DOMENIC CRETARA

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          Domenic Cretara, Professor of Art at California State University, Long Beach, works primarily in drawing and painting. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Boston University School of Fine Arts, graduating with honors. In his academic position at CSULB, he has received marks of distinction for teaching, scholarship, and creative achievement. Among other tributes, in 1974 he received a Fulbright Grant to Italy which allowed him to spend a year painting and studying in Florence. In the late 1970s, he was the artist in residence at the Foundation Camargo in Cassis, France. A Sister Cities Grant allowed him to return to work in Italy for a summer in the city of Padua.

 

           As an artist, Cretara has been a particularly active exhibitor, with many solo exhibitions, including a retrospective at the Las Vegas Art Museum (1998), and over twenty-five group shows in venues on both coasts and Europe. His works are in the collections of major institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Boston. Cretara’s images not only have graced the covers of magazines and illustrated poems but have also been the subject of many publications, including Portrait Painting Atelier (Watson Guptill Publications, 2010) and Sex: Portraits of Passion (Watson Guptill Publications, 1999), feature articles for American Arts Quarterly and American Artist, and reviews in the Los Angeles Times and Boston Herald.

  -Richard West

   Director,

   Frye Museum of Art, Seattle, WA.

 

 

 

 

Education

1968-1970  Boston University School of Fine Arts, MFA

1964-1968  Boston University School of Fine Arts, BFA  (Magna Cum Laude)

 

Solo Exhibits

2014   Schomburg Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

2014   Stone Rose Gallery, Long Beach, CA

2013   Triton Art  Museum, Santa Clara, CA

2011   Schomburg Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

2009   Schomburg Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

2009   CSUIP Gallery, Florence, Italy

2008   Schomburg Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

2008   Todd Art Gallery, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN

2002   Minneapolis College of Art and Design, MN

2002   Schomburg Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

2001   Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA

1998   Las Vegas Art Museum, Retrospective Exhibit, Las Vegas, NV

1998   Martin Zambito Gallery, Seattle, WA

1997   Mulligan/Shanoski Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1996   Brenda Taylor Gallery, New York City

1995   Alon Gallery, Boston, MA

1993   The John Thomas Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

1992   Alon Gallery, Boston, MA

1991   The John Thomas Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

1989   Alon Gallery, Boston, MA

1988   Victor McNeil Gallery, New York City

1987   Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1985   Segal Gallery, New York City

1984   Segal Gallery, New York City

 

Group Exhibits

2015   “Identity, Who Are We Now,” Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN.

            Exhibitors included Chuck Close, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Do Ho Suh.

            Curator: Dennis Jon

2015   “Going Home,” Two-person traveling exhibit, Domenic Cretara and Chris

            Troutman, Charleston Heights Art Center Gallery, Las Vegas, NV;

            Schomburg Gallery, Santa Monica, CA; Sinclair Community College Art

            Galleries, Dayton, OH.

2014   “The Way of Flesh Part 2”

           Mt. San Antonio College Art Gallery, Walnut, CA.

2012  “The Figure in Contemporary Art”

           Cypress College Art Gallery, Cypress, CA.

2006  “Beyond the Likeness: Self Portraits by California Artists,”

            Triton Art  Museum, Santa Clara, CA, Curator: George Rivera

2006   “A Terrible Beauty: Figurative Painting in the 21st Century,”

            Grey McGear Modern Inc, Santa Monica, CA

            Curator:  Alec Aintree, Arts Critic The London Times

2005    “The Painted Image,” Biola University Art Gallery, La Mirada, CA

2005    “Las Vegas Centennial Invitational Exhibition,” Las Vegas Art Museum

2005   “Direct Access: an Exhibition of Drawings,”

            Todd Art Gallery, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN

2003  “Speculative Terrain,” The Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard, CA.; The Riverside

            Art Museum; The Laband Art Gallery. , Curator, Gordon Fuglie

2002   "Drawings VI,"  Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2001   "Representing LA,"  Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA;  Art Museum of

            South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX; Laguna Art Museum, Laguna, CA

            Curator: Gordon Fuglie

2000   "Drawings V,"  Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2000   "Drawing from Perception III,"  Wright State University Art Galleries

             Dayton OH, Juror: Rosemary Beck

1999   "31st Annual W&J National Painting Show," Washington and

             Jefferson College, Washington, PA  (juror's award)

1998   "Contempo Italianate," Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount

             University, Los Angeles, CA

1998   "Artists Who Look Back: Spirituality in Contemporary Art,"

             Museo ItaloAmericano, San Francisco, CA

1997   "Recent Acquisitions," Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA

1996   "West: Art and the Law," (traveling exhibition)

1996   "Recent Work," Mulligan/Shanoski Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1995   "Go Figure," Mulligan/Shanoski Gallery, San Francisco, CA

