April 6, 2008

Join REDCAT artists Ed Fella and Geoff McFetridge in a lively conversation about the evolution of graphic design, the vernacular, and the dueling bedfellows of fine art and design on the last day of their exhibition. Curator Michael Worthington will also be present. Book signing to follow artists talk.

Two Lines Align is an exhibition about the evolution of graphic design in the context of massive shifts in our visual culture. As guest curator Michael Worthington notes in the catalogue essay, the exhibition explores "the shifts in the perceived cultural worth [of art and graphic design] over time...by placing Ed Fella's and Geoff McFetridge's design careers end to end to make one chronological line, one lineage. While Fella's career reflects how graphic design has historically struggled to define itself in relationship to art, McFetridge follows a path wherein the integration of art and design is taken for granted."

Fella received his MFA in Design from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1987 and since then has devoted his time to teaching and producing his own unique work, which has appeared in many design publications and anthologies. In 1997 he received the Chrysler Design Award and in 1999 an honorary doctorate from CCS in Detroit. His work is in the collections of the National Design Museum, New York and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Fella is the recipient of the 2007 AIGA Medal. He is currently on faculty at CalArts where he has been teaching since 1987.

Originally from Canada, McFetridge received his MFA in Graphic Design at CalArts. His thesis project, Chinatown, won a distinctive merit award from ID magazine. While working as art director for Grand Royal Magazine (1995-1997), McFetridge founded his own design studio, Champion Graphics. He has had solo shows at galleries around the world including Parco Gallery, Tokyo; MU, Eindhoven; and Colette, Paris. His work is in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

This exhibition is conceived and organized by Michael Worthington, an award-winning graphic designer, faculty member of CalArts' School of Art, and alumnus of the CalArts Program in Graphic Design. The exhibition is accompanied by a 240-page color catalogue designed by Worthington with texts by Worthington, Jamer Hunt and an interview with the artists.

Two Lines Align: Drawings and Graphic Design by Ed Fella and Geoff McFetridge is made possible in part by Everloving and Feal Mor. Additional support provided by CalArts Dean's Fund and the Faculty Development Committee

Read the press release



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