Festival of Arts To Present LIGHT AND SHADOW: VALUE IN LAGUNA at Laguna Beach City Hall

The Festival of Arts has opened Light and Shadow: Value in Laguna, a new exhibition at Laguna Beach City Hall running November 14, 2025 through January 8, 2026. Drawn from the Festival’s Permanent Art Collection, the show brings together more than a century of paintings and photographs that examine how Laguna Beach artists have used contrast, illumination, and shadow to shape their work.

The exhibition highlights both recent acquisitions and historic pieces, offering a cross-section of Laguna’s evolving artistic perspectives. Featured works include Pil Ho Lee’s Reclining Figure (2025), Mark Jacobucci’s Sunny Marina Afternoon (2025), Michael Obermeyer’s Emerald Sparkle (2025), Virginia Woolley’s Flower Stalls (c. 1932), Stillman Sawyer’s Storm over Mammoth Mountain (1971), and a triptych of photographs by Rob Gage created for the Pageant of the Masters entrance during the 2013 production The Big Picture.

“Since its origins as an art colony, Laguna Beach has drawn artists for its unique quality of light,” said Morgan Matthews, Art Collections Specialist at the Festival of Arts. “Light and Shadow explores value not only as an artistic principle but also as a measure of what artists hold important. From portraits to landscapes, each work reflects the artist’s care and perspective.”

The exhibition is free to the public at Laguna Beach City Hall, 505 Forest Avenue. Viewing hours are Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., and alternating Fridays from 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (Closed alternate Fridays and holidays.)