DOMENIC CRETARA
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