MariaManettiShremArtStudioPeople

Overview

People
Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program

Faculty

Faculty Profile

Shiva Ahmadi
Professor of Art

Painting and DrawingM.F.A. Painting, Cranbrook Academy of Arts, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 2005M.F.A. Drawing, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 2003B.F.A. Painting, Azad University, Tehran, Iran, 1998Appointed 2015
(530) 754-2916
Room 332, Art Building
sahmadi[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Cassils
Associate Professor of Art
Endowed Chair in the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program

M.F.A., 2002, Art and Integrated Media, California Institute of the Arts, Los AngelesBFA, 1997, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada1996, L'École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris, FranceAppointed 2026

Cassils is a Canadian transgender artist who makes their own body the material and protagonist of their performances.

Cassils’ art contemplates the history(s) of LGBTQI+ violence, representation, struggle, and empowerment. For Cassils, performance is a form of social sculpture: Drawing from the idea that bodies are formed in relation to forces of power and social expectations, Cassils’ work investigates historical contexts to examine the present moment.

hcassils[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Beatriz Cortez
Professor of Art

SculptureM.F.A. California Institute of the Arts, 2015Ph.D. Arizona State University, 1999Appointed 2023

Beatriz Cortez (b. San Salvador, El Salvador) is a multidisciplinary artist and scholar. Her work explores simultaneity, multiple temporalities, speculative visions, and imaginaries of the future.

Room 326, Art Building
bcortez[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Fidencio Fifield-Perez
Assistant Professor of Art

Painting and DrawingM.F.A. Painting and Drawing, Secondary Printmaking, The University of Iowa, 2015M.A. Painting and Drawing, Secondary Sculpture, The University of Iowa, 2014B.A. Memphis College of Art, 2013Appointed 2024

Fifield-Perez is an artist whose current work examines borders, edges, and the people who must traverse them. In his work, Fifield-Perez’s interdisciplinary practice centers the materiality of paper ephemera, everyday self-documents discarded after having fulfilled their purpose. For Fifield-Perez, printmaking, collage, and painting are ways to visualize and connect mental landscapes of past and present.

ffifieldperez[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Robin Hill
Professor of Art

SculptureB.F.A. Kansas City Art Institute, 1977Appointed 2001
(530) 754-2592
Room 326, Art Building
rhill[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Darrin Martin
Co-Chair, Department of Art and Art History
Professor of Art

Video and Media ArtsM.F.A. University of California, San Diego, 2000B.F.A. NYSC, Alfred University, School of Art and Design, Alfred, NY, 1992Appointed 2005
(530) 754-2594
Room 304, Art Building
dtmartin[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Annabeth Rosen
Distinguished Professor of Art
Robert Arneson Endowed Chair

Ceramic SculptureM.F.A. Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 1981B.F.A. NYSC, School of Art and Design at Alfred University, Alfred, NY, 1978Appointed 1997
(530) 752-1794
TB 9
arosen[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Young Suh
Professor of Art

PhotographyM.F.A. School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, 2001B.F.A. Pratt Institute, New York, NY, 1998Appointed 2006
(530) 752-2704
Room 334, Art Building
yssuh[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
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Lecturers

Overview

Lecturers

Faculty Profile

Jeremiah Barber
Sculpture

M.F.A. Stanford University, Stanford CA, 2010B.F.A. Columbia College, Chicago IL, 2007
Room 316, Art Building
jcbarber[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Emily Gui
Printmaking

M.F.A., UC Berkeley, Art Practice, 2021B.F.A., Bard College, 2012
1620, Art Building
gui[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Mercy Hawkins
Painting and Drawing

M.F.A. University of California Davis, 2021B.A. California State University, Sacramento, 2018
Room 316, Art Building
mahawkins[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor
Ceramics

M.F.A. University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 2005B.F.A. California State University, Long Beach, 1995
Room 316, Art Building
ehoconnor[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Leonard Reidelbach
Printmaking

M.F.A., Visual Art at San Francisco State University, 2023B.F.A., Maryland Institute College of Art , 2012Apprenticeship program, Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia
Faculty Profile

Jeremy Rourke
Animation 

B.A., Northeastern University, 2000
jrourke[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Michael Ryan
Painting and Drawing

M.F.A. San Francisco State University, San Francisco CA, 2007B.F.A. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA, 1994
Room 316, Art Building
mikryan[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Azin Seraj
Video

M.F.A., University of California, Berkeley, Berkely, CA, 2010B.F.A. University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, 2007
Room 316, Art Building
aseraj[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Bryce Vinokurov
Painting and Drawing

