Robert Graham and Rolfe Courtyard, UCLA

My favorite corner of UCLA is a courtyard at Rolfe Hall on North Campus. Surrounded by 1960s era buildings, the off-the-beaten track space includes several statues by sculptor Robert Graham; the collection was donated to the university by longtime donors and collectors, Carol and Roy Doumani. Graham is a Mexican American sculptor whose public commissions grace many noted buildings in Los Angeles - his most famous commission is a pair of male and female nudes that adorn the ceremonial Olympic Gateway at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but his identifiable figures can be found sprinkled around our city, including on the large large bronze doors at Our Lady of Los Angeles Cathedral.

Graham, who was born in 1938, came to the US from Mexico when he was nine, and was educated in San Jose and the San Francisco Art Institute. He raised a son with his first wife, and was married to Angelica Houston until his death in 2008. He, and his recognizable statues, are beloved by Angelenos.

It’s thrilling to see so many of Graham’s works in one place and the muted tones of the surrounding buildings provide an apt background to the work. The sixties era architecture and the faded brick colored benches provide a uniformity that allows the (mostly) women’s bodies to stand out. The nudes project strength and project an expectant sense of well-being and peace. I keep returning to this space and have decided that part of it’s power comes from the marriage of the architecture and the similar forms of the statues. Of course, not having students and professors around makes the space feel even more serene, reminding me of the museums devoted to a single artist - such as Ellsworth Kelly and Mark Rothko.