Larry and Debby Kline artists and provocateurs – installation, performances, and other works

Curatorial
San Diego Jewish World, “Art to inspire, raise questions, and perhaps anger,” by Donald H. Harrison, October 23, 2018.
San Diego Jewish World, “Art to inspire, raise questions, and perhaps anger,” by Donald H. Harrison, October 23, 2018.

SAN DIEGO – The contemporary art exhibit, “Beyond the Age of Reason,” curated by Larry and Debby Kline, is nearing the end of its run at the San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park. If you want to be intrigued, or even possibly enraged, by various artists’ visions of religion and spirituality, you’ll need to get to the museum space before the exhibit closes on October 31st.

La Jolla Light,”20 artists reveal their beliefs in potent exhibit at Balboa Park,” By Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, October 15, 2018.
La Jolla Light,"20 artists reveal their beliefs in potent exhibit at Balboa Park," By Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, October 15, 2018.

The myth-master is Eleanor Antin, one of the founding members of UC San Diego’s Visual Arts Department, and an internationally-admired artist, or as the Klines put it: “an artist of the world.” Shown here is one of the pieces from her “Roman Allegories,” a series of large-scale photos staged in Del Mar and La Jolla that re-envision the last days of an ancient civilization remarkably similar to ours.

San Diego Union Tribune, “Beliz Iristay finds that in America, ‘the artist part of me has really flourished,’” by Martina Schimitschek, September 16, 2018
San Diego Union Tribune, “Beliz Iristay finds that in America, 'the artist part of me has really flourished,'” by Martina Schimitschek, September 16, 2018

After the failed military coup of 2016 in Turkey, Iristay designed 55 rehals (the x-shaped bookrests for the Quran) and filled them with small minarets. Titled “Oku | Read,” the rehals are covered with military cards used by soldiers to keep track of their service days. The translucent cast-resin minarets are in jumbled disarray. The piece, part of the San Diego Art Institute’s exhibition “Beyond the Age of Reason,” warns of ignorance.

Art and Cake LA, “Beyond the Age of Reason at the San Diego Art Institute,” by Genie Davis, September 13, 2018.
Art and Cake LA, “Beyond the Age of Reason at the San Diego Art Institute,” by Genie Davis, September 13, 2018.

“Myth is open to interpretation, and unfortunately, so are truths, but they are still the underpinnings of religious belief. The nuances of belief can either unite or divide individual, families and nations. The nuances can lead to peace or more often, war,” the Klines relate. “We believe -pun intended – that the artists reflect the larger populace that struggles with the concept of belief.”

Smithsonian Magazine, “The Dispossessed,” by Anna Diamond, July 2018.
Smithsonian Magazine, “The Dispossessed,” by Anna Diamond, July 2018.

Although this article was not specifically written about “Beyond the Age of Reason,” Smithsonian’s feature article on Wayne Martin Belger and his “Us and Them” project was published just days before our exhibition opened. Since the “Beyond the Age of Reason,” exhibition is the first time that “Us and Them” has been publicly exhibited, we felt it important to include the article here. To read the complete story, please visit SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, “The Dispossessed,” by Anna Diamond, July 2018.

“Beyond the Age of Reason,” at San Diego Art Institute, curated by Debby and Larry Kline
"Beyond the Age of Reason," at San Diego Art Institute, curated by Debby and Larry Kline

San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park Presents: Beyond the Age of Reason
Dates: September 1–October 31, 2018
Member Reception: Saturday, September 15 from 5pm-6pm
Public Reception: Saturday, September 15 from 6pm-8pm
The museum is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10am-5pm, Wednesday 10am-8pm,
Saturday-Sunday 12pm-5pm

Picked RAW Peeled, “Reuse Recreate Reimagine, Second Time Around at CCAE,” by Patricia Frischer, May 9, 2017.
Picked RAW Peeled, "Reuse Recreate Reimagine, Second Time Around at CCAE," by Patricia Frischer, May 9, 2017.

We understand Larry and Debby Kline stepped in when a curator dropped out for the Reuse Recreate Reimagine and they did a stunning job of pulling together an exciting group of artists in this museum level exhibition.

La Jolla Light, “Recycled art exhibits shine at California Center for the Arts,” by Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, May 1, 2017
La Jolla Light, “Recycled art exhibits shine at California Center for the Arts,” by Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, May 1, 2017

Curator of the 3Rs exhibition is Debby Kline — half of a dynamic art duo with her husband, Larry — who was called in to organize the show at the 11th hour, when the previous curator suddenly departed. No stranger to the museum, Debby had worked there in the mid-1990s, even doing a stint as Interim Director. Besides working on the new Alchemist installation and teaching art at Design Institute and UCSD Medical School, Debby managed to step into the curator’s role and assemble an eye-popping show in record time.

SanDiegoStory.com, “The Klines: My Dinner with Yahweh at La Jolla’s JCC,” by Kraig Cavanaugh, May 4, 2015
SanDiegoStory.com, "The Klines: My Dinner with Yahweh at La Jolla’s JCC," by Kraig Cavanaugh, May 4, 2015

Potentially irreverent and provocative but definitely something to see! Now on exhibit in the center’s Gotthelf Gallery is Seeing is Believing: A Reinvention of Articles of Faith that was curated by the diabolically clever artist husband and wife team Debby and Larry Kline. Spending two-years curating the exhibition, it is a mix of artists and artworks that explore various aspects of religion: from its capitalist complications and implications to its dogmatic altruisms and idiosyncrasies.

