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–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. 

“This fall, we are thrilled to bring museum visitors new perspectives, new works and new futures through three very different dynamic exhibitions,” said Susie Kantor, associate curator and exhibitions department head. “Light into Density is the first student-curated and student-designed exhibition from a private collection of 20^th 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’ legacy as a hotbed for creativity in ceramics.”

Entangled Writing, which Kantor curated, “opens a portal to new and imagined worlds, allowing us to envision different futures and shine a light in difficult times,” she said. 

Light into Density: Abstract Encounters 1920s–1960s|From the Collection of Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem is the museum’s first student-curated and student-designed exhibition. Most of the 15 paintings — including works by Francis Bacon, Salvador Dalí, Vassily Kandinsky, Wifredo Lam and Joan Miró — 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’ 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 — the two museums the couple has supported the most. 

“I am so delighted this exhibition is happening after 30 years,” said Manetti Shrem, who this year made a landmark gift  to support arts programs and students at UC Davis. “It's the first time these unparalleled works of 20th century art will be shown together. It’s also very special that UC Davis students worked to curate such a unique exhibition.” (Sept. 19, 2024–May 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–Dec. 29, 2024)

Cathy Lu, 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’s 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. 

Paz G, born 1989 in Quilpué, 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’s 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).  

Maryam Yousif creates ceramic installations exploring Mesopotamian mythology, history and ancient objects. Born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1985, Yousif’s 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 — 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 Beatriz Cortez (UC Davis associate professor of art), both of whom are featured in the current Venice Biennale; Candice Lin, who was in 2022’s biennale; and recent UC Davis M.F.A. graduate Phillip Byrne. Read a full press release here. (Aug. 8–Dec. 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 UC Davis’ 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’s 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; manettishrem.org.