V A S A
Vasa Velizar Mihich
A senior professor of Design at UCLA, Vasa Mihich taught for many years and now spends his time exclusively at his studio, located in the heart of Los Angeles.
The studio was designed and built to accommodate the machinery and advanced technology required for making his paintings and sculptures. An academically trained painter born in Yugoslavia, Vasa became a member of the faculty at the University of Belgrade when he was 23. During a visit to Paris, he became aware of the growing importance of American art, and a few years later immigrated to the United States. Soon after, he became a U.S. citizen. Upon arrival in Los Angeles, Vasa began working with three-dimensional painted constructions. This work was first shown in the Feigen-Palmer Gallery in Los Angeles and was included in the seminal exhibit American Sculptures of the Sixties at the Los Angeles County Art Museum. In 1967, Vasa began working with plastic. Interested in placing color in open space, he began to use clear plastic as a structural support for different planes of transparent color. Expecting to explore this work for a few years, Vasa still continues to discover new possibilities with the medium. In the words of former art critic of the Los Angeles Times, Henry Seldis, Vasa has become "the most sensuous and sensational colorist of the Southern California artists working in plastic".
Vasa is an American, born in Yugoslavia.
He lives and works in Los Angeles, a city he loves.
One Man Exhibitions:
1956
Salon of Graphic Arts, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1959
Salon of Graphic Arts, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1966
Feigen Palmer Gallery, Los Angeles, California
1967
Herbert Palmer Gallery, Los Angeles, California
1970
Fisher Gallery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
1972
Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1973
Henri Gallery, Washington, DC
Gimpel-Weitzenhoffer, Ltd., New York
1974
Wenger Gallery, San Francisco, California
Lantern Gallery, Ann Arbor, Michigan
1975
Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles, California
1976
Wenger Gallery, La Jolla, California
1977
Contemporary Art Forms, Encino, California
Alice Simsar Gallery, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Zara Gallery, San Francisco, California
Wenger Gallery, San Diego, California
1978
Herbert B. Palmer and Co., Beverly Hills, California
The Art Package Ltd., Highland Park, Illinois
1979
Zara Gallery, San Francisco, California
Gallery West, Los Angeles, California
Wenger Gallery, San Diego, California
Brena Gallery, Denver, Colorado
1980
Contemporary Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, California
Olivetti Cultural Center, Ivrea, Italy
2RC Gallery, Milan, Italy
Brunnier Gallery, Iowa State Center, Ames, Iowa
1981
Alice Simsar Gallery, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Gallery West, Los Angeles, California
Medici-Berenson Gallery, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
1983
Wenger Gallery, San Diego, California
1984
Galerie Ninety-Nine, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
1985
Posner Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Joseph Chowning Gallery, San Francisco, California
Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1988
Hokin Gallery, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
1989
Goldman-Kraft Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1991
Gallery West, Los Angeles, California
Hokin Gallery, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
1992
John Mallon Gallery, Indianapolis, Indiana
Imago, Palm Springs, California
1995
Space TRY, TRYangle Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Museum Collections:
Larry Aldrich Museum, Ridgefield, Conneticut
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
University Art Museum, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisberg, Germany
Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, California
Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, California
Miami Museum, Oxford, Ohio
Phillips Collection, Washington, DC
Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii
Milwaukee Art Center, Bradley Collection, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Contemporary Graphics Center, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California
Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Art Moderne, Brussels, Belgium
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, California
Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles, California
UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Los Angeles, California
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, California
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California
Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California
Vasa Velizar Mihich
A senior professor of Design at UCLA, Vasa Mihich taught for many years and now spends his time exclusively at his studio, located in the heart of Los Angeles.
The studio was designed and built to accommodate the machinery and advanced technology required for making his paintings and sculptures. An academically trained painter born in Yugoslavia, Vasa became a member of the faculty at the University of Belgrade when he was 23. During a visit to Paris, he became aware of the growing importance of American art, and a few years later immigrated to the United States. Soon after, he became a U.S. citizen. Upon arrival in Los Angeles, Vasa began working with three-dimensional painted constructions. This work was first shown in the Feigen-Palmer Gallery in Los Angeles and was included in the seminal exhibit American Sculptures of the Sixties at the Los Angeles County Art Museum. In 1967, Vasa began working with plastic. Interested in placing color in open space, he began to use clear plastic as a structural support for different planes of transparent color. Expecting to explore this work for a few years, Vasa still continues to discover new possibilities with the medium. In the words of former art critic of the Los Angeles Times, Henry Seldis, Vasa has become "the most sensuous and sensational colorist of the Southern California artists working in plastic".
Vasa is an American, born in Yugoslavia.
He lives and works in Los Angeles, a city he loves.
One Man Exhibitions:
1956
Salon of Graphic Arts, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1959
Salon of Graphic Arts, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1966
Feigen Palmer Gallery, Los Angeles, California
1967
Herbert Palmer Gallery, Los Angeles, California
1970
Fisher Gallery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
1972
Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1973
Henri Gallery, Washington, DC
Gimpel-Weitzenhoffer, Ltd., New York
1974
Wenger Gallery, San Francisco, California
Lantern Gallery, Ann Arbor, Michigan
1975
Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles, California
1976
Wenger Gallery, La Jolla, California
1977
Contemporary Art Forms, Encino, California
Alice Simsar Gallery, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Zara Gallery, San Francisco, California
Wenger Gallery, San Diego, California
1978
Herbert B. Palmer and Co., Beverly Hills, California
The Art Package Ltd., Highland Park, Illinois
1979
Zara Gallery, San Francisco, California
Gallery West, Los Angeles, California
Wenger Gallery, San Diego, California
Brena Gallery, Denver, Colorado
1980
Contemporary Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, California
Olivetti Cultural Center, Ivrea, Italy
2RC Gallery, Milan, Italy
Brunnier Gallery, Iowa State Center, Ames, Iowa
1981
Alice Simsar Gallery, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Gallery West, Los Angeles, California
Medici-Berenson Gallery, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
1983
Wenger Gallery, San Diego, California
1984
Galerie Ninety-Nine, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
1985
Posner Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Joseph Chowning Gallery, San Francisco, California
Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1988
Hokin Gallery, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
1989
Goldman-Kraft Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1991
Gallery West, Los Angeles, California
Hokin Gallery, Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
1992
John Mallon Gallery, Indianapolis, Indiana
Imago, Palm Springs, California
1995
Space TRY, TRYangle Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Museum Collections:
Larry Aldrich Museum, Ridgefield, Conneticut
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
University Art Museum, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisberg, Germany
Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, California
Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, California
Miami Museum, Oxford, Ohio
Phillips Collection, Washington, DC
Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii
Milwaukee Art Center, Bradley Collection, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Contemporary Graphics Center, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California
Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Art Moderne, Brussels, Belgium
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, California
Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles, California
UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Los Angeles, California
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, California
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California
Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California
