Verge Exhibition Ends Friday
In order to catch the culturally provocative Terra Nullius at Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento, you need to get there by Friday, Dec. 23. UC Davis faculty and students have had a part in Terra Nullius, an exhibition by Los Angeles-based and Verge resident Lisa Oxley. Translated from Latin it means “nobody’s thing” – or “land belonging to no one.”
According to Verge, “In international law it is used to designate a territory that has never been subject to the sovereignty of any state: international airspace, oceans beyond the continental shelf, outer space and the planets of the solar system are designated as terra nullius. Often a swath of land between two contested territories, it points to borders, walls, and issues of citizenry.” Oxley navigates these issues and the space in between with painting, installation, architecture, and dialogue, activating the space. The exhibit as well as planned programming encouraged public conversations about constitutional issues, including a talk by UC Davis School of Law Professor Jack Chin and the video presentation of "Humanizing Deportation," by Robert Irwin, professor of Spanish and Portuguese at UC Davis. A 30-foot expanse of a white wall that divides the space has punched up the visual impact.
SFMOMA Features Soundtracks Through Jan. 1
Don’t miss a chance to take a sonic journey through the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with visitor-favorite Soundtracks before it closes Jan. 1. Select pieces address the association of “soundtracks” with film scores in unexpected ways, while others take various approaches to visualizing the relationship between sound and space. Moving beyond medium-specific histories of sound art and electronic music, this cross-generational presentation highlights past SF MOMA commissions.
Through Month's End, See Two Exhibitions at Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis
Two exhibitions highlighting the university’s distinctive legacy of nurturing and exhibiting innovative contemporary art are on view. The centerpiece of the museum’s fall program, which ends Dec. 28, is a major group exhibition of works by leading African American contemporary artists, including rarely exhibited works by artists connected with UC Davis. Also on view this fall is an immersive sound art installation by the experimental composer John Cage that returns to UC Davis after premiering at the university nearly 50 years ago.
The Manetti Shrem Museum serves as the exclusive Northern California venue for Dimensions of Black following the exhibition’s acclaimed presentation at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego earlier this year. Dimensions of Black features more than 30 works by some of the most celebrated African American artists of the past three decades, many with close ties to California.
More information about both of these exhibitions is here.
Please note that the museum is closed Dec. 23-25 for the holidays. See the complete schedule.
But the break won't be long. The Manetti Shrem's winter exhibition opens Jan. 16 with works by celebrated painter and founding art faculty member Wayne Thiebaud.