New Berkeley Art Museum / Pacific Film Archive Readying for Opening

After a length closure, UC Berkeley's Berkeley Art Museum / Pacific Film Archive finally will open in Downtown Berkeley their new home, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, replacing their 27-year-old seismic unsafe older building, a beloved brutalist structure designed by Mario Ciampi.

Here a some snapshots I took yesterday, just before it's opening to the public on 31 January, 2016.























Below are a few pictures of the museum and the preparation of the opening bash, taken a few nights ago, by local novelist, Steve Masover:, posted on his "One Finger Clicking" Tumblr blog:

The Grand Opening is coming soon.  Be there!


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“Shadow” Over the Land – Featured Painting

My landscape/allegorical oil painting, Shadow, depicts a fantastic world - a vast furrowed dark brown field, whose parallel ridges converge towards the distant horizon, which was dotted with a cluster of very insignificant white buildings, centering on a little church spire, which was barely visible. The contrast between the enormous dark fields and the tiny white village is highly dramatic, yet that is topped by several huge leaden and apparently weighty clouds, which curiously cast no shadows; instead, adds mysterious and menacing atmosphere, gliding over the entire field, s a huge shadow of an invisible bird, very much the personification of foreboding.


Shadow / 影子 / Schatten
Oil on Canvas
30″ x 40"
Completed in 2008

Interestingly, this painting just joined a group show, titled "In to the Future". Perhaps, this ominous world is the vision of the future?

Originally posted on my website: Featured Works.

My Favoritate Artwork at Ca' Pesaro, Venezia (Venice), Italy

Ca' Pesaro in Venice is known for its modern collections, including paintings by Gustav Klimt, Pierre Bonnard and Marc Chagall.  When I visited the museum, Klimt was not on display so I chose these two pieces as my favorites.

The sculpture "Cardinal" by Giacomo Manzù was a very striking piece.  From the front, it looked like a well formed symmetrical shrub, or an over-sized checkers piece, which definitely was nothing but simple and had multiple layers of meanings. The side view of the cardinal was an even more fascinating figure, which sat on an invisible seat, therefore gave the viewers a view of that support-less cardinal sloping down to the ground.  A political metaphor?


Cardinal by Giacomo Manzù



My other favorite was a still life painting, done with rich but not obsessive impasto, therefore a contrast and drama.  The humble subjects and narrow breadth of somber hues lent an overall feeling of austerity, deceptively so, because the painting was really rich of subtlety and interplay, such as the shape of a vase rack and its shadow on the wall in the center of the canvas.  The gradation of the shades was broad but subtle, and such tonal contrast generated another tense drama. The light and shadow almost added tangible movements to the absolute stillness of the piece. One could pulse the ticking clock underneath those layers of silent paints.



My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 110: My Favorite Sculptures at Musei Civici degli Eremitani, Padova (Padua)
<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 108: My Favorite Artworks at Ca' d'Oro, Venezia (Venice)

List of My Favorite Artworks in the Museums I've Visited

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