1995   "Emulations: Quotations from the Source," Riverside Art Museum

1995   "Love in a Taxing Time," John Thomas Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

1994   "Recent Acquisitions," Triton Art Museum, Santa Clara, CA

1994   "Slice of Life: Contemporary Still Life," Riverside Art Museum, CA

             Curator, Jim Reed

1994    "Rock, Paper, Scissors," University of Delaware, Juror: Gino Rodriguez,

           Exec. Director of Alternative Museum, New York City (purchase prize)

1993   “National Juried Exhibition," Gallery 84, N.Y. City, Juror: Donald Kuspit

1992   "Works on Paper," University of Madrid Art Gallery, Madrid, Spain

1991  "Rutgers National '90," Stedman Art Gallery, Camden, NJ

            Jurors: Martha Beck and Ned Rifkin

1990  "Figurative Realities Beyond the Form," Triton Art Museum,

           Santa Clara, CA, Curator: George Rivera

1988  "American Drawing Biennial," Muscarelle Museum of Art,

           Williamsburg, VA, Juror: Frank Gettings, Curator, Hirshorn Museum

1987  "Frivolity and Morality: The Tradition of the Vanitas in Contemporary

           Painting," Sherry French Gallery, New York City

1987  "Night Light/Night Lives," Sherry French Gallery, New York City

1983  "Selections 21," The Drawing Center, New York City

           Curators: Martha Beck and Tom Lawson

1975   "Fulbright Exhibit," The American Embassy Gallery, Rome, Italy

 

Employment

1986-2015       Professor of Art, California State University, Long Beach

2007-2008       Resident Director CSU International Program in Florence, Italy

1970-1986       Associate Professor, The Art Institute of Boston

                        Chair of Fine Arts Department, 1972-1978

 

Awards

2003  Outstanding Professor Award, CSULB

2001  Public Corporation for the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship

1999  Juror's Award, Washington & Jefferson National Painting Show

1998  Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, CSULB

1994  Distinguished Faculty Scholarly and Creative Achievement Award,

           CSULB

1994  Purchase Prize, "Rock, Paper, Scissors" Exhibit

1985  Florence Brevoort Kane Prize, in Painting

1984  Sister Cities Grant, to Padua, Italy

1978  Camargo Foundation Grant, to Cassis, France

1978  Artist in Residence, at Ossabaw Island Project, Ossabaw Island, GA

1974  Fulbright-Hays Grant, to Florence, Italy

 

Collections

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 20th Century Collection

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH

Museum of Modern Art, Macedonia, Greece

Cypress College, Cypress, CA

Mount San Antonio College, Walnut, CA

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Collection of the Boston Public Library

Riverside Art Museum

University Art Museum, CSULB

Triton Art Museum

Art Institute of Boston

Duxbury Museum of Art

University of Delaware

McBall Corporation, Chicago, IL

Collection of Claude Bernard, Paris, France

Collection of Joel Schumacher, Hollywood, CA

 

 

Bibliography

Foreword for Portrait Painting Atelier, Suzanne Brooker, Watson Guptill Publisher, 2010

Catalog Essay on the etchings of Giorgio Morandi for the 6th International Biennnial, Exhibition of Etchings, City of Monsummano Terme, Italy, 2009

 

L.A. Times, August 30, 2002

ArtScene, April 2002

Art Beat, fall 2000, guest column by Frederick Turner

Long Beach Press Telegram, November 26, 2000

American Arts Quarterly, fall 2000

Contemporary American Oil Painting, Jilin Fine Arts Publishing House, People's Republic of China, 1999

Sex: Portraits of Passion, John Williams, Watson Guptill Publications, 1999

American Arts Quarterly, (feature article) fall 1998

The Best of Sketching and Drawing, Terry Sullivan, Quarterly Press

Long Beach Press Telegram, November 8, 1998;  June 20, 1998

Las Vegas Sun, April 23, 1998

Figure Drawing, Nathan Goldstein, Prentice-Hall Publishers, 5th edition 1998

Domenic Cretara, Painting Circumstantial Evidence, Film by Bestshot Video, Adam Shanker, Filmmaker 1997

The Art of Responsive Drawing, Nathan Goldstein, Prentice-Hall Publishers

Elle Decor, August/September 1994

American Artist, (feature article) December 1992

Artweek, October 1992; April 1990; April 1987

Art New England, August/September 1991

Los Angeles Times, April 1987

Boston Herald, May 1987

Arts Magazine, December 1984

Il Mattino di Padova, July 26, 1984

 

 

Publications and Films

“The Pomegranate,” The Millstone.” And “The Delirium,” Film Collaborations with film-maker Jose Sanchez – H. and poet Tina Datsko, 2001

 

