UCI University Art Gallery, 712 Arts Plaza, Irvine, CA

Dissolve explored how certain artists perceive what it means to change from one form to another. Through painting, photography, sculpture, installation, and video, selected artworks demonstrated how gradual and immediate changes impact viewers’ perceptions of self, one another, and the shared environment. Adopting an inclusive view of the process of dissolving, the featured artists visualized the physical dissolution of light, water, distance, and geographic borders. They also addressed the dissolution of personal relationships, identity, and social and political networks.

The exhibition included works on loan, selections from Langson IMCA’s permanent collection, and two new commissions. Multimedia environmental artist and activist Linda Gass created When we listen to the watershed... (2022) to address the changing Santa Ana River Watershed that serves as a resource for Orange County residents. She collaborated with Valerie Olson, PhD, UCI professor in anthropology at UC Irvine, in the development of this new work informed by  Olson’s knowledge and research. Interdisciplinary artist, writer, and performer Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle created THEY: Sanctuary [Allensworth] (2022), three photo-based paintings about Allensworth, CA, the state’s first all-African American town. Bolstered by archival research, Hinkle’s artwork considers Allensworth’s transformation from township to state park.

Walk through the exhibition

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Recordings of Public Programs

In Conversation | Linda Gass + Valerie Olson, PhD

In Conversation | Ana Teresa Fernández + Abigail Lapin Dardashti

In Conversation | Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle + Bridget R. Cooks, PhD

Exhibition-related Films

Allensworth: A Temple of Black Possibilities

Sonia Romero: Inner Landscape

Linda Gass: When we listen to the watershed...