Gallery Talks, Lectures & Discussions
Ongoing
Artists, curators, scholars, and others share their insights on BAMPFA exhibitions, the arts, and other cultural topics.
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Senior Curator for Asian Art Julia White leads a gallery tour. Photo: George Alfaro
- Upcoming
Films - Past
Films - Past
Events
Past Events
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Thursday, December 13, noonGallery Talk: Elizabeth Sharf on the Japanese Collection
A visiting scholar from UC Berkeley’s Center for Japanese Studies lead an expert tour of Ink, Paper, Silk.
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Wednesday, December 12, 6 PMArthur Jafa and Stephen Best in Conversation
MATRIX artist Arthur Jafa and UC Berkeley professor Stephen Best talk about the move from the cinema screen to the gallery, the politics of aesthetics, and the turn toward “Afropessimism.”
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Wednesday, November 14, 6 PMGallery Talk: Abigail Polin and Victoria Xu: Relativity and Quantum Mechanics Made Simple
A lively and accessible explanation of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics—key concepts in modern physics that inform artworks on view in Dimensionism.
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Thursday, November 8, 6 PMLecture: Vanja Malloy: The Intersection of Art and Science in the Age of Einstein
The curator of Dimensionism explores how this groundbreaking exhibition examines the intersection of art and science in the modern era.
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Wednesday, November 7, noon
Curator’s Talk: Vanja Malloy on Dimensionism
Join the curator of Dimensionism for an exhibition walk-through that grapples with how early twentieth-century scientific advances informed the vision of innovative midcentury artists.
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Saturday, October 27, 1:30 PMCurator Joel Smith on Peter Hujar
The exhibition curator speaks about Hujar’s compelling work and presents a screening of Peter Hujar: Immersion.
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Saturday, October 20, 1:30 PMSymposium: Against the Static: New Perspectives on the Art of Harvey Quaytman
This symposium brings together critical perspectives on the artist, positioning Quaytman’s innovations within the history of abstraction in the United States and abroad.
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Wednesday, October 17, noonCurator’s Talk: Apsara DiQuinzio on Harvey Quaytman
The curator of Harvey Quaytman: Against the Static offers an overview of the exhibition, tracing the trajectory of Quaytman’s career.
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Saturday, October 13, 1:30 PMMatti Braun on Vikram Sarabhai
Artist Matti Braun speaks sbout Indian physicist Vikram Sarabhai.
Copresented by the Society for Arts and Cultural Heritage of India
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Wednesday, October 10, 5:30 PMGallery Talk: Olivia Young on Christina Quarles
Young offers insights into Quarles’s work, including the dynamics of excess, visibility, and form as instruments of black queer longing.
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Sunday, October 7, 3 PMArtist’s Talk: Tsherin Sherpa
Sherpa, a Tibetan artist whose works are featured in Boundless, explores themes of displacement and identity as he recounts his artistic journey.
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Wednesday, October 3, 12 PMGallery Talk: Alan Templeton and Grace Harpster on Old Masters in a New Light
Scholar and collector Templeton and art historian Harpster offer their informative perspectives on works in Old Masters in a New Light.
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Saturday, September 29, 1:30 PMLecture: Catherine Lusheck: Why Style Matters—Connoisseurship and the Old Masters
Art historian Lusheck delves into intriguing issues of artistic style and connoisseurship, showing why attribution and an appreciation of the “hand of the artist” truly mattered in the European Renaissance.
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Thursday, September 20, 6 PMArtist’s Talk: Christina Quarles in Conversation with Apsara DiQuinzio
The MATRIX artist discusses her work with the exhibition curator, illuminating the important role of ambiguity in Quarles’s representation of race and sexual identity.
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Thursday, September 6, 12 PMGallery Talk: Nancy G. Lin on Master Traces, Transcultural Visions
Lin examines works in Master Traces, Transcultural Visions to highlight the importance of lineage and courtly culture in Tibetan Buddhism.
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Thursday, August 16, 12 PMBarbara Stauffacher Solomon and Jacquelynn Baas in Conversation
Barbara Stauffacher Solomon talks about her new Art Wall with former BAMPFA director Jacquelynn Baas, who curated the project.
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Sunday, July 29, 3 PMCurator’s Talk: Matthew Coleman on Peter Hujar
In this exhibition walk-through, BAMPFA Assistant Curator Matthew Coleman explores Hujar’s distinctive and arresting photographic style and imagery.
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Thursday, July 12, 6 PMArtist’s Talk: Joanne Leonard
In this illustrated talk, Joanne Leonard discusses her photographic work and the places and spaces of women’s lives.
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Wednesday, July 11, 12 PM
Curator’s Talk: Joel Smith on Peter Hujar
The curator of Peter Hujar: Speed of Life shares insights into Hujar’s arresting vision of the downtown Manhattan underground of the 1970s and 1980s.
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Wednesday, July 11, 6 PMCurators’ Talk: Andrea Andersson and Julia Bryan-Wilson on Cecilia Vicuña
The co-curators of Cecilia Vicuña: About to Happen discuss lost languages and the politics of ephemerality in this exhibition walkthrough.
