Last updated 08/03/2022
Margaret Lazzari is an established painter, writer, and Professor Emerita of Art at the University of Southern California’s Roski School of Art and Design. Over her 33 years at USC, she taught in the MFA program and undergraduate painting, drawing, design, and general education. In addition. Lazzari established the design program, which greatly expanded offerings in the Roski school. She also served as the Vice Dean of Faculty, Vice Dean of Art, and Chair of Painting and Drawing.
Lazzari has had numerous museum and gallery exhibitions, including her most recent exhibition in 2020, Vastness, at the George Billis Gallery and her 2015 solo exhibition at the Fresno Art Museum as a Distinguished Woman Artist. Her works are included in several permanent collections, including the Cathedral Collection of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; Kaiser Hospitals, California; Huntsville Museum of Art, Alabama; Azusa Pacific University, California; Harrah’s Casino, New Jersey; the Fresno Art Museum; Clark University, Iowa; and St. Louis University Museum of Art. Lazzari’s art most notably focuses on the abstractions of the human form, landforms, water, and sky.
In addition to painting, Lazzari is an accomplished writer having authored several textbooks and drawing books. As the sole author of The Practical Handbook for the Emerging Artist and co-author of Art and Design Fundamentals; Exploring Art: A Global, Thematic Approach, Lazzari focuses on engaging students with contemporary themes that are important to art appreciation and innovating teaching methodologies.
In 2018, she was named Honored Alumna of St. Louis University. As half of the Lazzari and Evans Public Art Design Team, Lazzari has produced eight public commissions since 2010, with themes that make evident the persistence of nature in urban environments. She recently completed a solo private commission for the Mary Chapel at the USC Our Savior Catholic Church.
Through her work, Lazzari inspires all those around her by investigating the spaces between observation and abstraction and toying with the viewer’s eyes. Her innovative art and writing touch those around her.
Read more about Professor Lazzari here.