Quick Summary
- Works by Francis Bacon, Salvador Dal铆, Vassily Kandinsky, Wifredo Lam and Joan Mir贸 on public view for the first time in decades聽
Two new exhibitions opening Sept. 19 at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis, shed new light on artistic traditions, ideas and mediums. Light into Density: Abstract Encounters 1920s鈥1960s | From the Collection of Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem comprises paintings from world-renowned abstract artists shown together for the first time in decades. Ritual Clay: Cathy Lu, Paz G, Maryam Yousif features large-scale ceramic installations from three contemporary Bay Area artists exploring their own origin stories through clay.
The exhibitions join Phillip Byrne, Beatriz Cortez, Kang Seung Lee, Candice Lin: Entangled Writing, which opened Aug. 8. A daylong free public opening with artists, students and curators in conversation, as well as live music and art activities, takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the museum Sunday, Sept. 29.
鈥淭his fall, we are thrilled to bring museum visitors new perspectives, new works and new futures through three very different dynamic exhibitions,鈥 said Susie Kantor, associate curator and exhibitions department head. 鈥Light into Density is the first student-curated and student-designed exhibition from a private collection of 20th century works shown together for the first time. Ritual Clay: Cathy Lu, Paz G, Maryam Yousif features a new generation of exciting young artists in our region who are on the cusp of reaching a larger national audience, continuing Davis鈥 legacy as a hotbed for creativity in ceramics.鈥
September event
A daylong free public opening with artists, students and curators in conversation, as well as live music and art activities, takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the museum Sunday, Sept. 29.
Entangled Writing, which Kantor curated, 鈥渙pens a portal to new and imagined worlds, allowing us to envision different futures and shine a light in difficult times,鈥 she said.
Light into Density: Abstract Encounters 1920s鈥1960s|From the Collection of Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem is the museum鈥檚 first student-curated and student-designed exhibition. Most of the 15 paintings 鈥 including works by Francis Bacon, Salvador Dal铆, Vassily Kandinsky, Wifredo Lam and Joan Mir贸 鈥 are on public view for the first time in decades. Thirty-two undergraduate and graduate art history, museum studies and design students worked on the exhibition throughout the past year as part of dedicated classes. Their goal was to demystify abstract art and to encourage visitors鈥 personal interpretations.
The works in Light into Density come from the collection of art lovers and museum founding donors Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem, and are shared between the Manetti Shrem Museum and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art 鈥 the two museums the couple has supported the most.
鈥淚 am so delighted this exhibition is happening after 30 years,鈥 said Manetti Shrem, who this year made a landmark gift to support arts programs and students at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis. 鈥淚t's the first time these unparalleled works of 20th century art will be shown together. It鈥檚 also very special that 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis students worked to curate such a unique exhibition.鈥 (Sept. 19, 2024鈥揗ay 5, 2025)
Ritual Clay: Cathy Lu, Paz G, Maryam Yousif features Bay Area ceramic artists who use clay to explore how their identities and experiences intersect with themes of immigration, dislocation and cultural hybridity. Cathy Lu, Paz G and Maryam Yousif channel ancient archetypes and spiritual mythologies as a way to reckon with inherited histories. Ritual Clay is curated by Manetti Shrem Museum Curatorial Assistant Ginny Duncan. (Sept. 19鈥揇ec. 29, 2024)
born in 1984, creates ceramic sculptures and installations that manipulate traditional Chinese imagery and presentation to deconstruct assumptions about Chinese diasporic identity and cultural authenticity. Lu鈥檚 work has been exhibited at Berkeley Art Center; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Chinese Culture Center, San Francisco; A-B Projects, Los Angeles; CCA Wattis, San Francisco; and Marin MoCA. Lu was a 2019 Asian Cultural Council/ Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation Fellow and a 2022 SFMOMA SECA Award winner. She received her M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute.
, born 1989 in Quilpu茅, Chile, is a self-taught ceramic sculptor based in Oakland, California. Paz (they/them) makes ceramic sculptures that integrate form with spiritual transmissions of their ancestors via song, image and poetry. Most recently, Paz鈥檚 work is driven by sound, merging song and form inspired by resistance music and the New Song Movement of Chile. Paz was recently featured in Bay Area Now 9 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco (2023); Slip Tease, Kasmin Gallery, New York, N.Y. (2023); and Ceramic Interventions, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa, California (2022).
creates ceramic installations exploring Mesopotamian mythology, history and ancient objects. Born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1985, Yousif鈥檚 practice forges a dialogue with her ancestors and the culture of her homeland, while simultaneously connecting to a rich tradition of Bay Area ceramics. She has had solo exhibitions with The Pit in Los Angeles, California; David B. Smith Gallery in Denver, Colorado; and Guerrero Gallery in San Francisco. Her first solo museum exhibition, Riverbend, opens Oct. 5 at Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco. Yousif received her M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute.
Phillip Byrne, Beatriz Cortez, Kang Seung Lee, Candice Lin: Entangled Writing presents new commissions by four California artists working in sculpture and installation 鈥 the largest group of works the museum has commissioned to date. Entangled Writing explores the way that people and objects move across time and space, allowing for multiple potentialities to exist. This exhibition spotlights artists making a splash on the international arts scene: Kang Seung Lee and (新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis associate professor of art), both of whom are featured in the current Venice Biennale; Candice Lin, who was in 2022鈥檚 biennale; and recent 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis M.F.A. graduate Phillip Byrne. Read a full press release here. (Aug. 8鈥揇ec. 29, 2024)
Art Wide Open
The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis, is a contemporary art museum for today, committed to honoring the past and shaping the future while making art accessible and approachable to all. It builds on 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis鈥 legacy of exceptional teaching and practice of the arts to offer engaging experiences, exhibitions and educational programs that reflect and serve the community. One-third of the museum鈥檚 50,000-square-foot space is devoted to instruction, including a lecture hall, classroom space and the drop-in Carol and Gerry Parker Art Studio. Opened in November 2016, the museum has earned numerous architectural honors, including being named one of the 25 Best Museum Buildings of the Past 100 Years by ARTnews. 254 Old Davis Road, Davis, California, 95616; .
Media Resources
Publicity photos available to download .
Media contacts
- Laura Compton, Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, llcompton@ucdavis.edu.
- Karen Nikos-Rose, News and Media Relations 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, kmnikos@ucdavis.edu