M.F.A. Boston University, Boston, 1997B.A. University of California, Santa Cruz, 1995
530-754-2595
Room 316, Art Building
bvinokurov[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Deirdre White
Painting and Drawing

M.F.A. University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, 1993B.F.A.Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 1987
Room 316, Art Building
dfwhite[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Christopher Woodcock
Photography

M.F.A. Art Studio Practice, University of California Davis, 2010B.F.A. Photography, San Francisco Art Institute, 2002
Room 316, Art Building
crwoodcock[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
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Emeritus Faculty

Overview

Emeritus Faculty

Faculty Profile

Tom Bills
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 2001-2016)

M.F.A., Yale University, 1978B.A., Oakland University, Pontiac, MI, 1974
Faculty Profile

Mike Henderson
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1970-2012)

B.F.A., M.F.A., San Francisco Art Institute (1969, 1970)
Faculty Profile

Lynn Hershman Leeson
Professor Emerita (Years of Service: 1993-2004)

Faculty Profile

Harvey Himelfarb
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1970–1998)

Faculty Profile

David Hollowell
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1984-2013)

M.F.A., Yale University, 1976B.F.A., Ithaca College
Faculty Profile

Malaquias Montoya
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1989-2008)

B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1970
Faculty Profile

Hearne Pardee
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 2000-2022)

M.F.A. Columbia UniversityNew York Studio School, New York, NYB.A. Yale University
whpardee[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Roland C. Petersen
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1956–96)

M.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1950B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1949
Faculty Profile

Lucy Puls
Professor Emerita (Years of Service: 1985-2020)

M.F.A. Rhode Island School of Design, 1980B.S. University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1977
lapuls[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Faculty Profile

Cornelia Schulz
Professor Emerita (Years of Service: 1973-2002)

M.F.A., Los Angeles County Art Institute
Faculty Profile

Gina Werfel
Professor Emerita (Years of Service: 2000-2022)

M.F.A., Columbia University, Painting and DrawingCertificate, New York Studio SchoolB.A., Hamilton College (Kirkland College), Clinton, NY
gswerfel[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
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In Memoriam

Faculty Profile

Robert Arneson (1930-1992)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1962-1992)

M.F.A., Mills College, 1958B.A., Mills College, 1954
Faculty Profile

Conrad Atkinson (1940-2022)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1992-2003)

N.D.D., A.T.D., RA’s (Hons.)Carlisle College of Art, Liverpool College of Art and the Royal Academy
Faculty Profile

Joseph A. Baird, Jr. (1922-1992)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1953-1985)

Ph.D., Art History, Harvard University, 1951M.A., Art History, Harvard University, 1947B.A., Oberlin College, 1944
Faculty Profile

Richard Cramer (1919-2000)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1956-1981)

M.A., Architecture, Princeton UniversityB.A., Amherst College, 1941

Appointed in 1956 to Department of Home Economics.
Transfered to Department of Fine Arts in 1963.
Chair: 1966-1981.

Faculty Profile

Roy DeForest (1930-2007)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1965-1992)

M.F.A., San Francisco State College, 1958B.A., San Francisco State College, 1953
Faculty Profile

Tio Giambruni (1925-1971)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1961-1971)

Faculty Profile

Ruth Horsting (1919-2000)
Professor Emerita (Years of Service: 1959-1971)

M.F.A., Art Studio, Northwestern University, 1959B.A., English Literature, Northwestern University

Appointed to Department of Home Economics and transferred to Department of Fine Arts.

Faculty Profile

Ralph Johnson (1925-1994)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1957-1988)

M.F.A., U.C. BerkeleyB.A., U.C. Berkeley
Faculty Profile

Richard L. Nelson (1901-1972)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1952-1972)

M.A., UC Berkeley, 1948

Chair: 1956-1966

Faculty Profile

Manuel Neri (1930-2021)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1965-1990)

M.F.A., California School of Fine Arts, 1958B.F.A., California College of Arts and Crafts, 1956
Faculty Profile

Daniel Shapiro (1920-1982)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1959-1982)

M.A., Columbia UniversityB.A., Cooper Union School of Art, 1941

Appointed to Department of Home Economics and transferred to Department of Fine Arts.

