center, foaNORTH. This series of twenty-four powerful and graphic paintings, based on Shakespeare's plays, are some of the best-known and critically acclaimed works of Rosen's career.

Born in Toronto, Canada in 1912, Rosen studied at Cooper Union Art School in New York City from 1930 to 1933. In 1936, he was employed in the pre-war Federal Arts Project in New York City where he worked in the Mural Division until 1941. During that time, he worked in the Siqueiros Art Workshop. It was there that, together with his friend Jackson Pollock, he experimented with new media and techniques. In 1945, Rosen moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career. For thirteen years he continued to 'push the envelope' creating powerful expressionistic works that were exhibited in galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and elsewhere.

Making his home in Laguna Beach's art colony in 1958, Rosen exhibited in 17 major national annual exhibitions including the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts where Mr. Rosen was the first non-traditional painter to be allowed to exhibit. His work was also honored in juried art shows at LACMA and numerous others.

"It has been truly an honor to participate in developing this presentation of a significant artist who influenced the art culture in Laguna Beach, and whose Shakespeare Series illustrates his passion for painting and the love of theatrical expression," said Festival of Arts Collection Specialist Pat Sparkuhl.

This free exhibit is part of an ongoing series of shows that the Festival of Arts is having at Wells Fargo this year. The Wells Fargo building is at 260 Ocean Avenue, Laguna Beach and is open to the public Monday through Friday 9:00 am - 6:00 pm and Saturday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.