Claire Falkenstein Intimate Relations presents rarely seen works: drawings, small sculpture and her highly prized jewelry. Transcending the traditional definition of the genre, Falkenstein’s jewelry was th e subject of her 1961 solo exhibition at the Louvre’s Musee des Arts Decoratifs. Best known for her innovative large scale sculpture and public works, she pushed the boundaries in small and monumental sculpture as exampled by her fusions of metal and glass . Her sculpture extended into the realms of printmaking by impressing her sculptures into paper; first in the Atelier 17 in Paris, and then when commissioned by the Graphic Arts Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
When Claire Falkenstein (b.1908, North Bend, Oregon also d.1997, Los Angeles) moved to Los Angeles in 1963, she had already achieved considerable critical recognition; not only in California, but in postwar Paris between 1950 and 1963. In Paris, Falkenstein was at the core of the circle of international artists there, and was soon recognized as one of the most daring sculptors of that epoch by the renowned French critic, Michel Tapie. Important commissions included her famous garden gates for the pal ace of Peggy Guggenheim in Venice, Italy. Upon her 1963 move to Venice, CA, F alkenstein established herself as one of the leading sculptors of L.A. working in both monumental and intimate scale, with major sculptures in institutions throughout California, including: UCLA, USC, Long Beach Museum, CSULB, CSDH, South Coast Plaza, and St. Basil Church.