Faculty Profile

Wayne Thiebaud (1920-2021)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1961-1991)

M.A. Hon. D. F.A. (C.C.A.C., D.C.)B.A., M.A., California State University, Sacramento (1951, 1952)

C.C.A. Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award, 2004

Represented by the Paul Thiebaud Gallery

Faculty Profile

William T. Wiley (1937-2021)
Professor Emeritus (Years of Service: 1962-1973)

M.F.A., California School of Fine Arts, 1962B.F.A., California School of Fine Arts, 1960
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Staff

Staff Profile

Rachelle Agundes
Graduate Program Coordinator
Art History, Art Studio, Design, and Dramatic Art

Remote: 8:30 am–5:30 pm M/WOn site: 8:30 am–5:30 pm T/R/F
(530) 752-8710
Room 216A, Art Building
Remote: 8:30 am–5:30 pm M/W
On site: 8:30 am–5:30 pm T/R/F
ragundes[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Staff Profile

Ariel Collatz
Undergraduate Program Supervisor and Advisor
Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program, Cinema and Digital Media, Design

In Person: (Week 1) 9:00 am–2:30 pm M, T, F; 9:00 am–5:30 pm Th (Week 2) 9:00 am–5:30 pm M, T, FRemote: (Week 1) 9:00 am–5:30 pm W; 2:30 pm–5:30 pm M, T, F(Week 2) 9:00 am–5:30 pm W, Th

Ariel Collatz is an academic advisor and program manager for the Arts Group Advising Center. She holds a B.A. degree in History from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota and a M.S. in Counseling with a specialization in Career Development from Sacramento State University. She has worked as an undergraduate advisor at UC Davis for over 10 years. Her passion is helping students create a rewarding undergraduate experience.

530-752-0616
Room 103, Art Building
(Week 1) 9:00 am–2:30 pm M, T, F
9:00 am–5:30 pm Th
(Week 2) 9:00 am–5:30 pm M, T, F
Remote: (Week 1) 9:00 am–5:30 pm W
2:30 pm–5:30 pm M, T, F
(Week 2) 9:00 am–5:30 pm W, Th
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
acollatz[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Staff Profile

Katie Grube
Art & Art History: Curator and Program Manager for The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Residencies

she / her
kgrube[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Staff Profile

Laura Xue Luo
Undergraduate Advisor
Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program, Cinema and Digital Media, Design

In-Person: 9:00 am–5:30 pm T, W, FRemote: 9:00 am–5:30 pm M, Th

Laura Xue Luo is an academic advisor for the Arts Group Advising Center. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Animation from Beijing Film Academy in Beijing, China and a Master of Education from Brock University in St.Catharines, Canada. She has worked as an instructor and academic advisor for over 10 years. She is passionate about working with diverse student populations, particularly with first generation and international students. Her goal is to guide and assist students in achieving their academic success and career goals.

530-752-8840
Room 105, Art Building
In-Person: 9:00 am–5:30 pm T, W, F
Remote: 9:00 am–5:30 pm M, Th
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
xueluo[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Staff Profile

Karla Ocampo
Undergraduate Program Coordinator and Advisor: Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program, Cinema and Digital Media, and Design

530-752-1165
Room 101, Art Building
Alternate weekly schedule
In-Person: 9am–5:30pm TWR|Remote: 8:30am–5 MF
In-Person: 9am–5:30 pm MTR|Remote: 8:30am–5 WF
Pronouns: She/They
kgocampo[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Staff Profile

Brian Perkins
Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program: Ceramics Lab Technician

See TB 9 on the campus map.

530-752-7993
TB 9
Office Hours: 8am – 6:30pm M-Th, 9am-1pm F
bcperkins[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Staff Profile

Addison Quarles
Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program: Wood Shop and Sculpture Lab Technician

530-752-0119
Room 114A, Art Building
Office Hours: TBA
alquarles[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Staff Profile

Dan Quillan
Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program: Printmaking and Painting Lab Technician

530-754-8894
Room 314, Art Building
Office Hours: 7:30am – 5:00pm M-F
dgquillan[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Staff Profile

Leah Theis
Art & Art History: Librarian
Maria Manetti Shrem Art and Art History Visual Resources Library

(530) 752-3138
Room 165, Everson Hall
In-Person: 8:00 am–4:00 pm M–Th
Remote: 8:00 am–5:00 pm F
Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
lctheis[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Staff Profile

Jesse Vasquez
Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program: Photography and Digital Lab Technician

530-754-8610
Room 55, Art Building
Office Hours: 8:00am–7:00pm M–Th
jevasquez[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Staff Profile

Lisa Zdybel
Art & Art History: Assistant Librarian
Maria Manetti Shrem Art and Art History Visual Resources Library

(530) 752-3138
Room 165, Everson Hall
In-Person: 8:00 am–4:00 pm M–Th
Remote: 12:00 pm–4:00 pm F
lazdybel[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
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MFA First-year Students

Overview

First-year MFA Students

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MFA Second-year Students

Overview

Second-year MFA Students

Student Profile

Gemma Padilla
MFA, Art Studio

Gemma Padilla is an interdisciplinary artist working in painting, printmaking, collage, and sculpture. Their work explores themes of connection—among people, materials, and time—deeply rooted in family history and personal archives.

