Past Visual Arts & Culture
Class of 2025
Studio Art Senior Show
Department of Art and Art History
May 14 - June 13, 2025
Art and Art History Gallery in Dowd
Opening Reception: May 16, 5 p.m. Dowd Lobby
Graduating seniors in the Studio Art Program exhibit their capstone art projects.
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May 16, 2025
Friday, 5:00 p.m.
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building Lobby -
Gallery Hours:
Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. except during University closure dates and holidays.In compliance to ADA/504, please direct your accommodation request to Mitch Grieb at mfgrieb@scu.edu at least 72 hours prior to the event.
19th Annual Art History Symposium
May 16, 2025, 3:30 - 5 p.m.
Art and Art History Gallery
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
Gallery Hours: M - F, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Art History Student Research Symposium and Paper Prize Competition
The Annual Art History Student Research Paper Prize Competition occurs in April and any student who received an A or A- on a research paper written for an art history course in the previous three quarters is eligible to enter. The faculty announces the winner of the paper prize in June at the annual BBQ and Awards Ceremony.
The Department also holds an annual Art History Student Research Symposium (AHSRS). Since 2004, the AHSRS provides students with an opportunity to present their research in a formal setting and format modeled after a professional conference. The Symposium is held in the Art and Art History gallery and draws a large audience from across the Santa Clara University community. Topics reflect student interests in a range of media from areas across the world, from ancient period to the present.
Evolution of Place: San Francisco’s Outer Sunset District
February 18 - April 17, 2025
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
Art and Art History Gallery
Gallery Hours: M - F, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Featuring Artists: Jessica Dunee
Artist Talk and Reception: April 9, 2025, 5 - 7 p.m., Dowd Lobby
First I lived in a green world. Then I lived in a yellow world. Then I had to put away my Indian yellow paint. Through efforts to conserve energy, San Francisco’s street lights have changed from mercury vapor in the 1950s to high-pressure sodium in the 1990s to, most recently, LED. I’m an insomniac, so I work mostly at night. As the night has changed, my paintings have changed along with it. When we first moved here 35 years ago, I was reluctant, but it was what we could afford. I thought the Great Highway was the gloomiest place. Now I see that when you’re stuck somewhere, you learn to see it. My job as a painter is to look out the window at another foggy night and find what is miraculous in it. I’ve changed too. I work where I live. During the lockdown, I did paintings from the roof. Landscapes are not currently fashionable, but we live in landscapes. Where our feet are is where we are. I want viewers to understand what it feels like to be in this place at this exact moment–and challenge them “to see the world anew.”
– Jessica Dunn
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April 9, 2025
Tuesday, 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building Lobby -
Gallery Hours:
Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. except during University closure dates and holidays.In compliance to ADA/504, please direct your accommodation request to Mitch Grieb at mfgrieb@scu.edu at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Material Concerns
December 2 - January 31, 2025
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
Art and Art History Gallery
Gallery Hours: M - F, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Featuring Artists: Pilar Agüero-Esparza & Hector Dionicio Mendoza
Artist Talk and Reception: January 30, 2025, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Dowd Lobby
Migration, social hierarchies, experiences of otherness and invisibility – all inform the practices of Pilar Agüero-Esparza and Hector Dionicio Mendoza. In their mixed media works, the human body serves as a focal point for material exploration in the representation of the body in physical form and as well as conceptually. Both artists work with specific materials chosen for their materiality and signifying potential. Informed by craft and the hand-made object, these artists combine their material concerns with their social concerns to spotlight specific cultural experiences and give voice to marginalized communities.
Agüero-Esparza and Mendoza’s 2010 project “El Shop” was a significant collaboration through which each artist augmented their individual artistic paths. This exhibition, fifteen years forward, brings the artists together to survey their current commonalities particularly within the content of their work and view their distinctly individual forms of expression garnered through specific working processes and materials. As a component of this exhibition, the artists hope to create new collaborative work in which they will explore the potential of combining their respective working strategies and materials with current content concerns.
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January 30, 2025
Thursday, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building Lobby -
Gallery Hours:
Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. except during University closure dates and holidays.In compliance to ADA/504, please direct your accommodation request to Mitch Grieb at mfgrieb@scu.edu at least 72 hours prior to the event.
The Visual Arts @ SCU
September 23 - November 8, 2024
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
Art and Art History Gallery
Gallery Hours: M - F, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Artist Talk and Reception: October 3, 2024, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Dowd Lobby
The Visual Arts @ SCU is an exhibition of the art and publications by the faculty and staff of the Art and Art History Department and the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University. This exhibition highlights and celebrates the knowledge, skills, talents and resources available in the visual arts to the University community and greater Bay Area.
