The ArtCenter Graduate Art MFA program is pleased to announce its Spring 2023 Graduate Art guest lecture series, organized by Jack Bankowsky.

Unless otherwise indicated, lectures are free and open to the public. Check the ArtCenter Graduate Art website to confirm dates, times and locations for the lecture series and for more information about the Graduate Art program.

Alex Israel (b. 1982, Los Angeles, CA) lives and works in Los Angeles. Deeply entwined with his hometown, his work explores popular media, Hollywood and the cult of celebrity, while positing LA as central to an understanding of American culture and the American dream. Israel’s practice has included high-profile collaborations with Bret Easton Ellis, Louis Vuitton, Rimowa and Snapchat, as well as his own Freeway Eyewear and Infrathin Apparel designs. His ongoing web series, an LA-centric talk show hosted by the artist and titled As It Lays, is streaming on YouTube, and his feature length art film, SPF-18, is now available on iTunes (formerly on Netflix), following a tour to high schools across the United States.

Israel’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at: Le Consortium, Dijon, France (2013); Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas (2015); The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California (2015); Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, Norway (2014); Fosun Foundation, Shanghai, China (2021); and the Bass, Miami, Florida (2021). His work is included in numerous museum collections worldwide including: MoMA, Whitney Museum of American Art and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, (all New York, New York); Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; The Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.; MOCA, The Broad and LACMA (all Los Angeles, California). Israel exhibits regularly with Reena Spaulings, Greene Naftali, Almine Rech and Gagosian.

Cover image of Alex Israel is credited to Jack Pierson.

The Graduate Art Seminar is a forum for graduate students and members of the ArtCenter community to enter into dialog with internationally recognized artists, critics, and art historians. The Seminar is a core component of ArtCenter’s Graduate Art program.

ArtCenter's Graduate Art program is based on intensive studio practice and rigorous academic coursework. The program is distinguished by its low faculty-to-student ratio that provides students with the attention and feedback they need to refine and achieve their artistic goals. Faculty and students are artists working in all genres—film, video, photography, painting, sculpture, performance and installation. A significant number of alumni have achieved national and international acclaim and often return to share their insights and expertise as visiting faculty and guest lecturers.