USC Roski To Honor Gayle Garner Roski and Ruth Weisberg
USC Roski School of Art and Design will present Resonance: Paintings and Prints by Gayle Garner Roski and Ruth Weisberg in honor of both artists’ legacies and integral roles at the University of Southern California and the Roski School of Art and Design.
The public is invited to join Dean Haven Lin-Kirk and the USC Roski community in celebrating the opening reception on August 1, 2024.
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Ruth Weisberg and Gayle Garner Roski’s careers distinguished them individually, and the two artists transformed the visual arts at The University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, and far beyond.
A Los Angeles native, Gayle Garner Roski, was an alumna of USC and led her life defined by her deep engagement with her community and her artistic practice. Her watercolors documented her extraordinary life, her travels, and the city she loved. During her lifetime, Roski’s works were exhibited at many institutions and graced multiple books. Alongside her husband Edward P. Roski Jr., she devoted herself to developing the cultural life of the city through her service in numerous organizations including the Department of Cultural Affairs and the California Art Club.
The Chicago-born Weisberg studied throughout Europe and the United States, laying the groundwork for an extraordiary and respected career. Weisberg has exhibited her widely lauded paintings, drawings, and prints in over 250 exhibitions, including having the distinct honor of being the first artist exhibited at The Women’s Building, and the first living painter to be afforded a solo exhibition at both the Norton Simon and the Huntington Museums. As a professor, she has impacted the careers of countless artists during her many decades at the University of Southern California. She has been represented by Jack Rutberg Fine Arts since 1982.
Gayle Garner Roski’s philanthropic efforts and dedication to USC led her to cultivate a friendship with Ruth Weisberg, and ultimately culminated in the transformation of the University’s art school. In 2006, when Ruth Weisberg was Dean of the art school (1995-2010), Gayle Garner and Edward P. Roski gave a transformative endowment gift to USC resulting in the naming of the school. The donation was the largest single donation to a university art program at that time and ensured that the school would inspire artists and cultivate their talents for decades to come.
The exhibition celebrates both women’s friendship and shared efforts in supporting the arts in Southern California and marks Ruth Weisberg’s retirement from the university.
