Charles Arnoldi

By: Heather Kirkpatrick | May 21, 2008 | Art Profile

Aaron Lippman
The outside of Charles Arnoldi’s Venice studio on Hampton Drive seamlessly blends into its neighborhood, right down to the graffiti scrawled here and there on the aluminum siding. Without the conspicuous yellow door, it would be completely overlooked. Two tie-dyed-in-the-wool hippies pause outside to take pictures, paying homage to the man who has been an icon of the art world since before Jimi Hendrix became a household name. Mr. Arnoldi — or Chuck to his myriad friends — is as humble and unassuming upon first encounter as his studio. A prodigy who moved to California with only $6 to his name, he took his mechanical inclinations and applied them to construction work in Thousand Oaks, where a builder and his wife encouraged him to pursue art. Dropping out of three art schools – junior college in Ventura, Art Center and Chouinard – he took the road less traveled by refusing his teachers’ behests to make “commercial art.” The payoff? Becoming one of the foremost Los Angeles artists with shows and pieces on display all over the world. However, Arnoldi insists: “I don’t feel particularly successful.” After his wood constructions put him on the art radar in the 1970s, he continued to evolve and now employs old-fashioned paint on canvas to create colorful geometric abstractions, which he thinks makes him a “dinosaur.” Nevertheless, the Dayton, Ohio, native speaks about his life and work with the contentment and confidence befitting his incredible achievements.

MM: Why did you initially come to California?

Charles Arnoldi: When my father left us, he met a woman and they ran away to California. I got into a little bit of trouble in high school. The authorities were threatening to put me in a foster home and take me away from my mother. My father said, “Come out and live with me in Thousand Oaks.” I was a hood from Ohio with a ducktail haircut, greased-out hair, peg pants and all that stuff, so I didn’t fit into the environment here. I got into a little trouble, so they sent me back to Ohio. But once I had seen California, the only thing on my mind was getting out of Ohio and going back. I had a ’55 Chevy and no money. I went to my mother and said, “After graduation I’m leaving for California tomorrow.” She had about $6.40 — it was all the money she had — and she gave that to me. My buddies and I, there were five of us altogether, took off for California. We blew the engine up in Needles, Calif. I ended up having to trade my Chevy for a four-door, old, green beat-up Cadillac. This is a long, screwball story … but we made it to Thousand Oaks.

MM: How did you get to Malibu?

CA: I started making a living — small — but I managed to survive by making art. My wife, Katie, was studying art history along with other things, and writing some articles for art magazines and stuff, and she knew about me. I had an artist friend who met a girl on Friday and married her on Sunday. I went to his wedding party downtown in a big loft, and there was this pretty young girl and it was Katie. She came up to me and introduced herself, and a couple of days later, she showed up at my studio in Venice. She said she just happened to be riding her bike in the neighborhood, and so I invited her in and we got together, and one thing led to another.
Her father was a surfer in the ’50s and he loved this one [particular] surf spot at Little Dume. There was a little tiny house in the cove with a boathouse beside it, and he dreamed of owning that because it was right at the surf break. He asked the people several times if they would sell it. In those days in Malibu, there were hardly any houses. They agreed to sell him the house. So, he bought this beautiful hunk of land in Malibu at Little Dume, and it’s been in the family for a long time. Katie and I picked part of the site and we built a house there about 20 years ago. We love living in Malibu. We sleep every night with the doors wide open. We feel like we’re right there, so it’s very nice to live there, but I find it much more comfortable to come down here and work. I’d have this perfect view of Catalina, and I’d watch the surf all the time. It’s much easier to drive away at 6:30 in the morning and drive back at the end of the day.

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