WELCOME

IN THE CAR WORLD Italians are known for an unparalleled aesthetic and masterful engineering. This artistry will be on full display on July 24 when we view exquisite automobiles from private collections. With safely staggered arrivals you will encounter the Garden as if you were the private owner, enjoying small curated encounters with cars, art, and entertainment throughout the Garden.

General admission tours begin the day, and Sponsors enjoy special advantages of dining before dusk in curated bespoke tablescape vignettes sprinkled throughout Lotusland’s most iconic Gardens. Social distancing of groups enables your intimate party to experience the Garden like never before—as a private oasis.

The main event is a spectacular showcase on the Great Lawn with cars representing the best of classic Italian automobile design in one of the most beautiful gardens in the world, both of which share a passion for preservation and beauty.

This curated collection of Concours quality cars includes Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini, Lancia, Siata and others. These iconic Italian cars represent the best in design and sport. Guests will also discover an incredible array of renowned artist installations throughout the event. Lotusland Celebrates is the organization’s largest benefit and is not to be missed. For more than two decades the summer show stopper has dazzled attendees with unique and whimsical themes, live entertainment, garden odysseys, incredible auction items, and a gathering of community raising funds to keep the Garden thriving.

ARTISTS

Penelope Gottlieb x MAXAL Media Group

The Lotusland Celebrates: Petal to the Metal artwork and invitation are the combined talents of fine artist Penelope Gottlieb and the creative gurus at Maxal Media.

Penelope, a Santa Barbara-based painter, received her B.F.A. from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and her M.F.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Gottlieb’s paintings are a series of botanical recounts of plants gone extinct and documentations of species that are endangered; or they show invasives that are jeopardizing balance in our natural environments.

Her work is included in private and public collections including: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Chicago Art Institute, The National Museum of Wildlife Art, The Whitney Museum of Western Art, The Nevada Museum of Art, The 21c Museum, The Fanny May Corp and The Palm Springs Museum of Art. Penelope Gottlieb won an Emmy for Motion Picture Title Design.

Potentilia multijuja Penelope Gottlieb, Acrylic and Ink on Canvas

 

Alex Rasmussen
Anodized Aluminum is Alex Rasmussen’s métier. Alex is the third generation President of Neal Feay, a local company with an international presence. A Santa Barbara native, he his mother was an art major, and his father was an Industrial Engineering major.
Alex’s designs span custom furniture and architectural scale installations to pure sculpture, from its initial design and concept, through to cutting, anodizing and completion. He has work in private residences and luxury retail shops across the globe from Hermès to Louis Vuitton. The advent of the pandemic has given him an opportunity to work closer to home.
On loan by Neal Rasmussen is a demountable, modular pergola, the centerpiece bar on the Great Lawn. This pergola represents a collaboration of artistry and form by Alex and acclaimed architect and former Lotusland Trustee, Marc Appleton. Commissions resulting from this exhibition will include a benefit to Lotusland.
View and purchase select pieces of the art in Lotusland’s online auction.

 

Chris Wyrick
Chris Wyrick is a painter from Charleston, SC. He studied classics, geology, religion, and painting at St. John’s College, the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), and Davidson College. He worked as an apprentice to painter Jack Beal in New York City and studied at the New York Academy of Art before receiving his MFA in drawing and painting from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. He relocated his studio to Los Angeles in 2012.
Chris was introduced to gardening by his mother at a young age and his passion for botany was further inspired by his time spent trekking in the wilderness of the south and southwest US. His recent botanical murals, featured in Architectural Digest, see his love of art and nature combining in a new form of environmental
installation. Collaborating with the team at Lotusland to create site specific installations in the gardens is a perfect realization of his vision.
Wyrick works in a wide variety of media and his artwork draws inspiration from many sources. His paintings are often based in natural forms, though he also works with images from photography and film. He embraces the dialectic of collaboration in the creative process. View and purchase select pieces from the art on display in the online auction.