[MONTEREY, CA] Monterey, CA- The Monterey Museum of Art (MMA) presents Angela Strassheim, an exhibition of one of the rising stars of contemporary art and photography. On view from October 11 through February 1, 2009, Angela Strassheim is the artist’s first solo museum exhibition, featuring thirty works that span her career. Strassheim’s carefully staged images explore scenes from the life of her family and friends, focusing on the mystery and timelessness of seemingly ordinary events and moments. Formally trained as both an artist and a forensic and biomedical photographer, Strassheim approaches her art with both a complex aesthetic and a scientific rigor. Her unique vision culminates in striking works that combine powerful immediate impact and great compositional subtlety. Strassheim’s photographs have been featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial, Day for Night, as well as group exhibitions at the Walker Art Center and Chicago Art Institute.

“Angela Strassheim’s photographs are so multi-layered,” said Marcelle Polednik, Chief Curator. “You can appreciate them merely for the fact that they are impeccably done or for their arresting significance. If you look beneath the surface, they are not what they seem; you will discover archetypal relationships being played out; young women and their awkward sensuality, children and their fantasies, explorations of religious motifs in all their layers of meaning.

“One can have a rich experience in relating to these works, regardless of context. I don’t think age or orientation is a factor. One of the challenges and opportunities we have as an organization is to bring in art that has a national impact. Whether the viewer is 35 or 70, a student, a banker or another photographer, her messages are available.”

About The Monterey Museum of Art

The Monterey Museum of Art is devoted to the art of California, photography, contemporary art and Asian art. The Museum was established in 1959 as a chapter of the American Federation of the Arts and has a permanent collection of 14,000 objects, which includes paintings, photographs, works on paper, Asian art and significant holdings by California artists such as Armin Hansen, William F. Ritschel, Edward Weston and Ansel Adams. The Monterey Museum of Art has two locations: 559 Pacific Street and 720 Via Mirada, Monterey, CA, 93940. The Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm and Sunday 1 to 4 pm. Museum members and children under 12 are free. For more information or to request additional images or the text from our exhibition catalog, please visit www.montereyart.org or call 831.372.5477.