"Some Thoughts on Figure Drawing," Showcase, Academic Affairs Digest,Fall 1998

"Vandal Vegas," Art Beat, vol. 45  no. 2, guest column

"Planning a Well Structured Portrait," American Artist, February 1996

"Transformations and Translations: Appropriations from Art History in My

       Work," paper presented at the College Art Association Conference,

       San Antonio, TX, January 1995

"Toxic Materials in the Painting Process," paper presented at Health and

      Safety in the Arts Teleconference, CSULB, May 1993

"A Short Course in Composition," The Artist's Magazine, March 1993

"A Short Course in Oil Painting," The Artist's Magazine, April 1991

"Crafting the Just-Right Studio," The Artist's Magazine, February 1991

"A Course in Figure Drawing," The Artist's Magazine, June 1990

 

Published Drawings

 

2011  Cover Art and Illustrations for The Delirium of Simon Bolivar, Tina Datsko, Floricanto Press

2008  Illustrations for Carousel, Jeanette Huff

2005  Illustrations for My Mother’s Bolivian Kitchen, Jose Sanchez H. Hippocrene Books

1992  Issue #14 of the South Coast Poetry Journal

1991  Cover Illustration of the May issue of Lactuca

1990  Issue #8 of the South Coast Poetry Journal

 

Publications and Films

Work reproduced in The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting, by Suzanne Brooker,  Random House, 2015

Work reproduced in Artist’s Block Cured, by Amy Runyan, Walter Foster Publications, 2011

"Foreword," Portrait Painting Atalier, by Suzanne Brooker, Random House, 2011

“Morandi and Etching,” catalog essay, Sixth International Etching Biennial, 2009

“The Pomegranate,” The Millstone.” And “The Delirium,” Film Collaborations with film-maker Jose Sanchez – H. and poet Tina Datsko, 2001

"Some Thoughts on Figure Drawing," Showcase, Academic Affairs Digest, Fall 1998

"Vandal Vegas," Art Beat, vol. 45 no. 2, guest column

"Planning a Well Structured Portrait," American Artist, February 1996

"Transformations and Translations:

       Appropriations from Art History in My

       Work," paper presented at the College Art Association Conference,

       San Antonio, TX, January 1995

"Toxic Materials in the Painting Process," paper presented at Health and

                                                                Safety in the Arts Teleconference, CSULB, May 1993

"A Short Course in Composition," The Artist's Magazine, March 1993

"A Short Course in Oil Painting," The Artist's Magazine, April 1991

"Crafting the Just-Right Studio," The Artist's Magazine, February 1991

"A Course in Figure Drawing," The Artist's Magazine, June 1990

 

 

Bibliography

American Arts Quarterly, summer 2013, critical essay by Frederick Turner

Gazettes.com, May 4, 2013, Shirle Gottlieb, “Professor Domenic Cretara Shines at CSULB”

HuffPostArts and Culture, March 28, 2013, John Seed, “Domenic Cretara at the Triton Museum of Art”

Smart Mouth, March 24, 2013, Christina Waters, “Masterful Exhibition at the Triton”

Santa Clara Weekly, April 10, 2013, Melissa McKenszie, “Humanity on Display at Triton”

Notes on Looking, September 20, 2012, Geoff Tuck, “Contemporary Art from Los Angeles”

Uploaded Magazine, October 22, 2009

Foreword for Portrait Painting Atelier, Suzanne Brooker, Watson Guptill Publisher, 2010

Catalog Essay on the etchings of Giorgio Morandi for the 6th International

                                                   Biennial Exhibition of Etching, City of Monsummano Terme, Italy, 2009

L.A. Times, August 30, 2002

ArtScene, April 2002

Art Beat, fall 2000, guest column by Frederick Turner

Long Beach Press Telegram, November 26, 2000

American Arts Quarterly, fall 2000

Contemporary American Oil Painting, Jilin Fine Arts Publishing House, People's Republic of China, 1999

Sex: Portraits of Passion, John Williams, Watson Guptill Publications, 1999

American Arts Quarterly, (feature article) fall 1998

The Best of Sketching and Drawing, Terry Sullivan, Quarterly Press

Long Beach Press Telegram, November 8, 1998;  June 20, 1998

Las Vegas Sun, April 23, 1998

Figure Drawing, Nathan Goldstein, Prentice-Hall Publishers, 5th edition 1998

Domenic Cretara, Painting Circumstantial Evidence, Film by Bestshot Video, Adam Shanker, Filmmaker 1997

The Art of Responsive Drawing, Nathan Goldstein, Prentice-Hall Publishers

Elle Decor, August/September 1994

American Artist, (feature article) December 1992

Artweek, October 1992; April 1990; April 1987

Art New England, August/September 1991

Los Angeles Times, April 1987

Boston Herald, May 1987

Arts Magazine, December 1984

Il Mattino di Padova, July 26, 1984