Light into Density

Light Into Density: Abstract Encounters 1920s–1960s From the Collection of Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis, September 19, 2024 – May 5, 2025

Light into Density was curated by students in the Fall 2023 Exhibition Practicum course led by Assistant Professor of Art History Alexandra Sofroniew and designed by students in the Winter 2024 Exhibition Design course led by Professor of Design Timothy McNeil and Associate Professor of Design Brett Snyder. Thirty undergraduate and graduate students studying studio art, art history and design selected fifteen works from the museum’s collection by world-renowned artists — including Salvador Dalí, Vassily Kandinsky, Joan Miró, and Francis Bacon—to create the exhibition.

Student curators: Cecilia Ammon, Yahaira Arceo, Ayana Bailey-Gaines, Ben Batom, Julianna DeNeve, Saf Douglas, Maev Dunning,Darian Dveris, Paloma Esparza, Merriweather Fields, Madeline Furtado, Divya Gautam, Sarah Grimes, Ana Hernandez, Rinka Higa, Lacee Hodge, Walter Jackson, Ivy Johnson, Jack Johnston-Glick, Amelia Jung, Kelly Kankowski, Allison Nakazawa, Jennifer Orozco, Laila Penny, Morgan Strong, Isabelle Villanueva, Austin Wang, Yanliang Xu, Zhixing (Rex) Yang, Caron Zhang

Student exhibition designers: Olivia de Maigret, Maev Dunning, Madeline Furtado, Sarah Grimes, Kelly Kankowski, Emma O’Connor, Morgan Strong