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The Department of Art and Art History at Santa Clara University offers degree programs leading to the bachelor of arts in two undergraduate majors, art history and studio art, with courses in both disciplines building a thorough understanding of the history and practice of art. Department faculty encourage interdisciplinary connections with the Santa Clara community through course offerings that fulfill a wide range of college and undergraduate Core Curriculum requirements, as well as offering courses through the University Honors Program.
The interdisciplinary Studio Art major is grounded in studio practice and fine art skills, but also develops students' writing and research abilities. The Art History major develops cultural literacy, taking students beyond aesthetic appreciation; students learn about the lived and living history of art and how it affects the present, preparing you for global citizenship.
Whether students create art or study it, the Department of Art & Art History prepares students to think creatively, communicate effectively, and solve complex problems.
The de Saisset Museum aims to inspire curiosity, provoke dialogue, and encourage reflection. As one of three South Bay museums to hold accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, the de Saisset maintains the highest standards in exhibitions, programs, and collections care. The organization was founded in 1955 through a generous bequest from the de Saisset family.
The Museum supports Santa Clara University's goal of educating the whole person through a diverse and accessible range of exhibitions, collections, and educational programs that highlight the art and history of the San Francisco Bay Area and the local Santa Clara Valley. As a center of lifelong learning, the de Saisset Museum facilitates discovery, experience, and inspiration through engaging objects of art and history.
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Gallery Hours: M - F, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (Section 504) if you have a disability and require a reasonable accommodation, please direct your request to the de Saisset Museum at 408.554.4528 or deSaissetMuseum@scu.edu, or call TTY-California Relay at 711 at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Annual Student Art Juried Show
Department of Art and Art History
Date: TBA
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building, Hallway Spaces
All students of all levels participate in the Annual Student Art Juried Exhibition. Even non-majors are encouraged to submit their art work and have it judged by a professional jury for awards given out at the end of the year.
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Gallery Hours:
Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. except during University closure dates and holidays.In compliance to ADA/504, please direct your accommodation request to Mitch Grieb at mfgrieb@scu.edu at least 72 hours prior to the event.
When We Move: A View of Technology through a Black Lens
Department of Art and Art History
February 20, 2024 - April 19, 2024
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
Art and Art History Gallery
Featuring Artists: Nyame Brown and Rodney Ewing
In this two-person show Nyame Brown and Rodney Ewing will be exhibiting paintings, drawings, works on paper, and objects that reflect on and invent technology that ranges from mass communication to space travel, as it pertains to the specific needs of a Black diasporic community.
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April 11, 2024,
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.,
Dowd Lobby -
Study for Interstellar Travel
2023, Ink on paper
22x30 inches
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Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. except during University closure dates and holidays.
In compliance to ADA/504, please direct your accommodation request to Mitch Grieb at mfgrieb@scu.edu at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Closure dates: Mar 29 and Apr 1, 2024
Common Thread
Department of Art and Art History
November 13, 2023 - February 2, 2024
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
Art and Art History Gallery
Featuring Artists: Alice Beasley, Michelle Kingdom,
Kira Dominguez Hultgren
This exhibition weaves three artists together through their shared interests in textiles and the narrative qualities found in their works. Each artist’s practice involves working in mediums considered traditional modes of female creative production. Yet, they present refreshingly non-traditional themes, complex intentions, diverse materials and innovative methods. Common Thread is curated by Marianne K. McGrath, M.A. art curator and consultant.
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January 18, 2024,
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.,
Dowd Lobby -
Kira Dominguez Hultgren
In the Silence Between Mother Tongues, 2022
Silk from a salwar and chunni that my grandmother wore; two nalas; rope from my favorite Utah climbing gym; paracord; found wood, plastic, and metal loom bars, heddle rods, and shed rods; eye bolts; handspun wool; skin dyed and acid dyed wool; digital-hand woven fabric in mostly cotton, mohair, and metallics; various other yarns and cut up fabrics in cotton, wool, acrylic, linen, and mohair.
92" x 55" x 12"
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Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. except during University closure dates and holidays.
