Art Picks, January
Posted on January 1, 2010 – 7:22 PM | by OldManFoster
Improbable Mends
Darrin Martin
Center for Contemporary Art Sacramento
January 7 – February 14
Reception: January 9, 6 – 9PM
Artist’s Lecture: February 4, 7PM
UC Davis professor Darrin Martin creates ambitious multi-media works that examine the human relationship to technology. This exhibition marks a return to his studio-based art practice- in recent years, Martin has primarily exhibited screen-based video artworks, often working with Torsten Zenas Burns. Improbable Mends consists of a video installation along with several sculpture and print works that focus on the breakdown of materials, followed by their unlikely and transformative reconstitution. Martin’s recent endeavors have been inspired by his own experiences with hearing loss, and the technologies used to compensate and augment his daily perceptions. Improbable Mends is an exploration of how injury can become opportunity and how miscommunication becomes its own meeting ground.
1519 19th Street, Thurs – Sun, Noon – 5PM
Selected Recent Acquisitions: 2007 – 2009
Nelson Gallery
January 7 – March 7
Reception: January 7, 5:30 – 7:30PM
It’s easy to forget about the Nelson Gallery. It’s across the causeway, almost hidden away on the first floor of a nondescript building on the UC Davis campus, with very little signage directing the way or identifying what lies within. But within, there are wonders.
Director Renny Pritikin is a force in California arts, not only for his curation of the Nelson itself, but for his work with other institutions and galleries statewide. Pritikin has been responsible for many excellent shows at the Nelson over the past few years, but this time, he got a ‘gimme.’ The excellence of the UC Davis Fine Arts Collection (supported by gifts from faculty and UCD alumni) is prime ground for picking. The past two years have seen unusually large and excellent gifts arrive, in particular the 2008 gift of twenty hand-embellished prints by Wayne Thiebaud, which will be on view for the first time. The show will feature work by notable 20th Century artists like William Wiley and Jim Nutt along with work by contemporary artists like Melissa Pokorny and Sac’s own Dave Lane. Also seen for the first time will be works by norcal legends Richard Diebenkorn, Nathan Olivera, and in a regional two-for-one, an Arneson portrait of the late Roy de Forest.
UC Davis, Art Building, Room 124, Davis
Mon – Thurs, 11AM – 5PM, Sat – Sun, 2 – 5PM
A Seed Planted: A Tribute to Robert Arneson.
Tsao Gallery, Davis Art Center
January 8 – February 5
Reception, January 8, 7 – 9PM
Since you’re already heading to Davis to check out the Selected Recent Acquisitions show at the Nelson, why not make a sidetrip to the Davis Art Center to see this Tribute to Robert Arneson? Though painter Wayne Thiebaud was the better-known artist, it was Robert Arneson who probably had the deepest influence on his students in his four decades at Davis. His unique satirical style and abandonment of functional ceramics changed the way ceramics were perceived. His legend drew students who came specifically to study with him, including many (like current UCD professor Lucy Puls) who went on to prestigious careers in both art and academics. The Davis Art Center kicks off its 50th Anniversary by celebrating Arneson with an exhibit showcasing the impact Robert Arneson has had on artists in our community and beyond. Arneson pieces from the collections of The Nelson Gallery and the Davis Art Center will be on display, as well as works by Arneson students Donna Billick, Robert Brady, David Gilhooly, George Grant, Kurt Fishback and Tony Natsoulas, among others.
1919 F Street, Davis
Tues – Fri 10AM – 2PM
Short List
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Bodytribe
January 9
Second Saturday-only show by three familiar faces whose work could hardly be less alike. Trisha Rhomberg, co-owner of indie boutique Bows and Arrows tends toward Helen Frankenthaler-like abstracts, Paul Imagine does punk rock silkscreen prints, and Amy Greer is best known for her neo-architectural renderings.
920 21st Street, Sacramento
Tags: Amy Greer, CCAS, Darrin Martin, Nelson Gallery, Paul Imagine, Renny Pritikin, Robert Arneson, Trisha Rhomberg, Tsao Gallery