Contemporary Collectors celebrate 25th anniversary

Three new exhibits at the La Jolla branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) showcase collection highlights to mark the silver anniversary of the museum’s Contemporary Collectors donors. With collectors’ support, MCASD has added 85 works to its group — works that were collectively bought for approximately $2.7 million and that are valued at more than $12.4 million today.

Many of these acquisitions are on view through May 16 in the exhibition

“Pleasure Point: Celebrating 25 Years of Contemporary Collectors.”

The exhibition’s title takes its name from Nancy Rubins’ site-specific installation “Pleasure Point” (2006).

The show features more than 36 works in all media by emerging and prominent artists. Photographs by Cindy Sherman, Ana Mendieta and Yasumasa Morimura push the traditional boundaries of portraiture; videos by Bill Viola, Alan Rath and Gary Hill explore limits of the body and imagination; paintings by Fred Tomaselli, John Currin and Robert Colescott are by turns lyrical, provocative and pointedly political; and installations by Sol LeWitt and Petah Coyne directly engage the museum’s architecture.

Also on view is

“Classic Contemporary: Lichtenstein, Warhol and Friends,”

which features Pop, Minimalist and Color Field works in MCASD’s collection of American Art dating from the 1960s and 1970s. This show runs through March 28 with iconic examples from the Pop Art pantheon, such as Ed Ruscha’s “Ace” (1962) and Warhol’s silkscreen “Flowers” painting (1967). These are juxtaposed with Ellsworth Kelly’s “Red Blue Green” (1963).

One other exhibit, on view through March 21, features the work of Erik Levine. His installation “Grip” (2005) is a two-channel, large-scale video projection that reveals an emotional tug-of-war as boys struggle with anxiety through the prism of athletic competition.

Museum of Contemporary Art

• Where: 700 Prospect, La Jolla
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays-Tuesdays; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. third Thursdays; closed Wednesdays
• Tickets: $5-$10. Ages 25 and younger free with ID. Free admission, 5 to 7 p.m. third Thursdays.
• Contact: (858) 454-3541,

www.mcasd.org