In compliance to ADA/504, please direct your accommodation request to Mitch Grieb at mfgrieb@scu.edu at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Closure dates: Nov 23-24, 2023, Dec 22, 2023 to Jan 1, 2024, Jan 15, 2024
The Mechanical Horse
by Adrian Landon
Interactive Art Exhibition
September 25, 2023 - January 21, 2024
Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Inclusion (SCDI) Lobby,
Santa Clara University
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
The exhibit is activated through participation by the community. Push the button to the side of the sculpture and watch the horse gallop for one minute. The natural gait of the Horse is brought to life by the complex mechanical movement inside, creating a sense of awe and wonder in those that observe the sculpture in motion.
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September 25th at 5:00 p.m. in the SCDI Lobby
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Adrian Landon is an extraordinary sculptor who shows his work nationally and internationally. In 2019 he received the Honorarium Grant from Burning Man to make Wings of Glory, a giant 35’ tall mechanical Pegasus that galloped and flew in slow motion, on fire. He currently lives in Reno NV., and makes art at the Generator, a communal maker space. Learn more about Adrian by visiting adrianlandon.com
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The Sobrato Campus for Diversity and Inclusion (SCDI) building is located at Santa Clara University 500 El Camino Real Building # 402 Santa Clara 95053. SCDI is located next to the Orradre Library. Parking is located in the Santa Clara University main parking structure.
The exhibit is open 6:00 am - 10:00 pm / 7 days a week, except for Thanksgiving, (11/23-11/26) and the SCU academic holiday closure (12/23/2023 - 1/1/2024).
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A community partnership between Santa Clara University College of Arts and Sciences, SCU•Presents Performing Arts Center, and the City of Santa Clara Cultural Commision.
con.Text: Portraits by Bryan Ida
Exhibition
April 11 - June 17, 2023
de Saisset Museum
“The intent of this series is to portray individuals as the embodiment of strength and pride standing defiantly in the face of oppression and fear by a power against them.” - Bryan Ida
Utilizing text from government documents, declarations, and other institutional communications, artist Bryan Ida creates life-sized portraits in which the linework is his actual handwritten transcription of the sentences and phrases from the selected documents.
The con.Text series relates these historical events and documents to the lives of the individuals depicted. Each person portrayed is connected to the text used to create their portrait either through direct impact or generational effects of policies.
Collectively, the portraits examine a broad range of subjects, including racism, civil rights, and human rights.
Ida develops the ink portraits working from photographs. While many of the source photographs are contemporary images taken by the artist himself, the photographs referenced for Grandfather (2018), Father (2020), and Grandmother (2022) — depicting members of Ida’s own family — are based on photographs by Dorothea Lange taken as part of her assignment from the War Relocation Authority to document the relocation of Japanese Americans during WWII.
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Thursday, April 13, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
RSVP encouraged
Reception celebrating con.Text: Portraits by Bryan Ida. Meet the artist and enjoy time with community in the galleries. We will also celebrate the work of Art History majors Lauren Stein and Maggie Walter whose capstone project focused on prints from the museum's permanent collection. -
Bryan Ida, Protestor (left), 2019, and Neighbor (right, detail), 2018, both from the series con.Text, ink on panel. Photos courtesy of the artist.
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Hours for Spring quarter:
April 11 - June 17, 2023
Tues-Sun 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
except for University-observed holidays
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (Section 504) if you have a disability and require a reasonable accommodation, please direct your request to the de Saisset Museum at 408.554.4528 or deSaissetMuseum@scu.edu, or call TTY-California Relay at 711 at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Writing Forward Reading Series
A Creative Writing Book Release
Department of English
May 24, 2023
Wednesday, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Nobili Hall Dining Room/Patio
A Creative Writing Book Release celebrating SCU English Department authors Kai Harris, Miah Jeffra, and David Keaton, with readings by other creative writing faculty and students. Food, drink, and words provided.
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What the Fireflies Knew, a novel by Kai Harris, is now in paperback. Her novel has garnered praise from the New York Times, the Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, and elsewhere. Kai Harris has been nominated for an NAACP image award for a debut author.
American Gospel, a novel by Miah Jeffra, an award-winning fiction writer and essayist. Miah Jeffra is the author of four books, most recently The Violence Almanac (finalist, Grace Paley and St. Lawrence Book Prizes).
Head Cleaner, a novel by David James Keaton, horror fiction writer extraordinaire. -
The Writing Forward Reading Series brings creative writers with international, national, and regional reputations to the Santa Clara University campus for readings, classroom discussions, informal meetings with students, and interviews with the Santa Clara Review literary/arts magazine. This collaborative program between the English Department’s Creative Writing Program and the student-run Santa Clara Review is grounded in the Department’s and University’s commitment to involving undergraduate students in research collaboration with faculty, and is dedicated to reaching out to both the campus and local communities.
