Visitors are now able to engage with contemporary art and artists and experience a museum exhibition coming to life via a new website from the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis. The site, launched Nov. 15, celebrates the centennial birthday of artist and Professor Emeritus Wayne Thiebaud.

An online preview by exhibition curators will be held by Zoom on Thursday, Nov. 19.

The “Exhibition in Progress” website invites the public behind the scenes as the museum documents the development and installation leading up to its January 2021 exhibition, “Wayne Thiebaud Influencer: A New Generation.” The site will provide a window into the challenges and innovative approaches that are part of building an exhibition during a global pandemic.

“It’s with the UC Davis spirit of experimentation that we launch this site documenting and exploring the ways the Manetti Shrem Museum has responded to bring our visitors the engagement and intellectually rigorous exhibits they expect,” said Founding Director Rachel Teagle. Every other week, visitors can expect rich content including significant updates as new art is received and unpacked, and the exhibition’s “New Generation” artists are introduced through exclusive video interviews.

Teagle and Associate Curator Susie Kantor, the exhibition curators, will preview the upcoming exhibition and the site at a special virtual winter exhibition program at 4:30 p.m. PST Thursday, Nov. 19 on Zoom. Click here to register.

“Wayne Thiebaud Influencer: A New Generation” is scheduled to open Jan. 31 at the Manetti Shrem Museum. Select pairings of Thiebaud works with those of exhibiting artists explore how he forecast the future of painting through his personal journey to find meaning and reinvention in the medium’s history — and inspired his students to do the same.

Works by contemporary artists who have been inspired by Thiebaud as a fellow painter as well as former students are highlighted. Andrea Bowers, Robert Colescott, Alex Israel, Jason Stopa, Jonas Wood and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye pay homage to Thiebaud’s work and sensibility in a variety of ways. The other 13 artists studied with Thiebaud directly: Julie Bozzi ’74, M.F.A. ’76; Christopher Brown, M.F.A. ’76; Gene Cooper; Richard Crozier, M.F.A. ’74; April Glory Funcke ’87, M.F.A. ’89; Fredric Hope; Grace Munakata ’80, M.F.A. ’85; Bruce Nauman, M.A. ’66; Vonn Cummings Sumner ’98, M.F.A. ’00; Ann Harrold Taylor, M.F.A. ’85; Michael Tompkins ’81, M.F.A. ’83; Clay Vorhes; and Patricia Wall ’72.

More information about the exhibition and how to reserve your timed ticket will be shared on “An Exhibition in Progress” at manettishrem.org. 

More information on various virtual programs is here.

Art Wide Open

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis, is a contemporary art museum and cultural resource dedicated to 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 and exhibitions that reflect and serve the community, now and for generations to come. The museum shares the university’s core values of innovative research, interdisciplinary experimentation, and a commitment to educational programming: It’s a hub of creative practice for thinkers, makers and innovators. One-third of the museum’s 50,000-square-foot space is devoted to instruction, including a 125-seat lecture hall, classroom space, and the drop-in Carol and Gerry Parker Art Studio. Opened in November 2016, the museum has earned LEEDv3-NC Platinum status, and has won numerous awards for its distinctive architecture.

Images available upon request.