The Nelson Gallery’s summer exhibition is slanted and now the hours are slanted, too, in favor of special viewing time during the Davis community’s 2nd Friday ArtAbout this week.

The Nelson Gallery is normally closed on Fridays, and it usually closes at 5. On Aug. 10, however, you can visit from 5 to 7 p.m. As always, admission is free.

The featured exhibition this summer is Flatlanders on the Slant, with “slant” referring to the Slant Step — the art icon born at UC Davis nearly 50 years ago. Not only is it on display, but the Slant Step is now a permanent part of the university’s Fine Arts Collection, as declared in a surprise announcement at the exhibition’s July 12 opening.

UC Davis art alumni Frank Owen (an abstract painter) and Art Schade (sculptor) made the donation.

Covered in green linoleum, the step was an unassuming object when Professor William T. Wiley rescued it from a Marin County salvage shop in 1965. He gave the step to graduate student Bruce Nauman, who kept the step in his studio for inspiration (and as a footrest!).

Countless other artists would find inspiration in the step as well, drawing and painting and crafting their own versions.

Now the step is in the inspiration for the Nelson Gallery’s fourth Flatlanders show, all of them featuring artists from around the Sacramento region.

Flatlanders on the Slant comprises the works of 50 artists, each with their own take on the Slant Step on the occasion of the step’s (sort of!) 50th anniversary. The artists include:

Faculty — Robin Hill, Hearne Pardee, Annabeth Rosen, Gina Werfel and Wiley himself.

Alumni — Chris Daubert, Stephen Giannetti, Matthew Gottschalk, Stephen Kaltenbach, Lisa Marasso, Liv Moe, Tony Natsoulas, Robert Ortbal, Frank Owen, Maija Peeples-Bright, Mick Sheldon, Peter VandenBerge, Gerald Walburg and Patricia Wood

The exhibition is scheduled to run through Aug. 17. The gallery is in Nelson Hall. Regular hours (summer): 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Saturday; and Friday by appointment. A fully illustrated catalog is available.

The 2nd Friday ArtAbout also provides an opportunity to see portions of Ignite! The Art of Sustainability, at the Pence Gallery (the bulk of the exhibition is at the Design Museum). See below.

RECEPTION NEXT WEEK

• Rapunzyl's Designs — By Craft Center felting instructor Rebecca Klein. Through Sept. 7, Craft Center Gallery, South Silo. Summer hours: 12:30-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 12:30-7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. Reception, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17.

ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

• Cielo Rojo — Maceo Montoya, artist, writer and assistant professor, Department of Chicana/o Studies, presents 17 paintings in charcoal and acrylic on paper, plus five limited-edition silkscreen prints based on the Cielo Rojo series. Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer, or art workshop of the new dawn, 1224 Lemen Ave., Woodland. Call for exhibition hours: (530) 402-1065.

• Ignite! the Art of Sustainability — UC Davis is the first stop for this traveling exhibition comprising the works of 13 California artists, including two from the UC Davis faculty: Professor Ann Savageau and Professor Emerita Gyöngy Laky, each of whom works with reused and repurposed materials. Through Aug. 31, Design Museum, Cruess Hall (enter off California Avenue). Regular hours: noon-4 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed weekends and holidays). See separate story.

More Ignite! Two works from the exhibition are being shown through Aug. 31 at the Pence Gallery, 212 D St., Davis. Regular hours, 11:30-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, and 7-9 p.m. (6 p.m. opening for members), 2nd Friday ArtAbout.

• Visualizing History, Then and Now: Recent Acquisitions — Featuring works that reflect and respond to Native American experiences in the social and political realm. Through Aug. 17, C.N. Gorman Museum, 1316 Hart Hall. See separate story.

AT SHIELDS LIBRARY

• Reimagining Shields, Part 2 — Proposals for a new north entry and renovated courtyard, from design students. Mark Kessler, assistant professor, had asked them to consider ways to better connect the library and the Quad “as the heart of the American campus.” Kessler blamed “missteps in design” for leaving the campus with the library and Quad adjacent “but unresponsive to one another” — i.e., with its west-facing entrance, Shields Library “turns its back on the Quad.” Said Daniel Goldstein, Arts and Humanities librarian: “Come see how this talented group of students imagined a redesigned Peter J. Shields and let us know what you think.” Send questions or comments to Goldstein, dgoldstein@ucdavis.edu.

• UC Davis Traditions Past and Present — A sampling from the photograph collection of the university archives, keeper of such memories as Labor Day, Frosh Dinks, Tank Rush, Frosh-Soph Brawl and Wild West Days. Exhibit prepared by Sara Gunasekara, collections manager. For more information or to share your memories of UC Davis traditions, send an e-mail to Special Collections, speccoll@ucdavis.edu.

The photograph collection.

• Library Staff Favorites — A wide array of titles and subjects representing the diversity of reading tastes among library staff. Visual bibliography. Exhibit prepared by Michelle Brackett, mbrackett@lib.ucdavis.edu, and Robin Gustafson rlgustafson@ucdavis.edu.

The Shields Library exhibitions are in the lobby. Summer hours (through Sept. 14): 7:30 a.m.-8p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 1-7 p.m. Sunday. Holidays and other exceptions.

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