Gary Baseman: The Door Is Always Open. Enter the fantastic world of artist, illustrator, animator, and toy designer Gary Baseman in this first major museum exhibition of his life and work, which opened yesterday in Los Angeles. On view through August 18, 2013, this exhibition features paintings, photographs, toys, sketchbooks, and videos. These are presented in a novel gallery setting that evokes Baseman’s childhood home, replete with family snapshots and furnishings.

Giving visual expression to the exhibition title, the artist has created the new painting The Door Is Always Open. Baseman explains, “We are titling the show ‘The Door Is Always Open,’ something my father would always say to me to remind me I always had a home.” The title also alludes to the “open door” the artist perceives between the realms of imagination and creativity and between fine and commercial art.

Gary Baseman, The Celebration of Toby, 2005 (detail), acrylic on wood panel, 24” x 18”, private collection, Los Angeles.

The Skirball will present an array of related programs during the run of the exhibition, including an artist’s talk by Gary Baseman on how family history informs his work. Baseman will also participate in a conversation about growing up in the Fairfax district; he will be joined two lifelong friends, TV writer Seth Kurland and composer Barry Smolin. Visitors may register for a bus tour of Gary Baseman’s L.A., which will include a stop at the landmark Canter’s Deli, where his mother served as head bakery salesperson for thirty-five years. For families, there will be a Baseman-themed museum sleepover and a family-friendly art workshop led by the artist himself. Baseman has also designed a gallery guide especially for family visits. A complete schedule of related programs is available here. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA. Information.

Closing Saturday, April 27 
Susan Wides | All the Worlds. Kim Foster Gallery, 529 West 20^th Street, NY, NY. Read a review. Read the DART interview. Below: Susan Wides, “Brooklyn Botanical Garden (2012).

This just in
On Monday, April 29th, at 7:00pm, Mitch Epstein will present photographs from his series New York Arbor in a lecture presented by the Architectural League, followed by a conversation with Yale University Art Gallery curator Joshua Chuang and Director of Tree Preservation for the City of New York Matthew Wells, moderated by New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman.  Rose Auditorium, The Cooper Union, 41 Cooper Square, NY, NY. Tickets $10. rsvp@archleague.org.