Gallery of California Art

Opening May 1,  2010, the new Gallery of California Art will showcase more than 800 works from the Oakland Museum of California's collection—one of the largest and most comprehensive holdings of California art in the world.

New features of the Gallery include two stunning, light-infused spaces that add approximately 4,500 square feet of gallery space and will accommodate changing exhibitions and large-scale contemporary art. A new resource center will encourage visitors to engage in multiple perspectives of viewing and experiencing art, and a project space enables frequent rotations of works from the Museum's collection. The Gallery also benefits from upgraded lighting and wall systems that create brighter, more welcoming, flexible spaces.

The Gallery is installed thematically with a focus on California's Land, People, and Creativity. Innovative interpretive materials and new technologies in multiple languages will introduce first-time visitors to the major strands in California art and culture, while enabling in-depth contemplation and study for visitors who return. The Gallery will also feature opportunities for visitors to explore their own creativity through exhibit components such as an interactive "draw your own portrait" station and a "looking closer" guided viewing experience of an individual work of art.

Specific galleries showcase strengths of the collection, including work by artists such as painter Richard Diebenkorn and documentary photographer Dorothea Lange, as well as presenting major artistic movements—from 19^th-century landscapes and Gold Rush era photography to Arts & Crafts furniture and turn-of-the-century photography and painting, to contemporary site-specific installations and media art. The Art Gallery also links to the Galleries of History and Natural Sciences, allowing visitors to experience the connection of California's art and culture to its natural environment and social history.