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Saturday, June 30, 1:30 PMWay Bay Days: Tom di Maria, Sandra Phillips, Keith Wilson, Brett Goodroad, Terry Cannon
Five speakers take on five Bay Area artists: Judith Scott, Lew Thomas, Frank Moore, Fred Martin, and Sara Kathryn Arledge.
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Thursday, June 7, 12 PMCurator's Talk: Rosaline Kyo on Master Traces, Transcultural Visions
The curator of Master Traces, Transcultural Visions explores the important role of narrative art in Buddhist teachings.
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Wednesday, May 23, 6 PMLecture: Alicia McCarthy and Ruby Neri
The two artists explore their twenty-year history of collaboration and artistic dialogue.
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Saturday, May 5, 1:30 PMWay Bay Days: Dena Beard, Jeffrey Spahn, Jeff Gunderson, Steve Anker
For the second of our Way Bay Days, four speakers take on four Bay Area artists: Xara Thustra, Kay Sekimachi, Carlos Villa, and Alice Anne Parker (Severson).
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Saturday, May 5, 4 PMLil B: Extremely Rare Photography and Art Collection Issue #1
Iconic Berkeley recording artist Brandon “Lil B” McCartney presents photographic works and “extremely rare art,” sharing his unique focus on compassion, unrestrained creative expression, and the power of positive thinking.
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Tuesday, April 24, 5:30 PMMapping as Research: Trevor Paglen in conversation with Julia Bryan-Wilson
Book signing follows discussion.
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Saturday, April 21, 1 PMPanel Discussion: Re-Seeing Dictee
This panel takes a fresh look at Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s influential book Dictee and its relationship to the rest of the artist’s work.
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Saturday, April 21, 2 PMPanel Discussion: Carlos Villa: Worlds in Collision
Our panelists revisit the legacy of Bay Area artist Carlos Villa, whose Worlds in Collision project addressed multiculturalism, education, activism, and identity politics.
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Friday, April 20, 6 PMEnrique Chagoya and Rupert García on Political Art
Two celebrated Bay Area artists engage in a public conversation about their approaches to making politically driven art.
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Friday, April 13, 12 PMGallery Talk: Todd Olson on Agony in Effigy
UC Berkeley art history professor Olson explores the theme of female violence in two works on view in Agony in Effigy.
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Wednesday, April 11, 5:30 PMFeminist Curatorial Practices: A roundtable convening
Curators from across the country convene for a conversation about current feminist curatorial practices.
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Saturday, April 7, 2 PMInvitation to a Lost World: 5,000 Years of Art from the Bay Area Shell Mounds
See rare archeological objects from the East Bay’s shell mounds—traces of the fishing villages established by an ancient people thousands of years ago—and hear from a panel of Native Californian artists and others.
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Friday, April 6, 12 PMArtist’s Talk: Al Wong
The artist discusses his current exhibition Lost Sister in the context of his other recent photo installations.
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Friday, March 23, 6 PMHouse of Malico: Spectrum Summit
Oakland-based art production organization House of Malico presents a discussion exploring contemporary issues affecting the social, cultural, and mental health of black people.
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Saturday, March 17, 1:30 PMWay Bay Days: Mark Johnson, Claire Carlevaro, Jack von Euw, Kevin Killian
In the first of our Way Bay Days, four speakers take on four Bay Area artists: Saburo Hasegawa, Ruth Wall, Ludwig Choris, and Harry Jacobus.
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Thursday, March 8, noonCurator’s Talk: Stephanie Cannizzo on Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
Cannizzo explores Cha’s art through the lens of her influential artist’s book, weaving in Cha’s long history with UC Berkeley and BAMPFA.
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Thursday, February 22, 12 PMCurator’s Talk: Philippe Pirotte on Agony in Effigy
The curator of Agony in Effigy shares his insights into artistic depictions of bodily suffering and violence in this exhibition walk-through.
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Wednesday, February 21, 6 PM
Philippe Pirotte and Niklaus Largier in Conversation
Agony in Effigy curator Philippe Pirotte and UC Berkeley professor Niklaus Largier offer historical and cultural context for the exhibition’s varied and affecting images of pain and suffering.
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Wednesday, February 14, 6 PMArtist's Talk: Jay Heikes
Heikes talks about art and alchemy and offers an overview of his wide-ranging practice, with an emphasis on the works featured in Jay Heikes / MATRIX 269.
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Saturday, January 27, 1 PMRichard Vinograd and Philip Kafalas on Chen Hongshou
The two scholars present lectures that deepen and expand our understanding of the late Ming-dynasty painter's work, life, and times.
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Thursday, January 25, 12 PMCurators’ Talk: Lawrence Rinder and Julia White on To the Letter
Join the curators of To the Letter for an in-depth look at the exhibition.
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Thursday, January 18, 12 PMCurators’ Talk: Lawrence Rinder and Kathy Geritz on Way Bay
Navigate the evocative installation of Way Bay with the exhibition curators as they share insights into their process and selections.