The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis, will reopen to the public with advance timed tickets beginning June 3. The museum looks forward to welcoming visitors back in accordance with COVID-19 campus protocols prioritizing health and safety.

“We are so proud to reopen with a diverse roster of exhibitions that explore the future of UC Davis’ important history. ‘Wayne Thiebaud Influencer: A New Generation,’ assembled on occasion of the artist’s 100th birthday, celebrates Thiebaud’s achievement through the living legacies of the countless artists who acknowledge his influence,” said Rachel Teagle, the museum’s founding director. “Exhibiting Arnold Joseph Kemp’s exploration of self-making alongside painting inspired by Thiebaud makes for a timely and meaningful museum experience as we emerge from the pandemic.”

Gallery capacity will be limited, allowing guests ample time and space during their chosen time slot to experience four new exhibitions. Visitors may choose to enhance their experience through the museum's new exhibit website. Accessible from within the galleries and before or after the visit, the website features exclusive artist interviews, original video and curatorial essays.

The new exhibitions for 2021, originally scheduled to open last January, have been extended to Nov. 12, 2021, while a new neon installation will be on view through March 2022. The museum had been closed since last year due to COVID-19 protocols.

‘Wayne Thiebaud Influencer: A New Generation’

Thiebaud’s profound influence is front and center in this celebration of the longtime UC Davis art professor’s centennial. Nineteen contemporary artists who have been inspired by Thiebaud as a fellow painter, including a selection of his former students, are highlighted. Explore how Thiebaud forecast the future of painting through his personal journey to find meaning and reinvention in the medium’s history, in ways that are both current and timeless. Learn more at the exhibition’s companion website.

Featuring Andrea Bowers, Julie Bozzi (’74, M.F.A. ’76), Christopher Brown (MFA ’76), Robert Colescott, Gene Cooper, Richard Crozier (M.F.A. ’74), April Glory Funcke (’87, M.F.A. ’89), Fredric Hope, Alex Israel, Grace Munakata (’80, M.F.A. ’85), Bruce Nauman (’66 M.A.), Jason Stopa, Vonn Cummings Sumner (’98, M.F.A. ’00), Ann Harrold Taylor (M.F.A. ’85), Michael Tompkins (’81, M.F.A. ’83), Clay Vorhes, Patricia Wall (’72), Jonas Wood and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. Curators: Teagle and associate curator Susie Kantor. June 3-Nov. 12.

‘Arnold Joseph Kemp: I would survive. I could survive. I should survive.’

Featuring recent paintings, sculpture and photography, this exhibit asks us to consider the sensorial gestures that form the self and a people, the personal and the political, the historical and the present. Kemp stages encounters that invite the viewer into the artist’s aesthetic considerations of himself and the world that makes him. It is within this space that we are able to join him in considering how we are made and how we make ourselves. Learn more at the companion website. Guest curator: Sampada Aranke, Ph.D. ’13.  June 3-Nov. 12.

‘Working Proof: Wayne Thiebaud as Printmaker’

Drawn from the university’s Fine Arts Collection, this exhibit features numerous printing “proofs,” many worked by hand, that were created as part of the printmaking process. Shown adjacent to “Wayne Thiebaud Influencer: A New Generation,” these works underscore the importance of printmaking in Thiebaud’s artistic practice. Learn more at the companion website. Curator: Quintana Heathman. June 3-Nov. 12,

‘Andrea Bowers: Education Should Be Free (UC Davis)’

This neon installation by Andrea Bowers invites visitors into a timely dialogue about education and access. During the course of the 2021-22 academic year, faculty and students are responding to the work in a series of on-site and online projects. Through March 2022.

New visiting, health and safety policies

In support of UC Davis’ commitment to a healthy community as the pandemic continues, the museum has implemented safety protocols to protect staff and guests, including requiring that the campus’ Daily Symptom Survey be completed prior to visiting. Other required safety measures include wearing face coverings and maintaining 6 feet of distance from others outside one’s household. More information about these measures and detailed visitor guidelines, can be found at manettishrem.org.

The full exhibition lineup will be on view June 3 through Nov. 12.

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.