Gary Baseman’s whimsical works have spanned fine and commercial arts, toy and game designs, a TV series, a feature film, photography, and fashion and textile projects. Now the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles has mounted the first museum retrospective of Baseman’s art and colorful life. And Skira Rizzoli has published a large-format, lavishly illustrated volume, Gary Baseman: The Door Is Always Open, to accompany the exhibition, which is on display through Aug. 18. Baseman is the son of Shoah survivors who emigrated to Los Angeles via Winnipeg, Canada, after the war. Baseman writes that the exhibit and book title are taken from his father’s Yiddish-inflected words of welcome and acceptance: “Gary, the door is always open.” — M.S.
(American Jewish World, 5.10.13)
