The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University presents three collections from September 26 to December 4: Art of Richard Mayhew: Journey’s End, A Sense of Place: Location/Inspiration, and The Eclectic Eye: Works from a Private Collection.
Richard Mayhew, who claims both African-American and Native American ancestry, is one of America’s greatest landscape painters. His love of land and nature comes from his childhood years living close to nature and hearing his Native American grandmother speak of the sacred bond that ties us all to the earth. Mayhew also taught at Brooklyn Museum Art School, the Art Students League, Smith College, Pennsylvania State University, and San Jose State University. His exhibition at the de Saisset Museum is part of a chronological retrospective of his 40-year career. The Museum of African Diaspora in San Francisco will feature his early work. The de Saisset will show work from the mid-70s to mid-90s, while the Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz will display his most recent compositions.
A Sense of Place includes oil paintings, watercolors, prints, and collage from artists William Keith, Henrietta Shore, Nathan Oliveira, Yvonne Jacquette, Gregory Edwards, David Huffman, and Weston Teruya. The focus of the works is on landscapes that have a specific reference point.
The Eclectic Eye comes from an anonymous private collection that reflects a broad range of interests rather than one movement or time period in art history. It includes the cartoon parodies of Roy Lichtenstein and the print of the Campbell soup can by Andy Warhol. Also represented are prints by the surrealist René Magritte, a chessboard by Man Ray, and a number of examples of Op Art by Bridget Riley and others. In addition to contemporary art, several small but intricately formed pre-Columbian sculptures will be on view. Works from a number of artists who lived/worked in the San Francisco Bay area are also included such as Sam Francis, Carrie Abramovitz, Matt Kahn, and Peter Silten.
The opening reception will be on Friday, September 25, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University. Mayhew and various artists featured in A Sense of Place will be in attendance. The event is free and open to the public.
A panel discussion, “Landscapes: Variations and Improvisations,” will be held Thursday, October 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. at de Saisset Museum. Artists Mayhew, Edwards, Huffman, and Hayes will discuss their individual approaches to the subject of landscape. The panel will be moderated by Bridget Cooks, Ph.D., assistant professor of art history and African American studies at the University of California, Irvine. The event is also free and open to the public.
About the de Saisset Museum
The de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University is the South Bay’s free museum of art and history. The museum is one of only three museums in the South Bay accredited by the American Association of Museums. The de Saisset Museum supports SCU’s goal of educating the whole person through diverse exhibitions, collections, and educational programs. www.scu.edu/desaisset
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its 8,758 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees, and engineering Ph.Ds. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. www.scu.edu