Instagram: @gp.gem

gempadilla[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Student Profile

Lulu Smith
MFA, Art Studio

BFA, Art Studio, California State University, Chico, 2024

Lulu Smith is an interdisciplinary artist working in sculpture and audio/video.  Her practice explores the nuanced concept of “home”, resonating with both emotional and environmental significance. Blending video with materials like reclaimed wool, fire hose, and wood, she aims to blur the boundaries between the organic and the digital, the human and the non-human.

lusmith[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Student Profile

Julio Rodriguez
MFA, Art Studio

 BA, Studio Art, San Francisco State University, 2016

Julio Rodriguez is a visual artist born and raised in the Bay Area. His paintings combine traditional materials with the tools and techniques learned through graffiti writing. His work explores generational memory embedded in public space, bodies and gestures.

Website: jcrart.com

julrodriguez[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Student Profile

Erica Rawson
MFA, Art Studio

BFA, Metropolitan State University of Denver, 2024

Erica Rawson is an interdisciplinary artist working in sculpture, printmaking, performance, and digital media. Her practice examines the tension between preservation and obsolescence through material processes that engage decay, transformation, and digital entropy. She explores how vulnerability and impermanence can be rendered as both form and process.

Website: ericarawson.com

Instagram: @ericarawson_art

erawson[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Student Profile

Sierra Faust
MFA, Art Studio

BFA, Sculpture, Kansas City Art Institute, 2018

Sierra Faust is an artist from Kansas City whose work explores the relationship between written and visual language, viewing them as parallel processes, both deeply direct and psychological. Her work employs labor-intensive drawing methods, engaging both the content of the text and the obsessive nature of the process.

Website: www.sierrafaust.com

Instagram: @sierramfaust

smfaust[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
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Alumni

Overview

Master of Fine Arts Alumni

We would like to hear from you! To stay connected, please keep us up-to-date on your life after UC Davis, including your awards, achievements, job and life changes. Please send us an email that includes your full name, year of graduation, and current professional information. Please also consider letting us know about your upcoming events and exhibitions so that we may showcase these in our monthly Department newsletter This Month in the Arts.

Student Profile

Marjorie Williams
MFA, Art Studio

BA, Photography, University of Nevada, Reno, 2020

Marjorie is a photographer and visual artist from Reno, Nevada. Their work deals with how we imagine the American landscape, the fragmentary nature of memory and the distinct perspectives that emerge from queer subjectivity. 

Website: https://marjoriewilliams.art/

mgwilliams[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Student Profile

Sean Olmstead
MFA, Art Studio

BA, Studio Art, San Francisco State University, 2022

Sean is an electronic multimedia artist from San Francisco. He explores temporal impermanence, multiplicity, degenerative reproductive processes, and the palimpsest of conscious thought via analog video, synthesis, sound manipulation, and the misuse of electronic ephemera. 

Website: https://alreadystillagain.com/

sgolmstead[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Student Profile

Levi Keatts
MFA, Art Studio

BFA, Painting and Printmaking, Virginia Commonwealth University

Levi Keatts is an oil painter and visual artist from Virginia. They are interested in the conflicting privacy and visibility needs of marginalized groups. Through playing with formal painting and drawing techniques, they explore the relationship between body and earth, challenging what is thought of as natural and creating themes of queerness, belonging, and visibility.

lrkeatts[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Student Profile

Davion Mack
MFA, Art Studio

Davion Mack’s research began with the weight of forgotten bodies, fragmented memories, forms wrapped in silence, shaped by absence and displacement. However, over time, the materials began to speak of something much more vast. Stone, born in stars, reminds one that we too are cosmic debris, scattered and searching. His current work looks upward as much as inward, linking the fractured human form to constellations of time, grief, and origin. What was once about loss has become about scale, remembering we have always belonged to something far beyond ourselves. 

davmack[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Student Profile

Tara Daly
MFA, Art Studio

Tara Daly is a California artist who makes sculptures, paintings and textiles in material driven processes that explore power, collapse and connection.  She has exhibited work at the Museum of Craft and Design, Contemporary Craft Center, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Richmond Arts Center, among other non-profit galleries nationally.

tkdaly[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
Student Profile

Nick Block
MFA, Art Studio

BFA, San Francisco Art Institute, 2005

Nick is a visual artist from San Francisco whose work investigates photography and virtual spaces in contemporary culture.

Website: https://www.nicolasblock.com

ngblock[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]ucdavis.edu
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