La Jolla Light, “Seeing is Believing: Gotthelf Gallery Offers Uncommon Perspectives on Faith,” by Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, April 16, 2015.
La Jolla Light, “Seeing is Believing: Gotthelf Gallery Offers Uncommon Perspectives on Faith,” by Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, April 16, 2015.

Talk about eclectic: Imagine an art exhibit that includes an elegant neo-Gothic cathedral made out of metal crutches, Vatican-approved marble reproductions of the heads of Michelangelo’s famous Pieta figures, fragments of Bible pages turned into Rorschachs, a 3-D “Mother of all Buddhas,” and a penny-filled cross that tells the future (sort of) to anyone who drops in a coin. It’s “Seeing is Believing: A Reinvention of Articles of Faith,” on view at the Lawrence Family JCC’s Gotthelf Gallery. Curated by Debby and Larry Kline, prizewinning artist-provocateurs who love to turn convention upside-down and get people talking.

San Diego Jewish World, “Art exhibit puts new spin on religious objects,” By Donald H. Harrison, March 12, 2015.
San Diego Jewish World, “Art exhibit puts new spin on religious objects,”  By Donald H. Harrison, March 12, 2015.

Curators Larry and Debby Kline have pulled together a multi-religious, multi-media exhibition in which religious symbols are conflated with symbols from other human arenas to produce an exhibition which may inspire some, anger others, but get everyone to think.

Seeing is Believing: A Reinvention of Articles of Faith_Invitation
Seeing is Believing: A Reinvention of Articles of Faith_Invitation

Seeing is Believing: A Reinvention of Articles of Faith
FEATURING THE WORK OF: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Einar and Jamex De La Torre, Dave Ghilarducci, Paula Levine, Cheryl Nickel

Shmata Nouveau: Textiles Through the Wringer at Gotthelf Art Gallery, curated by Debby and Larry Kline
Shmata Nouveau: Textiles Through the Wringer at Gotthelf Art Gallery, curated by Debby and Larry Kline
Shmata Nouveau: Textiles Through the Wringer, Sept. 7 – Oct. 29, 2006
Shmata Nouveau: Textiles Through the Wringer, Sept. 7 - Oct. 29, 2006
Textile artist weaves stories of Jewish culture in exhibit – La Jolla Light, October 2006
Textile artist weaves stories of Jewish culture in exhibit - La Jolla Light, October 2006

LA JOLLA LIGHT Textile artist weaves stories of Jewish culture in exhibit History, feminism, identity, desire and ethnicity are recurring themes in “Shmata Nouveau: Textiles Through the Wringer,” an exhibition currently on display at La Jolla’s Gottelf art gallery. The show consists of textile art from contemporary artists Carol Hamoy, Debra Olin and Miriam Schaer. [...]

Ms. Behavin’: Jewish Feminist Artists featuring Eleanor Antin, Judy Chicago, Vickie Leon, Helen Redman, Miriam Schapiro and Ruth Weisberg – curated by Debby and Larry Kline

Ms. Behavin’: Jewish Feminist Artists Curator’s statement Much has been written about the feminist movement.  Some believe that feminists have become militant, while others believe that the activism has only begun.  Others still, are afraid that the apathy of a new generation has wormed its way into the forefront and that all of the gains, [...]

“Best Bet” in San Diego Union Tribune, Jan 28, 2005
"Best Bet" in San Diego Union Tribune, Jan 28, 2005

“BEST BET“ by Robert L. Pincus San Diego Union Tribune, January 28, 2005 BEST BET FEMINIST ART: Debby Kline, a prolific artist from Escondido who teams with her husband to do socially engaged work, has assembled an exhibition devoted to some of the artists central to the rise of feminist art in the 1970′s: Judy [...]

“Assembly Lines” in San Diego Union Tribune, Feb. 5, 2004
"Assembly Lines" in San Diego Union Tribune, Feb. 5, 2004

“Assembly Lines“ by Robert L. Pincus San Diego Union Tribune, February 5, 2004     Assemblage, the art of making sculpture from varied materials, is nearly a century old now.  1912 was its landmark year when Picasso fashioned a guitar from sheet metal and wire.  Duchamp wasn’t far behind, taking the notion in a different [...]

“New Exhibit Feted at Oceanside Museum of Art Preview” – North County Times, February 1, 2004
"New Exhibit Feted at Oceanside Museum of Art Preview" - North County Times, February 1, 2004

“New Exhibit Feted at Oceanside Museum of Art Preview” North County Times February 1, 2004

“Generation to Generation: Contemporary Assemblage” – North County Times, January 22, 2004
"Generation to Generation: Contemporary Assemblage" - North County Times, January 22, 2004

“Generation to Generation: Contemporary Assemblage“ by Patricia Morris Buckley North County Times, January 22, 2004 The metaphors are thick in the art show “Generation to Generation: Contemporary Assemblage” at the Oceanside Museum of Art.   The title has many layered meanings.  The first meaning has to do with the art technique involved.   Assemblage is a term [...]

Searching for Peace at COVA GALLERY AT ACI and Southwestern College, curated by Debby and Larry Kline, Feb. 2004
Searching for Peace at COVA GALLERY AT ACI and Southwestern College, curated by Debby and Larry Kline, Feb. 2004

SEARCHING FOR PEACE THE WORKS OF THOMAS ANTEL AND BOBBY NEEL ADAMS The photographs in this exhibition were taken in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Mozambique by Thomas Antel and Bobby Neel Adams, long-time friends whose travels have produced compelling photographs of individuals affected by the physical and economic devastation of war.  Humanity’s capacity for violence [...]