Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD) will open The Art of Bill Ogden, the first solo exhibition of artworks by Bill Ogden from July 2 to August 31, 2015 at LCAD Gallery at 374 Ocean Ave. Laguna Beach, CA 92651. 

The Art of Bill Ogden will feature vivid original paintings, illustrations and drawings from the mid-1970s to the present day. The exhibition coincide with the publication of OGDEN: The Visionary Art of Bill Ogden.

OGDEN: The Visionary Art of Bill Ogden celebrates Ogden’s masterful works of art and offers Ogden devotees and new admirers alike a comprehensive overview of Ogden’s lifelong development as an artist. This beautiful, hardcover, 160-page monograph with stunning color reproductions will be available for purchase at the price of $60 at LCAD Gallery on July 2nd, the evening of the exhibition opening, and throughout the course of the exhibition.

For readers, artists, designers, historians and scholars interested in discovering the less-charted undercurrents of California’s mid-century countercultural art, OGDEN: The Visionary Art of Bill Ogden published by Croul Publications of Newport Beach, details the emergence of one little-known California artist, Bill Ogden, during the years dominated by psychedelic icons such at Timothy Leary and The Brotherhood of Eternal Love.

Ogden’s beginnings, from drawing Surfer Magazine cartoons, psychedelic ads for Jantzen swimwear, posters for San Francisco acid-rock bands such as Traffic, and hippie publications such as the L.A. Free Press, never fell into cliché´ ”acid art.” Instead, Ogden’s line, color and tone offered cool respite from the 1960s rip currents of hyper-rapid social change through his vivid artistic imagination.      

Ogden was one of the original 192 participating renegade exhibitors at Laguna’s first Sawdust Festival.

Author Craig Lockwood, the son of Laguna Beach artists with 100-year family roots in the seaside community, was an early fan of Ogden’s work.

“During the 1960-s and 70's in Laguna Beach, you’d find Ogden’s enormously popular, gracefully psychedelic poster/calendars from Jimmy Otto’s Sound Spectrum music shop on the walls of every local kid’s bedroom, college dorm-room or young adult’s studio apartment," Lockwood said. "Today, here and there in Laguna, Ogden’s paintings are still seen gracing the walls of shops, restaurants, doctor and dentist’s offices—anywhere the artist could, in the long-standing tradition of the art colony, 'make a trade.'"

For more information about LCAD Gallery, please visit: www.lcad.edu/gallery/college-gallery/

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About LCAD Gallery

The mission of LCAD’s gallery is to serve the educational and cultural objectives of Laguna College of Art and Design's studio majors. Each year through their exhibitions, LCAD Gallery seeks to promote the development of our students’ talents and aesthetic awareness, while at the same time expanding the appreciation of various art forms to the community. The gallery’s exhibitions are offered free of charge to the public.

LCAD Gallery is located at 374 Ocean Ave. Laguna Beach, CA 92651. Admission to LCAD Gallery is always free. LCAD Gallery hours are 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and is closed Sunday and Monday.

Download a catalog, stay up-to-date on the latest news and events and support LCAD’s Annual Fund: www.lcad.edu, Facebook at @LCADBFA, Twitter @LCAD and Instagram @lcadbfa.