An essay by assistant Professor Anneka Lenssen has been awarded the 2019 Prince Pierre of Monaco Foundation's Prize for a Critical Essay on Contemporary Art. Lenssen's prize-winning essay, "Abstraction of the Many? Finding Plenitude in Arab Painting," will be published in the catalogue to the upcoming exhibition Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s-1980s, opening at NYU's Grey Art Gallery in January 2020. Lenssen was nominated by Nada Shabout. The Foundation's announcement is here.

Dr. Henrike C. Lange, Assistant Professor in the Departments of History of Art and Italian Studies has won the 2020 Prytanean Faculty Award. Since 1986, The Prytanean Honor Society Alumnae Association awards annually a financial grant to an outstanding woman junior faculty member on the Berkeley campus. Through a competitive process, the winner is chosen for her record as a distinguished teacher, her demonstrated scholarly achievement, and her success as a role model for students at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Big Give, UC Berkeley’s annual 24-hour online fundraising blitz, is happening now!  You can make a donation to support the History of Art department during Big Give 2020 starting at 9pm on Wednesday, March 11 through 9pm on Thursday, March 12.  Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates during Big Give 2020 and for History of Art events and news. Thank you for your generous support!

Coming Soon! Big Give, UC Berkeley’s annual 24-hour online fundraising blitz, is coming up on March 12th. Cal Alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff and friends will come together to support our great university.   You can make a donation to support the History of Art department during Big Give 2020 starting at 9pm on Wednesday, March 11 through 9pm on Thursday, March 12.  Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates during Big Give 2020 and for History of Art events and news. Thank you for your generous support!

Enrollment is now open for History of Art's Summer Session 2020 courses:  

Summer 2020 / Session A (6 weeks, May 26-July 2)

Histories of Photography HA 182, M-W 2-4pm, Delphine Sims

 

Summer 2020 / Session D  (6 weeks, July 6-August 14)

Art and Social Change in Asia: Contemporary Art + Architecture from Asia, ca. 1945-present HA 37, M-Th 2-4pm, Stephanie Hohlios

Introduction to Modern Art HA 80, M-Th 10-12pm, Karine Douplitzky

Theories and Methods of Art History HA 100, M-Th, 12-2PM, Joseph Albanese

Fashion, Technology, and the Sensible HA 156C, M-Th 10-12pm, Michele D’Aurizio

 

When All That Is Solid Melts into Air: Exploring the Intersection of the Folk and the Modern in Postcolonial India  March 4–May 24, 2020 at BAMPFA, 2155 Center Street Berkeley. When All That Is Solid Melts into Air tells the story of the momentous social and artistic transformations that unfolded in the relationship between the “modern” and the “folk” within the political and historical context of postcolonial India. The largest body of work in the exhibition comes from BAMPFA’s extraordinary collection of contemporary folk art by Mithila, Warli, and Gond artists. Modern and contemporary artists represented include Sunil Janah, Gauri Gill, Rajesh Vangad, Jagdish Swaminathan, and filmmakers Nina Paley and Amit Dutta. When All That Is Solid Melts into Air: Exploring the Intersection of the Folk and the Modern in Postcolonial India is organized by UC Berkeley History of Art Assistant Professor Atreyee Gupta and BAMPFA Director and Chief Curator Lawrence Rinder with Associate Curator Stephanie Cannizzo and undergraduate and graduate students in the seminar The Folk and/in the Modern: Critical Concepts + Curatorial Practicum in Twentieth-Century South Asian Art. Student curators are Uttara Chaudhu... [show more]

History of Art is hiring! The part-time (20 hours per week) History of Art Graduate Advisor position is now open for applications.  This is a permanent position eligible for full UC benefits. Job details are here. The first review date is February 22, 2020. 

The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology has announced the appointment of Dr. Lauren Kroiz as the Museum’s next Faculty Director for a five-year term, effective January 1, 2020. Dr. Kroiz is Associate Professor in the History of Art Department where her research and teaching focus on art and modernism in the United States during the twentieth century. She plans to engage both graduate and undergraduate students from a broad range of disciplines in classroom and hands-on work at the Museum. And her scholarly and curatorial work evince a deep understanding of the impact of colonialism on practices of collecting, archiving, and displaying; this knowledge and critical acumen will serve her well in the Museum’s work on repatriation and relations with Native American governments and communities. The Hearst Museum aims to be a place where cultures connect in uncommon ways, through exciting exhibits of the rich holdings of the collection, through hosting object-based teaching and research involving scholars from our campus community and beyond, and through public education and outreach. Founded in 1901, at present the Museum cares for a collection of an estimated 3.8 million objects that span all six... [show more]

History of Art Commencement exercises will take place on Tuesday, May 19th at 9:00 a.m. in the auditorium at The UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). Save the date!

Doris and Clarence Malo Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art, Julia Bryan-Wilson, has been awarded a 2019 fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for individuals who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. Established in 1925 by former United States Senator Simon Guggenheim and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim as a memorial to their son, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation offers fellowships to further the development of scholars and artists by assisting in research in any field of knowledge and creation. The Foundation receives approximately 3,000 applications each year. This year Bryan-Wilson is one of five UC Berkeley faculty -among a diverse group of 168 scholars, artists, and writers- to receive the coveted award. Bryan-Wilson plans to use the funds for research and travel as she finishes her book about the work of American sculptor Louise Nevelson.