Dateline staff
Nine Master of Fine Arts graduates are putting their masterful creations on display in year-end exhibitions at the Design Museum and Nelson Gallery.
The Design Museum hosts the Design Program MFA Graduate Exhibition, featuring the work of two MFA graduates, one offering fashion design for diverse bodies, the other a packaging design for a new generation of small farms.
The Nelson Gallery hosts an exhibition titled The House of Others, in which seven MFA graduates explore art in the age of Facebook and Twitter, in paintings, sculptures, and elaborate video and media art.
Design Program MFA Graduate Exhibition: May 18-June 14
Reception and lectures, 1:30-4 p.m. Sunday, May 22
145
Regular hours: noon-4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 2-4 p.m. Sunday
鈥 Elizabeth Kaino Hopper 鈥 Snap, Zip, Wrap: Fashion Design for Diverse Bodies. Women鈥檚 business garments that snap, zip and wrap around the body for comfort and easy dressing. Kaino鈥檚 designs demonstrate the theories of universal and inclusive design as applied to the field of fashion, making garments more accessible to a wider range of women with diverse bodies and diverse mobility levels. Hopper鈥檚 show also documents her design process, revealing environmentally and socially responsible practices, including naturally dyed fabrics, no-waste patterning and repurposed textile treasures.
鈥 Rachel Smith 鈥 Produce: Packaging Design for a New Generation of Small Farms. What was old is new again as small farming operations make a comeback in the United States. Smith offers a new kind of design to go with this trend, drawing on the designs of the 1920s through the 鈥50s before U.S. agriculture transitioned to industrialized farming. She puts her own take on lug labels and other cultural-visual identification with small farm operations, juxtaposing these images against negative attitudes toward large-scale industrial operations and their damaging effects.
The House of Others: June 3-24
Reception, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, June 3
(formerly the University Club)
Regular hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Thursday, and by appointment on Fridays.
With their thesis projects, the exhibitors answer the question: 鈥淗ow are young artists responding to the changing environment for art in the world of Facebook and Twitter?鈥
鈥淭his small group of dedicated young artists offers a sneak peek at the concerns and investigations that will surface in contemporary art over the second and third decades of the 21st century,鈥 said Renny Pritikin, director of the Nelson Gallery.
The exhibitors:
Painters
- Manuel Fernando Rios
- Matthew Taylor
- Mathew Zefeldt
Sculptors
- Lisa Rybovich Crall茅
- Paul Taylor (also showing documentation of outdoor sculpture)
Video and media art
- Jen Cohen
- Benjamin Rosenthal
An accompanying catalog will include short essays by Pritikin on each of the artists, the Nelson Gallery announced.
Media Resources
Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu