Anderson Ranch announces fall lecture schedule highlighting LA fire-impacted artists

A new fall lecture series schedule is upon us!

Anderson Ranch Art Center’s public lecture series with artists and critics will run Oct. 8 through Dec. 16 in Snowmass Valley, featuring artists who were all impacted by the Los Angeles fires.

“We’re thrilled to see lectures elevated this year with leading figures like Roberto Lugo and Joel Mesler, and to welcome back acclaimed critic Helen Molesworth. All fall residents were impacted by the Los Angeles fires, making their time here especially meaningful,” Ranch President and CEO Peter Waanders said.

Typically, artists from across the country join the Ranch for one to three weeks during the fall to finish their projects and explore new work. Both artists and critics alike engage in studio visits, critiques and contribute to the community. Once the Artists-in-Residence is concluded, they present free public lectures.

“The visiting artists work across disciplines, taking advantage of multifaceted studio access that sets this program apart,” Waanders said.

Lecture schedule for free public lectures

Oct. 8, 3 p.m.: “Panel Discussion: Cultural Identity and Representation”

Waanders moderates a conversation with artists and educators Steven Molina Contreras and Carla Fernández about leading voices in Latino contemporary art and how to boost artistic excellence in Colorado’s Latino community. Free and open to the public, to register go to andersonranch.org/events/latine-artist-panel-discussion/.

Oct. 29, 4:30-5:30 p.m.: “Visiting Critic: Helen Molesworth”

Critic Helen Molesworth will visit Anderson Ranch from Oct. 28-31. She’s a writer, podcaster and curator based in Los Angeles and Provincetown. Phaidon published her anthology “Open Questions, Thirty Years of Writing About Art” in 2023. Her podcasts include “Death of an Artist” and the first season of “Recording Artists” with The Getty. She received the 2011 Bard Center Award for Curatorial Excellence, a 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship, and the 2022 Clark Art Writing Prize. Free, in person or via livestream. To register, go to andersonranch.org/events/visiting-critic-helen-molesworth/

Nov. 4, 4:30-5:30 p.m.: “Visiting Artist Lecture: Karinne Smith”

Artist Karinne Smith, will be in residence at Anderson Ranch from Nov. 3 to 26. Smith transforms everyday objects into portals where mystical and mundane converge. Working across photography, print, painting, and sculpture, her practice focuses on absence, conjuring familiar yet uncanny echoes. She holds a BA from UC Berkeley and MFA in Sculpture from Yale University (2020). Free, in person or via livestream. To register, go to andersonranch.org/events/visiting-artist-karinne-smith.

Nov. 11, 4:30-5:30 p.m.: “Visiting Artist Lecture: Brian Rochefort”

Brian Rochefort, who will join the Ranch from Nov. 3-14, is a mixed-media sculptor whose work expands traditional techniques to produce objects suggesting otherworldly landscapes. His abstract organic forms draw inspiration from expeditions to remote landscapes including the Amazon Rainforest, Galápagos Islands, Bolivia, and Africa. Free, in person or via livestream. For registration, go to andersonranch.org/events/visiting-artist-brian-rochefort/

Nov. 18, 4:30-5:30 p.m.: “Visiting Critic Lecture: Roberto Lugo”

Roberto Lugo, who will be at the Ranch from Nov. 17-26, creates genre-mixing works that confront high art objects from Classical Antiquity, East Asia, the Italian Renaissance, and beyond. Using clay as his canvas, Lugo addresses intergenerational racial injustice while celebrating African American and Latino culture. Free, in person or via livestream. To register, go to andersonranch.org/events/visiting-artist-robert-lugo/

Dec. 16, 4:30-5:30 p.m.: “Visiting Artist Lecture: Joel Mesler”

Visiting the Ranch from Dec. 8-19, Los Angeles native Joel Mesler’s paintings explore universal themes through autobiography, humor, and surprising compositional juxtapositions. Childhood memories fuel meditations on design and popular iconography. Recent solo exhibitions include Rockefeller Center, New York (2024), and Lévy Gorvy Dayan, New York (2024). Mesler lives and works in East Hampton, New York. Free, in person or via livestream. To register, go to andersonranch.org/events/visiting-artist-joel-mesler-2/