Nicholas + Lee Begovich Gallery | 2025-2026

CAROLE CAROOMPAS: MYSTICAL UNIONS

September 27, 2025 – March 28, 2026
Public Reception: October 4, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

The landmark exhibition "Carole Caroompas: Mystical Unions" celebrates the life, legacy, and enduring impact of Carole Caroompas (1946–2022) – a trailblazing Los Angeles-based artist and esteemed CSUF alumna.

Caroompas was widely recognized for her innovative approach to interweaving literature, pop culture, and feminist critique into layered visual narratives. Her work, developed over decades, continues to invite critical engagement among artists, scholars, and viewers for its rigorous interrogation of cultural norms and its complex, image-text constructions.

Carole Caroompas received her B.A. in English from CSU Fullerton in 1968, where early experiences in literature laid the groundwork for her interdisciplinary approach to artmaking. This foundation—further developed through her MFA studies in studio art at the University of Southern California—shaped a practice that merged literary inquiry with bold artistic experimentation. Caroompas’ ability to construct complex visual narratives positioned her as a transformative figure in conceptual and feminist art.

"Mystical Unions" revisits Caroompas’ deep ties to CSU Fullerton, where intellectual exploration and artistic risk-taking converged to shape her distinctive voice. Featuring key works from the university’s permanent collection alongside archival materials drawn from public and private sources, the exhibition highlights the dynamic interplay of text and image that defines her contribution to contemporary art and expands the narrative possibilities of painting in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Carole Caroompas (1946–2022) was a visionary American painter whose work critically examined the intersections of pop culture, mythology, and gender archetypes. A graduate of California State University, Fullerton (B.A., 1968) and the University of Southern California (M.F.A., 1971), Caroompas developed a distinctive visual language that merged narrative structure with dense, symbolic imagery.

Her work has been exhibited widely in major institutions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Hammer Museum at UCLA, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Regionally, she held significant solo exhibitions at venues such as the Ben Maltz Gallery, Western Project, Mark Moore Gallery, P.P.O.W., and Sue Spaid Fine Art.

Throughout her career, Caroompas received numerous accolades, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts grants in Painting, a COLA Individual Artist Fellowship from the City of Los Angeles, and a California Community Foundation Fellowship.

Presented in partnership with the Art Education Program at CSU Fullerton, Carole Caroompas: Mystical Unions is curated by Jennifer Frias, Gallery Director/Curator, and Mary Anna Pomonis, Associate Professor of Art Education/Graduate Program Advisor, with research and written contributions by Elise Neal, Columbia College. Support for the exhibition is provided by the Art Alliance, the Instructional Related Activities Grant, the College of the Arts, and the Department of Visual Arts.

Image: CAROLE CAROOMPAS, Hester and Zoro: In Quest of a New World – The Little Book that Carries Woes, 1985. Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 84 inches. CSUF Department of Visual Arts Permanent Collection. Gift of Cliff Benjamin. [2023.000611]