Advance of the Rear Guard: Out of the Mainstream in 1960s California

Los Angeles' art of the past is a treasure trove, awaiting full excavation. Hiding in plain sight have been offbeat and lyrical works by an ethnically diverse group of artists who exhibited with a 1960s gallery with an alternative take on the mainstream: Ceeje Gallery, opened as the dream project of Cecil Hedrick and Jerry Jerome.

Scratch the surface of Los Angeles art in the 1960s and what you’ll discover is much more than Ed Ruscha and Robert Irwin. A range of lesser-known artists reflected the social and cultural changes of that volatile decade. Some of the most out of the ordinary showed at Ceeje, a gallery that focused on painters who shared an expressionist style of mythic figuration and oblique narrative. Known for its inclusiveness, Ceeje included artists from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, all united in making challenging art oblivious of the commercial market.