The Fire in the Wood, an exhibit exploring the life and art of the legendary Big Sur sculptor Edmund Kara, opens Friday, May 18th at the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts with a reception from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Considered one of Big Sur’s most illustrious and secretive artists, Edmund Kara started his career in the wardrobe and costume departments of Universal and Paramount Studios during the 1950s, later becoming a clothing designer for Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, and others. During this time, Kara extended his artistic endeavors to include sculpture, painting, and drawing. In 1962, he left the fashion industry for good to establish a studio in Big Sur, California. Two of his better-known pieces include a sculpture of Elizabeth Taylor for the film, “The Sandpiper,” and “The Phoenix” on the deck of Nepenthe, Big Sur. Kara’s body of work is arresting; with smooth finishes and curvy wood masks, biblical figures and mythological creatures, large and imposingly heavy looking, confrontational, dark with emotion.
The Fire in the Wood, a play about the life of Edmund Kara, opens in the Cherry Hall Theater on Friday, June 1st, for a six performance run. For more information, click here.
The exhibition will run through June 16, 2018.
Pictured: “Yin Yang” – Edmund Kara, 1975
