About the Artist
Bio:
Therese Conte (b.1957) is an internationally exhibiting contemporary figurative artist. Ms. Conte earned her MFA (2015), from Laguna College of Art and Design and her MA, (2010 and BA, (2008) in Studio Art, Painting/Drawing from California State University, Northridge CA. She studied at the prestigious Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA., and the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, Los Angeles, CA.
Her work was recently accepted as a semi-finalist in the 2024 Arc International Art Competition, the Almenara Art Prize 2024 and the FiKVA Foundation Miniature Art Competition 2024. She has exhibited at the Bowers Museum; the Booth Western Art Museum; Laguna Beach Museum of Art; the University of New England Gallery: Hillel Gallery USC; Bridge Gallery, Los Angeles City Hall; Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, and the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art among other venues. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards. Her work is held in several private collections including the Hilbert Museum of California Art. She maintains a studio in Laguna Niguel and continues to work with the figure and related subjects in her paintings.
Artists Statement:
My desire to peer beneath the surface and explore the mysteries of the human condition are common threads that tie my artwork together. I respond to the world around me, a face, a gesture, or light on a surface and these visuals suggest fragments of narratives that speak to the ineffable qualities of life’s experience
I grew up in a household deeply entrenched in Catholicism, old movies, art, and music. Reading was a mandatory activity. These influences compelled me to view life as a series of related yet incomplete narratives with an elusive read. The broader themes of love and desire, trust and betrayal, and youthful ignorance are a few of the subjects I aspire to express tangibly.
The human figure is the central focus of my art. I work from life and my photographs. Taking liberal diversions from my references, they are a vehicle to explore my ideas and communicate what moves me.
Resume':
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025,
2025 JURIED FINE ART EXHIBITION, Laguna Beach, CA
SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART INTERNATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION, Artists Alliance, virtual exhibition
HEADS, Laguna College of Art and Design Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
TARTGet PRIZE, International Painting Competition, Semi-finalist, Figure and Portrait, virtual exhibition
2024
UNDIMINISHED: HEROINES OF CALIFORNIA ART, Hilbert Museum of California
Art, Orange, California
17th INTERNATIONAL ARC SALON COMPETITION, Semi-finalist.
(Included in the Polaris archive/Lunar Codex, Art Renewal Center, New Jersey)
HEADS, Art Division Gallery, Los Angeles, California
2024 ALMENARA ART PRIZE, International online exhibition
MiniARTures, FIKVA, Figurative Kunst Vandang, WG Gallery, Dordrecht, The
Netherlands
2023
112 GOLD MEDAL EXHIBITION, CALIFORNIA ART CLUB, The Bowers Museum, Santa Ana,
California (summer 2023)
FIGURATIVE EXPOSÉ, CALIFORNIA ART CLUB, Pence Gallery, Davis, California
2022
2022 JURIED FINE ART EXHIBITION, City Hall, Laguna Beach, California
2021
TELEPHONE, Online multimedia global collaborative exhibition, Nathan Langstrom
2020
LCAD Alumni Exhibition 2020, LCAD Gallery, Laguna Beach California
15th ARC SALON, Semi-Finalist, Arc Renewal Center, New Jersey
2020 JURIED FINE ART EXHIBITION, Laguna Beach City Hall, Laguna Beach California
MAKING THEIR MARK: American Women Artists, virtual exhibition, Booth Western Museum,
Cartersville, Georgia
WOMEN by WOMEN 2020, Depictions & Interpretations by Los Angeles-Area Women Artists, So LA
Contemporary, Los Angeles, California
2019
PAINTING the FIGURE NOW, online Gallery at Zhou B art Center, Chicago, Illinois
LCAD ALUMNI EXHIBITION, LCAD Gallery, Laguna Beach California
ADORN ME, Poets and Artists, Exclusive online exhibition, curator, Carol Hodes
2018
ART THAT’S SMALL at CITY HALL, Laguna Beach City Hall, Laguna Beach, California
FREESTYLE, Q Art Salon, Santa Ana, CA
2017
COMMON WALLS, Orange County Great Park, Irvine, California
2016
CRITTERS and PEEPS, Q Art Salon, Santa Ana, CA
CITY HALL ANNUAL FINE ART EXHIBITION, Laguna Beach CA, (Honorable Mention Award)
2015
COLLECTORS CHOICE, Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Beach, California
ILLUMINATE, Surrogate Gallery Projects, Pasadena CA 2015
GROUP EXHIBITION, Dawson Cole Gallery, Laguna Beach, and Carmel, California
OUT THERE, Los Angeles Art association, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, California
EMERGING MASTERS, Laguna Museum of Art, Laguna Beach, California
MOIST, OCCCA-Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, California
WATER-LINE: INSPIRATION for CHANGE, Studio C Gallery, Santa Fe art Colony, Los Angeles,
California
RISING STARS, Q Art Salon, Santa Ana, California
CAUSWAYS, Laguna Beach City Hall, Laguna Beach, California
2014
FULL SWING, Forest and Ocean Gallery, Laguna Beach, California
LPAPA/LCAD Next Generation Paint Out, Laguna Beach, California (1st Place Award)
PORTRAITS of the FALLEN MEMORIAL, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum,
Yorba Linda, California
LCAD MFA 2014, Laguna Museum of Art, Laguna Beach California
LCAD MFA Exhibition, City Hall, Laguna Beach, California
2013
LPAPA/LCAD Next Generation Paint Out, Laguna Beach, California
PORTRAITS of the FALLEN, Hillel Gallery USC, Los Angeles, California
2012
INTERPRETATIONS, Bridge Gallery City Hall, Los Angeles, California
*ILLUSIVE LIQUIDITY II, 3Twenty Gallery, Los Angeles, California
GEM, Gallery 825, Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles, California
VS, Gallery 825, Los Angeles Art Association, Los Angeles, California
2011
*ILLUSIVE LIQUIDITY, Moorpark College, Moorpark, California
MEMBER GROUP SHOW, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California
PERSONA, Dept. of Cultural Affairs, Canoga Park Arts Center, Canoga Park, California
Los Angeles Art Association Annual Auction, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, California
GEM, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, California
*SUMMER PSYCHE, Elloiuse Gallery, Pasadena, California
2010
ART FOR MARC, University of New England Art Gallery, Biddeford, Maine
REVISITING BEAUTY, Orange County Center for Contemporary, Orange, California
GODDESSES THEN AND NOW, La Galeria Gitano, San Fernando, California
2009
OPEN CALL 2009, DCA, L.A. Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, California
OF DREAMS AND MEMORIES, La Galeria Gitano, San Fernando, California
MASTERS of ZILCH, Pehrspace Gallery, Los Angeles, California
FRINGES: HILLS AND CANYONS OF THE S. F. VALLEY, La Galeria Gitana,
San Fernando, California
ART KUDOS, Annual International online exhibition
BRAND 38- WORKS ON PAPER: HERE & NOW, Brand Library Gallery, Glendale,
California
2008
BRAND 37- WORKS ON PAPER: HERE & NOW, Brand Library Gallery, Glendale,
California
Full Resume' available upon request
