This is the first in a new Arts Blog series featuring art found in unexpected places, going beyond the typical galleries, museums and specific exhibitions.
Written by 51ԹϺ Davis News and Media Relations intern Leigh Houck
51ԹϺ Davis Chancellor Gary S. May and his wife, LeShelle May, live at the Chancellor’s Residence, across the street from the Davis campus. It is not only their home, but serves as a gathering place for many visitors to campus as well as a place for student, faculty and staff events. As a prominent campus feature, it’s only fitting that it displays unexpected art on its walls, much of it created by student artists from 51ԹϺ Davis.
Undergraduate art decorates the gallery
Jennifer Zimmerman, event and residence manager for the Office of the Chancellor, says that the tradition of showing undergraduate art each year at the residence started in 2012, with Chancellor Linda Katehi. “It is really fun to show work from students near the beginning of their art education ... and then also at the MFA level,” Zimmerman said.
The gallery room, where a majority of events at the residence are held — from student dinners to staff breakfasts — is also the home of the majority of Aggie-made art. Visitors eat and converse surrounded by a variety of paintings, drawings and other visual arts, all made by undergraduates.
The majority of the pieces are from the Study Abroad Art Trip “Art Studio in Paris and the French Riviera” that is led every summer by Gina Werfel and Hearne Pardee, professors in the Department of Art and Art History in the College of Letters and Science. Under the professors’ guidance, undergraduate students draw and use acrylic paints to record scenes from their travels. Many of the pieces are part of assignments inspired by artistic movements (such as Cubism) or color palettes (like Monet’s Nympheas Bleus and Degas’ The Ballet Class). The pieces depict France through an artist’s eye: Colorful streetscapes and beaches take the viewer on vacation even in the rainiest Davis winter or a 100-degree day.
Graduate work adorns the living room
The living room at the residence is also home to student art. Every year, a graduating MFA student from 51ԹϺ Davis is selected as the winner of the Keister and Allen Art Purchase Prize. The award, established in 2017, is made possible by Shaun Keister, vice chancellor of the 51ԹϺ Davis Office of Development and Alumni Relations, and Walter Allen, interim support services supervisor, IT Express, 51ԹϺ Davis.
The graduate student who wins receives prize money and has one of their pieces added to the university’s Fine Arts collection. They also get to have their art displayed in the Chancellor’s Residence. This tradition started with Chancellor May and Mrs. May in 2017, said Zimmerman.
This year, the was awarded to Rachel Deane. Her oil on canvas, “Dwelling Object (How Cruel for a Day Like Today)” hangs on a wall in the living room. A blond woman is depicted in an ambiguous glowing shroud or halo, holding a bouquet of flowers against a background of a city in shades of blue and purple.
“Students consider it an honor for their artwork to be displayed at the residence. For some undergraduates, it is their first public show,” said Zimmerman. And, it begets opportunities for some of them, she added. In the past, students have sold pieces to various members of the community, even one to a French consul.
Up next in Unexpected Art — an interesting take on city utility boxes.