Painting
CSUN's location within the greater LA basin places our painting program in the heart of the international art world. Easy access to world class museums like LACMA, MOCA, the Hammer, the Getty, and the Norton Simon, as well as close proximity to major gallery districts like Culver City, Chinatown, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica ensure that our students are up to speed on both historical and contemporary aspects of painting, our students see the real thing, up close and personal.
Guest artists, field trips, and required gallery excursions take full advantage of the Los Angeles market, and expose students to real world issues that they will face upon graduation. As such, all painting faculty at CSUN are working, exhibiting artists with national and international exhibition histories.
As students begin the Painting program, they are introduced to the basic fundamentals of painting. As students progress, the curriculum focuses on historical and contemporary tropes in painting, while maintaining an emphasis on refining skills and critical thinking/problem solving. In the upper division and graduate painting students are introduced critical theory and learn to contextualize their work within the larger context of contemporary discourse. Students explore diverse modes of creative practice while developing a mature portfolio of their own work, outside of assignments. Ultimately, each student will be guided in the development of his/her own individual artistic style.