Current Exhibitions
“OJO” Julio César Morales
Julio César Morales — artist, curator and a former museum director — grew up along the U.S.–Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana. After nearly a decade in Arizona creating work about the border, “OJO” marks his California homecoming and return to full-time studio practice through a mid-career survey bridging past and future to reflect on the present. This theme of history and what lies ahead is central to both the exhibition and Morales’ neon sign welcoming visitors to the Manetti Shrem Museum.
Curated by Rachel Teagle, founding director
On view August 7–November 29, 2025
"OJO" Digital Companion: Deepen your engagment
Complementary exhibition: Gallery Wendi Norris in San Francisco presents Julio César Morales: My America, the gallery’s sixth presentation, September 19–November 1, 2025.
Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice
Homepage installation image by © Muzi Li Rowe.
The lungs of our planet — oceans, forests and the atmosphere — are under threat, invaded by carbon emissions, plastics and man-made pollutants. The act of breathing was rendered even more perilous by the COVID-19 pandemic and police brutality. Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice considers the connections between social and environmental injustice through the lens of contemporary art. This groundbreaking exhibition brings together works focused on climate change by artists, scientists and activists whose practices encompass photography, multimedia, large-scale sculptures, painting and more.
Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice is organized by the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and guest curated by Glenn Kaino and Mika Yoshitake with Jennifer Buonocore-Nedrelow, Pacific Standard Time Fellow.
On view August 7–November 29, 2025
Letters & Science magazine: Breathe In, Breathe Out: Reflections on Environmental Catastrophe
ALSO ON VIEW
Inspired Impressions: Prints by Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, & those who inspired them, from the Fine Arts Collection
Art collections are teaching tools. Soon after the founding of the UC Davis Art Department, faculty began to collect artworks (primarily prints) as instructional resources. Through close study of the artworks, students and faculty learned and adapted techniques used by artists from renowned European academies and their avant-garde counterparts — notably the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. This exhibition, in conjunction with the Art History 183B course Impressionism & Post-Impressionism, seeks to engage and teach our student artists of today about how the Impressionists and affiliated artists were inspired by earlier art, and how their creative innovations subsequently inspired later generations.
On view in the Collections Classroom during open public hours when classes are not in session
Curated by James Housefield, Associate professor, Department of Design, and affiliated faculty, Art History
August 2025–March 2026