Festival of Arts welcomes local artist’s sculpture, ‘Emprise,’ into permanent art collection
Visitors to Laguna Beach’s Festival of Arts are sure to notice a new attraction on the 6-acre site, after the unveiling Wednesday of a large-scale bronze sculpture by local artist Gerard Basil Stripling, though they may not understand its rarity.
Created specifically for the site, “Emprise” features abstract shapes arcing upward and outward and bound together by ties, resembling bandages but intricately rendered in bronze, to suggest both individuality and communion.
Installed on the west side of the grounds, the sculpture stands in full view of the space where artists display their creations during the organization’s annual juried Fine Art Show.
It is one of several three-dimensional artworks on the property. Others include Laguna sculptor Jon Seeman’s 2004 piece “Rotating 7” and Terry Thornsley’s 1987 bronze seal pup, “Water Puppy.”
But unlike the others, primarily purchased by Festival of Arts officials, Stripling’s work was commissioned to be a part of the organization’s permanent art collection — a mostly secreted-away assemblage of more than 1,000 pieces of local art amassed over nearly a century.
“That doesn’t happen very often,” Festival President David Perry said during Wednesday’s unveiling ceremony. “I’ve been involved with this board for maybe a dozen years, this is the first piece that we’ve worked on, and I think it’s pretty spectacular and a testament to the artist.”
Christine Georgontas, director of exhibits and events, said officials decided about 10 years ago to support “a significant piece of sculpture,” contemplating artists as they collected funding.
“Gerard’s name kept coming up,” she said Wednesday.
Stripling, who works from a studio in Corona, said the design was inspired by the bonds he forged with artists he met as an exhibitor of the festival’s juried fine art show from 2003 to 2011, at the start of his now two-decade art career.
He described the work’s abstract shapes as different individuals, arcing out and seeking to share their unique talents with the world. The areas in which they’re bound together represent the formation of a community on a shared venture, in this case art.
“Emprise” — which means a daring, almost mythical adventure — aptly conveys that dynamic.
“For me, my time here was very special,” Stripling, 58, said in an interview at the unveiling. “You have your neighbors, and you get to know them over the summer, you know them through and through. Talking about each other’s work was really a learning experience that was very beneficial.
“Interacting with people helped me. And every year I put it upon myself to display things that were totally different from the previous year. I just wanted to put that pressure on myself to keep creating.”
Stripling has created numerous sculptures and commissioned pieces, including several installed throughout Laguna Beach. In 2006, the city commissioned him to create “Repose,” a series of rendered benches at Treasure Island Park, which won an Architectural Foundation of Orange County award for Art in Public Places.
He designed and built a 2014 memorial tribute, “Eternal Legacy,” honoring two Laguna Beach police officers killed in the line of duty, and was named Laguna Beach Arts Alliance 2023 Artist of the Year in May.
Festival and board member Tom Lamb, who’s known the artist since he first exhibited on the grounds in 2003, said board members were thrilled to hear of the inspiration behind “Emprise” and to include Stripling among the venerated artists in the collection.
“He’s about family. He’s so grounded,” he said, describing the sincerity of his work. “He’s just the most heartfelt person — I cannot sing his praises enough.”
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
