Director’s Welcome

From the Executive Director

May 11, 2022

Dear MMA Members and Friends,

Spring has sprung, and here at MMA we’re celebrating the longer days and milder weather, as well as re-opening the Museum on Sundays starting May 15. It’s a hopeful sign for our community, and we encourage members to take advantage of this increased access.

Moving into the Spring/Summer season, we couldn’t be more excited about the featured artists that MMA will present. Enrique Martínez Celaya. Juan Felipe Herrera. Corinne Whitaker. Holly and Ashlee Temple. All Californians, these dynamic and diverse artists are living and working in Carmel, Fresno and Los Angeles, however their artworks inspire audiences around the world.

Enrique Martínez Celaya has an international career, but his upcoming installation, The Fire of Heaven: Enrique Martínez Celaya and Robinson Jeffers is deeply rooted in the Monterey Peninsula. For 20 years, Martínez Celaya has drawn inspiration from poet, Robinson Jeffers, and in 2021, he was artist-in-residence at Jeffers’ Tor House, a Carmel landmark. Visitors will find Martínez Celaya’s canvases, installed with Jeffers’ writing, will movingly chronicle his personal journey and his profound relationship to the poet’s life and art.

While living in Fresno, US Poet Laureate emeritus, Juan Felipe Herrera has shared his inspiring poems across the country. MMA is the first museum to exhibit the visual aspects of Herrera’s legendary poetic practice. Herrera’s ink drawings, cardboard cartoneras, and poetic mandalas fall into the long tradition of concrete poetry and will inspire visitors to reconsider the disciplinary boundaries of art, while introducing them to one of California’s cultural treasures.

Carmel-based Corinne Whitaker breaches boundaries of her own as she manifests mind-bending works entirely created with digital tools. Over her long and productive career, whether making 3-D printed sculptures or hallucinogenic digital light boxes, this artist encourages viewers to let their imaginations take flight.

The Temple Sisters create serious fun with their politically-charged assemblages. These Carmel-based artists remake artifacts to create works that mordantly question assumptions about women and history. Their works can be purchased to benefit the artists and Museum.

Joining these eminent California artists are the next generation of local photographers that we celebrate through our long-time partnership with the Weston Scholarship. This compelling array of exhibitions makes it a great time to visit the Museum, and we look forward to seeing you in the galleries!

Enjoy!
Corey Madden
Executive Director