Exhibition Calendar

A public art crossroads in the University of San Francisco’s main library, the Mary and Carter Thacher Gallery at USF is a forum where creativity, scholarship, and community converge. Each year the Thacher Gallery presents six exhibitions that probe community and aesthetic issues, multicultural and interfaith dialogue, and the urban Jesuit university’s commitment to social justice.

August 4—October 5, 2008

Night Blooming: Sculptures by Ann Weber

Using strips of flattened cardboard, staples and shellac, Ann Weber creates voluptuous geometric sculptures. Pushing her materials to their limits, the final forms have the warm sheen of polished bronze and the weighty presence of ripe fruit.

Thursday, September 4
Artist Lecture – 3 pm
Maraschi Room, Fromm Hall
Reception – 4-6 pm

October 12, 2008—December 14, 2009

The Celluloid Bible – Film Posters Inspired by Scripture

Bringing together vintage movie posters from around the world along with promotional and commemorative materials, The Celluloid Bible examines how the Bible has been visualized on film. These posters, dated from 1898 to the present, include the classic and obscure, grandiose and camp. Previously at the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) in St. Louis.

Wednesday, October 15
Collector Lecture – 3:30 pm
252 McLaren Conference Center
Reception 4:30-6 pm

January 5—February 22, 2009

As the Stars Go By – Textiles by Anna Von Mertens

These textiles depict the precise star rotation patterns above violent moments in American history. The pieces, with the proportions of a movie screen, memorialize these historical events while simultaneously documenting a natural cycle oblivious to the violence below.

Thursday, January 29
Artist Lecture – 3 pm
Donohue Rare Book Room, Gleeson Library
Reception to follow in the gallery

March 8—April 26, 2009

Make Believe – Video Works by Desiree Holman

As an interdisciplinary visual artist, 2008 SECA Award Winner Desiree Holman makes costumes and masks to be worn by herself and actors in role-playing games and portrayals of familiar settings. These scenarios often play out the characters’ domestic desires, revealing more often than not the delusions of family life.  

Thursday, March 12

3 p.m. Artist Conversation
McLaren 251

4 p.m. Reception
Thacher Gallery

May 8—July 3, 2009

The 10th Annual Mary & Carter Thacher Student Showcase

Featuring juniors and seniors in USF’s art, architecture and media studies programs and coordinated by USF’s Museum Studies class, this juried exhibition features architecture, design, fine art, and video.

Friday, May 8
Awards Ceremony and Reception – 4-6 pm

Additional student exhibitions take place throughout the academic year in the SATELLITE GALLERY located in the Basement of the University Center. For information, call: (415) 422-5762.

Along with its exhibition calendar, the Thacher Gallery at USF presents free public programs, including artist lectures and panels, craft seminars, gallery publications, guided tours, outreach and class shows, and cross disciplinary discussions on campus and in the community.