Poets and writers brought to campus include Robert Hass (U.S. Poet Laureate, Pulitzer Prize), Carolyn Forché (Yale Younger Poets, NEA and Lannan grants), Khaled Hosseini (NYT Bestseller List, SCU alumnus), Viet Thanh Nguyen (Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur Grant), Tobias Wolff (Pen/Faulkner Award, National Medal of the Arts), Reyna Grande (American Book Award, International Latino Book Award), Gerald Stern (National Book Award, Guggenheim), Juan Felipé Herrera (American Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, US Poet Laureate), Dana Gioia (American Book Award, Chair of NEA), Rigoberto Gonzalez (American Book Award, Guggenheim), Raina Leon (Cave Canem and MacDowell Fellow), Jim Shepard (Guggenheim Award, The Story Prize) Alexandra Teague (Stegner and NEA Fellowships), Norma Cantú (MLA Distinguished Scholar Award), and Cheryl Dumesnil (Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize, SCU alumna).
Students majoring or minoring in English and/or Creative Writing and those working on the Santa Clara Review from a variety of majors are actively engaged in planning, inviting, and organizing the series, in close collaboration with faculty. This involvement gives undergraduates hands-on experience with the fields of writing, publishing, and public relations, while also ensuring that the series continues to speak to our campus population. The faculty-student collaboration that undergirds the series is also mirrored in interdisciplinary collaboration on campus and in community collaboration off campus.
Art History Student Research Symposium
Department of Art and Art History
May 19, 2023
Friday, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
The Department holds an annual Art History Student Research Symposium (AHSRS). Since 2004, the AHSRS provides students with an opportunity to present their research in a formal setting and format modeled after a professional conference. The Symposium is held in the Art and Art History gallery and draws a large audience from across the Santa Clara University community. Topics reflect student interests in a range of media from areas across the world, from ancient period to the present.
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A reception will follow in the lobby of the Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
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Gallery Hours:
Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. except during University closure dates and holidays.In compliance to ADA/504, please direct your accommodation request to Mitch Grieb at mfgrieb@scu.edu at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Floating Kīpuka /Dreaming the Futures We Want to Grow
Art Exhibition
Department of Art and Art History
April 6 - April 28, 2023
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
Corinne Okada Takara is a community artist, activist, and STEAM educator who creates playful art/science experiences that elevate cultural science knowledge and community voices in conversations centered on sustainability and biotechnology. She has spent over 15 years collaborating on arts programming in East San José, Salinas, and Hawaii with a career spanning game design, public art, and many community spaces collaborations.
As the daughter of a toy designer, her approach is informed by play’s power as a facilitator of brainstorming, communion, experimentation, iteration, and dreaming of sustainable futures. She was introduced to biology by her father through hands-on toy-making with natural materials, and storytelling with endemic, invasive, and canoe plants on Maui. She learned about biological systems sitting on her grandma’s lanai as she was taught to make pinwheels of hibiscus flowers and boats of bamboo leaves. Listening to family stories of life in a Maui sugarcane labor camp, Corinne learned that we know a place through the plants, its names, its legends, gifts of health, rituals of gratitude, and play. That deep multifaceted engagement with biology has inspired her to connect to place and community through food, playful making, cultural knowledge, and agricultural labor issues.
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Art and Art History Gallery Hours:
Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.In compliance to ADA/504, please direct your accommodation request to Mitch Grieb at mfgrieb@scu.edu at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Threshold
Art Exhibition
Department of Art and Art History
February 7 - March 16, 2023
Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building
Threshold, featuring a series of seven doorways, rails, and platforms, constructed of steel, concrete, brass, and piano wire. The modular and interlocking structure functions as a sculptural and conceptual threshold to explore passage between private and public space. On site, the framework is arranged and assembled to create curious perspectives and relationships to the existing space and architecture. Discrete sculptural elements interwoven throughout create navigable destinations and intimate moments for the viewer. Physical casts and tactile objects serve as reminders of the body and suggestions for performance. The intermingling of both architectural and sculptural forms transition between private and public spaces. Passage through the threshold takes on its own meaning and imbues a unique “sense of place”.
Artist: Daren Kendall
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Threshold with Me, 2018, Steel, concrete, brass, piano wire, felt, ceramic, and sound equipment,
Installation view, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Norman, OK.
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Art and Art History Gallery Hours:
Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.In compliance to ADA/504, please direct your accommodation request to Mitch Grieb at mfgrieb@scu.edu at least 72 hours prior to the event.