Kevin B. Chen has been involved in the Bay Area arts community for over two decades as a curator, writer, and visual artist. He currently serves as faculty at San Francisco State University’s School of Art and at Stanford University’s Department of Art and Art History, a member of Recology’s Artist in Residence Program Advisory Board, and a Curatorial Committee member of Root Division and Pro Arts Gallery.

Recently, Chen served as co-chair for the City of Oakland’s Public Art Advisory Committee and managed the de Young Museum’s Artist Residency Program and Public Programs. He has curated projects for Headlands Center for the Arts, University of Nevada Reno, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Francisco Art Institute, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries, California Shakespeare Theater, SOMArts Cultural Center, and Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco & Kearny Street Workshop. For over 15 years, Chen was the Program Director of Visual Arts at Intersection for the Arts where he curated over 70 exhibitions and hundreds of public programs. He has been a funding and residency panelist (Creative Capital Foundation, Multi-Arts Production Fund, Alliance of Artists Communities, Creative Work Fund, City of San Jose, SF Arts Commission, Headlands Center for the Arts), an exhibition juror (CCA, SF Camerawork, CSU Chico, Root Division, Pro Arts Gallery), and author of catalog essays (The Third Line – Art Gallery in Dubai, Paper Museum Press/Park Life, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Light Work, AKAAKA Art Publishing).

Chen’s own visual work has exhibited locally at San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Southern Exposure, Palo Alto Art Center, Jack Fischer Gallery, and nationally at Angel’s Gate Cultural Center (San Pedro, CA), Harn Museum of Art (Gainesville, FL), Bob Rauschenberg Gallery (Ft. Myers, FL), Bruno David Gallery (St. Louis, MO), and The Kitchen (New York, NY).

On Friday, Chen and the graduating MFAs will lead a walk-through of the Graduate Exhibition at the Manetti Shrem  from 12:30-2:30 in the galleries and courtyard. Students Noah Greene, Tavarus Blackmon, Ryan Meyer, Doug Loree, Jodi Connelly, Emily Clark-Kramer and Joy Miller will discuss their works with Chen.

NOTE: Raymond Meeks was originally scheduled for June 7 but his visit to UC Davis has been rescheduled for next year’s Visiting Artist Lecture Series.