R.W. Witt Gallery Exhibition: "Convergence" by Jeremy Alba

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     Jeremy Alba exhibited his work last week (3/06-3/10) at the Witt.  Titled Convergence, the work made great use of the space.  There were wall-mounted pieces, a large scale installation (above), and work on pedestals.  Considering the variety of the work, Alba was successful in uniting everything under his obvious interest in sharp, geometric forms.

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     Though it's easy to get lost in such a large and sleek installation such as the one in the first image, I was equally drawn to the rest of the work.  The smaller pieces are interesting and it's from them that I feel they're an origin point for the rest of the work.  At the area where they rest against their support, they feel soft.  It's as if the angular structures they start to take on is their attempt at reaching out to see what else exists in the world; a sort of growth through knowledge.

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     Pictured above are two of three pieces he also exhibited that are similar in their almost painting-format and installation.  The mostly triangular shapes that form the entire piece seem like a jigsaw puzzle before it's come apart.  Though I like the contrast in the wood grain and size of each shape resting against each other, the work didn't hold my attention for long.

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     My favorite piece in the gallery is the one posted above.  It's hard to tell whether the bottom part is meant to be a pedestal that flows into the work or if it's an essential part of the piece, but I really like it.  The manner in which the top, dark, geometric form and the bottom, white shape, sandwiches the the twisting, organic form really drew my interest.  The top and bottom parts also feel like they're in stasis while the center part appears to be in motion, endlessly coiling upon itself.

     I enjoyed Alba's show.  I think he found a successful way to exhibit his work in a very challenging space.

Photo by Polo Lopez

R.W. Witt Gallery Exhibition: "Paths and Portals" by Forest Aliya

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     I've seen Forest Aliya's work quite a bit in the Art Studio Lab rooms, on the Sac State campus.  She and I were also in an Advanced Painting class together so I'm relatively informed when it comes to her process.  Most of the work exhibited at the Witt Gallery this week (2/27-3/03) are paintings from that class.

     The R.W. Witt Gallery needs some serious renovations; this is not news to anyone.  The gallery is student-run and as someone who has had a solo exhibition in the space, helped install friend's exhibits in the space, and seen MANY shows there, I'm more than familiar with the building and its funky ceiling and poorly attached walls.  The lighting situation is also bad.  The limited collection of lights in the Witt doesn't have a consistent temperature cast.  They range from warm oranges to dull blues.  My point is that Aliya has to fight an impossible battle when it comes to installing in that gallery.  And her work is so colorful that the lighting does a terrible job of providing the vibrant hues any modicum of justice.

  

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     Getting my frustrations out of the way, I enjoyed the exhibition.  Some of the work is installed too high, but it's consistent in theme.  Aptly titled Paths and Portals, the work is filled with imagery of... paths and portals.  There are doorways and stairs that lead to other doorways and stairs.  The work feels introspective to me; a self-analysis of the psyche.  It feels like Aliya's asking herself a lot of questions and we are seeing a full map of her navigations to answers.  There is no apparent sense of gravity and space is effectively rendered so that the three-dimensionality of Aliya's world is fully realized on a two-dimensional surface.

Photo by Brett Melliar

     Aliya's work is heavily layered.  Working on thick paper and with the medium of acrylics, she builds the atmosphere in conjunction with the paths and openings for us to examine.  And knowing how she works, these pieces don't just happen on a first pass.  Some of these paintings have been painted over and over to reach the state they're in. Paths and Portals isn't just an excellent display of Aliya's understanding of color.  It's excellent proof of her work ethic, too.

Manetti Shrem Museum Visit

     It was exciting to finally make a visit to the relatively new Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, in Davis.  The small museum opened in November of 2016 and I really dig the architecture.  The website describes it as "a hub of creative practice for today's thinkers, makers and innovators, now and for generations to come."  That describes most museums to me but hey, it sounds fancy, right?

     The oddest thing about Manetti Shrem is that the docents, as well as most of the employees, wear lab coats.  I don't understand the relevancy unless it's to echo UC Davis' priority in research-oriented programs and the word "research" always conjures up the image of a scientist wearing a labcoat for me.  Either way, it's certainly not what I'd expect walking into a center of art.  When it comes to the work, it showcases a strong collection that includes the Davis heavy-hitters such as Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Arneson.

Black Valentine by Daniel Shapiro, 1966, acrylic and collage with paper on untempered masonite

     The first work I came across was Daniel Shapiro's.  I'm intrigued by his use of strong, contrasting values and bold, gestural brush-marks, while using straight lines to attempt to balance out the more organic forms.  The biography listed by his work reveals his profession as a teacher at UC Davis.  It also has the following quote by him on the role of the artist, that I liked: "As we know, the real artist may be any of many things.  But no matter what else his is, I submit that he is at least a searcher for some aspect of human truth."  A thought most makers can relate to.

Me with Roland Petersen's Picnic Scene with One Parasol, painted in 1967, oil on canvas

Photo by Polo Lopez

     My favorite piece in the small museum is Picnic Scene with One Parasol by Danish-American painter Roland Petersen, who presently teaches at UC Davis.  I've seen Petersen's work before and I like the expressive quality of his use of color.  Some of the work lends itself towards a more design feel, which I don't always like, but the image of the painting I posted above stays safely away from that.  The physicality of the thick paint is applied as if each brush stroke was the first, confident one, and nothing had to be edited.  Primarily a figurative painter, Petersen's work reminds me of Manet's paintings in their same sense of casual, society life.

     Overall, the Manetti Shrem is a nice addition of culture and history with the work featured.  It's still small and I'm sure the art will be rotated in and out frequently to highlight UC Davis' art collection, so I'll definitely be making return trips.  The best bonus of the museum?  It's free for anyone.