LOS ANGELES, CA.- Claire Falkenstein – Intimate Relations presents rarely seen drawings, small sculpture and her highly prized jewelry. Transcending the traditional definition of the genre, Falkenstein’s jewelry was the subject of her 1961 solo exhibition at the Louvre’s Musée des Arts Decoratifs. When Claire Falkenstein (b.1908, North Bend, Oregon – d.1997, Los Angeles) moved to Los Angeles in 1963, she had already achieved considerable critical recognition; not only in California, but in post-war Paris between 1950 and 1963. In Paris, Falkenstein pushed the boundaries of sculpture and was at the core of the circle of international artists there as her studio was a conduit for artists ranging from Henry Moore to Sam Francis. She was soon recognized as one of the most daring sculptors of that epoch by the renowned French critic, Michel Tapié who recognized her inventive use of materials; particularly