Designer Deborah Sussman was drawn to Los Angeles in 1953 by an opportunity to work in the studio of Charles and Ray Eames. Over the next sixty years, she helped to define how residents and others see the city. A new exhibit chronicles her work.
"Last Thursday, the neon sign outside the WUHO Gallery on Hollywood Boulevard was tinted magenta for the opening of Deborah Sussman’s exhibit “Deborah Sussman Loves Los Angeles,” which collects the 82-year-old designer’s work from 1953 to 1984. The shade was chosen to honor the thread of giddy pink that has run through her entire 60-year career," writes Alissa Walker.
With a body of work that includes the "transformative environmental design" for the 1984 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, her impact on how Angelenos and others view the city has been profound, but under-appreciated. "Part of the goal of the exhibition was to bring the designer’s work into the Pinterest age, said the architect and Woodbury University professor Barbara Bestor, one of the exhibition’s curators."
"With a slate of current projects on her desk, including graphics and signage for parks and performing art centers, Sussman shows no sign of slowing down," adds Walker.
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