Torrance Art Museum

Unilocal 100 Challenge 2016 — Review 2 of 100…
Thanks, Unilocal,for giving me a reason (the Museums Free for All event listing for January 30^th, 2016) to visit this jewel of a cultural spot in the South Bay!
This museum, with history dating back into the 60s, is part of the Torrance Cultural Arts Center that houses the Armstrong Theater adjacent to the Torrance Police Station (so you can trust your car will be safe when you visit). ;)
I started in the larger of the two galleries to view the «Sibling Rivalries» exhibit which runs through March 12^th, 2016… this space, which is to the right of the entrance, is a large concrete floored, 13-​feet tall white walled space with two-​feet tall windows aligning the top of the wall that faces northeast. The space is wide open, minus a half wall in the middle, three pieces that sat on the floor, two pieces suspended from the ceiling, and one piece I thought fell from the wall — it was actually designed to look like it did as it straddled the wall and floor. The gallery included two televisions, one that included a scary as heck voice that reminded me of the lady in the crystal ball at the end of Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland. I walked by very quickly — a little too eery for my liking.
The creative designs were created with almost every type of imaginable canvas and utilized tools including acrylic paint/​oil on linen, plasters and oils on wood, ceramics, animation, mixed media (with graphic images), and caulking which looked like 3D paint.
I left this space thinking I had seen all there was and being fine with that until co-​curator, Ben, informed me of another smaller gallery straight back from the entrance with art by Steve DeGroot, as well as a darkroom with a projector with two film shorts from the «Sibling Rivalries» exhibit.
I went into the middle room (which is much smaller than the main and has lower ceilings and no windows) and enjoyed the randomness of DeGroot’s art… some was sticking out of the sides of walls.
The third room on left of the entrance was the smallest. Each wall of the smaller 20 by 20 foot space was painted black and had a large projector that showed a man with makeup fully nude doing random things like laying on hay, pulling fliers out his mouth, and lip singing in different wigs. On that note, it was time for me to go!
I signed up on mailing list so I can return for future exhibits of interest… nothing like local culture!

The first time I had ever attempted to visit, I was greeted by construction noise and a very chipper woman who said that they were closed to work on a new exhibition in a week. The exhibition to follow would have an opening night reception with a party. Yes, party. Open to the public. Any place with a free party is pretty awesome in my book.
Nice, cool contemporary light-​filled artspace in the city of Torrance. The artspace is divided to house two art spaces for themes and featured exhibits. I was fairly impressed at the offerings from the TAM (Torrance Art Museum), philanthropic money shows lots of potential as Torrance is poised to become an artistic center. Originally, this was a recreation center, TAM is now a place for local artists to showcase their work and shine. I’m a fan! Not only does the museum display artwork for the city of Torrance, sometimes they will have shows for artists from the rest of LA County (special exhibitions). The docent, who volunteers on her own time, is passionate for the arts. Once in a while they will have video presentations. I look forward to what they will show in the months coming.
Torrance has an artistic bent and TAM is a step in that direction. Not to mention free admission! Please go and support!

The current exhibition at the TAM, Sur: Biennial, closes this Friday Oct 31. If you’re in the area plan on stopping by to check out this really outstanding blend of some fantastic artwork!
The TAM has consistently exhibited some of the most provocative and inspiring work in the South Bay. It’s truly a gem. Don’t miss it!

TAM is a unique space in Los Angeles. Operating like a «kunstalle» it is City of Torrance run and operated. Exhibitions feature local, national and international contemporary art in a light– filled space. Definitely worth visiting.

The Torrance Art Museum is a nice place in the South Bay.
It’s not a huge museum, but has feature exhibits, so it’s a good place to stop by to check out.
There’s not so many creative museums in the Beach Cities /​South Bay, so it’s a good place to come to for locals.
Parking is easy and the staff is friendly.
Also, for the annual So Cal «Free Museum Day» 2015, held in January, for taking public transit (Metro /​MTA) the TAM offered a free gift of our choice and we selected and received (and I included photos with my review) a piece of original artwork entitled:
Keil Johnson drawing of SPINDEL by Shiva Aliabadi

Great museum; excellent shows.

A definite treasure and a locate source of great art in The South Bay!
My nights that were once filled with attending gallery openings have been taken over with closing at work, so I was in need of a little escape that was close by.
My most recent visit was to the «Baker’s Dozen 4» exhibition. It was pleasant and calm and exactly what I was craving. I was the only visitor which was a little foreign but surprisingly nice. I felt like a comic book fanatic at Comic Con!
While hidden, visitors are welcomed with glass doors and a receptionist table aligned right in the center with informal fliers in hand. There are two rooms for installations, a lobby area, and an outside patio that features two grand art sculptures. The rooms are all white with matte wall contrasting glossy concrete floors. The museum was nice and cool, luckily because I went on a very hot day! The receptionist was very kind and informative. She had me fill out a little survey at the end of my visit. TAM asking for visitor input is definitely a nice gesture.
TAM is a local favorite of mine and it is near many places that are also free or inexpensive! It is hidden but not difficult to find and very peaceful!