Spring 2025

56 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 5 M ost people opt for a single area of expertise for their choice of career, but Jeff Becom has become proficient in not only one discipline, but three. Armed with a degree in architecture from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture and Art, the rural Indiana native decided to escape Midwestern winters and hang his shingle in San Francisco. But after a time, he decided to turn his attention and talent to the visual arts, specifically painting and photography. As a boy he painted landscapes of local scenes and wondered why the surrounding farm buildings were uniformly painted red. He discovered that the reason was simple: rust red was the most inexpensive paint color. That revelation sparked a lifelong passion for color’s myths and meanings. “I remain fascinated by what colors a building wears and why,” he says. This fascination for color is on brilliant display in “The Persistence of Color II,” a three-part exhibition which includes photography, painting and an interactive installation that he and longtime friend and collabora- tor—abstract painter Lucas Blok—have staged at the Monterey Museum of Art through April 27. Both share a deep captivation with color and how it shapes our world and our perceptions. The intensely vibrant images Becom chose for this exhibit were shot in villages in India and Latin American. For more information visit www.jeffreybecom.com or www.montereyart.org . ART I ST PROF I L E Jeffrey Becom Photo: Kelli Uldall