Join artists Marco Sassone as he recounts his life, career, and newest memoir, “American Journey: My Life in Art”. Having exhibited at the Laguna Art Museum in 1979, Sassone will once again join the museum to present his work. “American Journey” chronicles Sassone’s struggles as an immigrant in 1960s California and examines his journey from a young boy in Italy to a world-renowned painter in America.

Advance tickets recommended.

Museum members: $7

Non-members: $14

Marco Sassone

“One of the foremost colorists working in America today, Sassone is an artist who developed his own personal, expressive vision early in his career, and who has steadfastly remained faithful to it while refining and developing it to the full power and maturity that is seen in his works today.” Janet Dominik, Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1988.

Born in Florence, Italy, the most poignant and enduring of Sassone’s influences can be traced back to his studies in the 1960’s with painter Silvio Loffredo, himself a student of the Austrian master, Oskar Kokoschka. The agitated brushstrokes and vibrant colors appealed to Sassone, offering the artist a foundation that has remained throughout his career.

The first major retrospective of Sassone’s work appeared at the Laguna Art Museum, California in 1979. In the years since, his work has been presented in many exhibitions, including those at National Academy of Design, New York; Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery; San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, Texas; Museo Italo-Americano, San Francisco; Cloisters of Santa Croce, Florence; Bata Museum, Toronto; Chicago International Art Exposition and Basel Art Fair, Switzerland.

Many books and catalogue have been published about his work, including the volume “Sassone” written by art historian Donelson Hoopes.

Marco Sassone was knighted into the “Order of Merit of the Italian Republic” by President Sandro Pertini in 1982.