New and Noteworthy

Three powerful exhibitions that showcase acclaimed artists seeking to define and reclaim identities, histories and visual vocabularies are on view this fall at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.

“By showcasing intergenerational artists with deep ties to Davis, as well as contemporary emerging artists, this group of exhibitions embodies the Manetti Shrem Museum’s goals of honoring our legacy while also presenting new ideas and new voices,” said Susie Kantor, associate curator and exhibition department head.

A younger generation of artists exploring the history and meaning of Blackness are at the heart of “Young, Gifted and Black: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art,” a traveling exhibition that opened July 28 — two years after the originally scheduled opening.

The group show, comprising 51 works from emerging artists of African descent including Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Sadie Barnette, Cy Gavin, Arcmanoro Niles, Jennifer Packer and others, is curated from the private collection of New York-based Bernard I. Lumpkin and Carmine D. Boccuzzi.

The museum had signed on as the first stop on the tour of primarily university and college venues, but rescheduled due to the pandemic closure. The exhibition is on view through Dec. 19, 2022. 

I belong here, a neon sculpture by Tavares Strachan, is also on loan from the Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Collection and is installed in the Manetti Shrem Museum’s lobby through March 2023.

Two monographic exhibitions focused on new or lesser-known works from artists with UC Davis roots, fill out the fall season. Both open in September and will be on view until May 8, 2023.

“Loie Hollowell: Tick Tock Belly Clock” — This is the first U.S. museum solo exhibition for Loie Hollowell and the first to focus on her soft pastel drawings. Born and raised in Woodland (her father is Professor Emeritus David Hollowell) and now based in New York, Hollowell is known for her paintings that map the body through both figuration and abstraction. These drawings were made in 2020-21 and coincide with her second pregnancy, when she began to create casts of her own body as well as those of friends.

“Roy De Forest: Habitats for Travelers | Selections from the Manetti Shrem Museum” — UC Davis Professor Emeritus Roy De Forest (1930-2007), part of the university’s first generation of art faculty members, is beloved for his colorful narrative figurative paintings, drawings and prints. Featuring a recent gift of prints from the artist’s estate, the exhibition explores De Forest’s dedication to printmaking over three decades and leitmotifs of journeys, metamorphosis, animals and comics.