UC Merced Arts

Permanent Collection: Abstractions
Featured Artist: Albert Contreras (1933 - 2017)
▶️Swipe to read more!

Background photo: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

Contreras first made a name for himself as a Minimalist artist in the 1960s, painting monochromatic canvases featuring a suspended central orb that decreased in size over time until it disappeared altogether.
Despite a nine year residency in Stockholm and sucess in Europe, Contreras stopped painting altogether and moved back to Los Angeles in 1972.

He spent the next 20 years working for the City of Santa Monica as a full time employee, driving garbage trucks and resurfacing asphalt streets.
It wasn’t until 1997, 5 years after retirement, that Contreras decided to begin painting again. Rather than returning to his minimalist compositions, he used bright, shiny colors and thick paint to create sculpture-like abstract paintings.

In these last years, Contreras made over 2,000 paintings in this style. ‘24 untitled works’ was donated to UC Merced in 2006.

Background photo: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

Don’t miss ‘24 Untitled Works’ by Albert Contreras at Permanent Collection: Abstractions at La Galería.
On View through October 3rd, 2026
Gallery Hours: Wed - Sat, 12pm - 6pm

We can't wait to welcome Flor de Toloache to Merced on October 16! Tickets available at https://ucmercedarts.vivenushop.com/event/flor-de-toloache-1xn54a

✨ TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT! ✨
✨NOS VAMOS DE GIRA✨

We’re so excited to share our Fall 2026 Tour with YOU — our amazing fans! ❤️‍🔥🎻

And what better way to kick things off than celebrating Mexican Independence together! 🇲🇽💚🤍❤️ A celebration of our music, culture, roots, and the traditions that continue to inspire Flor de Toloache.

¡Y qué mejor manera de arrancar que celebrando juntas la Independencia de México! 🇲🇽💚🤍❤️

We’re returning to some of our favorite cities, but we can’t visit them all… yet! 👀 Keep your eyes open for more special announcements, our 2027 shows, and a few surprises still under wraps.

Coming to one of these shows? Holler below and tag the friends you’re bringing! It’s going to be a whole VIBE! 💃🏽🎻🔥

Compartan en los comentarios que ciudad quieren que vayamos próximamente. 🔥
Want Flor de Toloache in YOUR city? Drop it in the comments! The cities with the most likes might just land on our “Where to Next?” list. 😉

✨ Plus, two very special double bills:
🇲🇽 Aida Cuevas — Bronx, NY
🌉 Mireya Ramos — San Francisco, CA

🎟️ Tickets + details: scan the QR code!

¡Nos vemos en el camino! 🌹🔥

Mariachi WomenInMariachi Tour2026 LatinMusi

La Galería will be closed Thursday, September 10th

Our regular gallery hours resume Friday:
Wednesdays through Saturdays, 12pm to 6pm

🖼️ Do you still want to get inspired by art in the Central Valley tomorrow? While we’re closed, visit Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly - Artist talk and opening reception Fresno State College of Arts and Humanities

📌 Or stay local and visit Fine & Performing Arts for Los Tres: an exhibition inspired by Yehuda Sharim (filmmaker) ‘s documentary film, featuring the work of Frank Ayala, Abel Corchado, and Ruben A. Sanchez

Background artwork:
‘Untitled’ by Gronk. 2014, acrylic on canvas.

🎶 THREE WEEKS TO OPENING NIGHT! 🎶 On September 24, join us as UC Merced Arts opens the 2026/27 Season with an evening of music, community, and celebration featuring the Merced Symphony and student musicians from UC Merced and Merced College.

Under the evening sky at UC Merced’s Wallace-Dutra Amphitheater, Music Director Ming Luke leads the Merced Symphony in our annual Side-by-Side Concert — bringing professional orchestral musicians together with emerging student artists for a special performance celebrating mentorship, collaboration, and the next generation of musicians in our community.

The program features music by Sibelius, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mendelssohn, Holst, Mascagni, Gershwin, and more — including the sweeping sounds of Finlandia, The Hebrides, and An American in Paris.

✨ Make a full evening of it with our pre-concert Season Opening Dinner Celebration, bringing together artists, university leaders, arts supporters, and community members to toast the season ahead.

TICKETS
- Dinner Celebration + Concert: $150
- Orchestra Seating: $45
- Lawn Seating: $20
- Lawn Seating is FREE for all students and children! ID required for college students.

Three weeks to go. We can’t wait to celebrate the beginning of an extraordinary new season with you! Reserve your tickets through the link in our bio.

The 2026/27 UC Merced Arts Season is sponsored by UC Merced’s Division of Equity, Justice, & Inclusive Excellence (EJIE), with additional support from UC Merced’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities, & Arts (SSHA), and generous support from Friends of UC Merced Arts.

“These works are a tribute to nature, to culture, and to time itself.”

That’s how UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz described William Poulson’s “Four Seasons of Yosemite” during a reception at the Leo and Dottie Kolligian Library, where campus leaders and community members, donors and the artist himself gathered to celebrate the university’s milestone acquisition of the four monumental stained-glass murals.

“Art like this belongs at the center of a public university’s mission,” Executive Director for the Arts Collin Lewis added. “None of it would be possible without the generosity of our donors and supporters, who share our belief that art builds community, improves our wellbeing, and can change our lives and the places around us.”

"This acquisition could not have happened through university resources alone," Collin Lewis, UC Merced’s executive director for the arts, told the crowd. "It happened because of you."  

Longtime Merced-area arts advocate Carolyn Vara played a leading role in building community support for the acquisition, spearheading a fundraising campaign that brought together more than 100 donors. Community members contributed gifts ranging from $25 to tens of thousands of dollars toward giving the murals a permanent home at UC Merced. 

“Art like this belongs at the center of a public university’s mission,” Lewis added. “None of it would be possible without the generosity of our donors and supporters, who share our belief that art builds community, improves our wellbeing, and can change our lives and the places around us.”

The murals are available for viewing on the 3rd floor of the Kolligian Library at UC Merced. Read the full story at the UCM Newsroom through the link in UC Merced Arts’s bio.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for the opening reception of Permanent Collection: Abstractions at La Galería! It was a joy to share these works with everyone, including the debut of our new acquisitions.

If you couldn’t make it to the opening reception, the exhibition is now on view until October 3rd, 2026.

This academic year we have new gallery hours:

Wednesdays through Saturdays
12:00pm to 6:00pm

[Artwork from left to right:
Untitled by André Butzer, oil on canvas, 2019.
Untitled by John Miller, gold leaf and found objects, 2009.
24 untitled works by Albert Contreras, acrylic on canvas, 2006. ]

[Artwork from left to right:
Untitled by André Butzer, oil on canvas, 2019.
Untitled by John Miller, gold leaf and found objects, 2009. ]

[Artwork from left to right: Despierta (Wake Up) by Richard Gomez, oil on panel, 2021. Portrait No. 138 by Andre Butzer, oil on canvas, 2007. Good Nature by Ariel Bird, acrylic on board, 2019.]

We’re thrilled to announce that “Permanent Collection: Abstractions” will be on view August 12th through October 3rd, 2026 at La Galería! Join us for the opening reception Wednesday, August 12th from 4-6pm at La Galería (El Portal 120) for an evening of art and community.

Bringing together textile, painting, and sculpture by artists from the Central Valley and around the world, selections from the UC Merced Permanent Collection re-frame narratives of abstract art history while inviting audiences to engage with art through color, form, imagination, and memory.

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday through Saturday
12:00pm - 6:00pm

$2 Parking in Bellevue Lot on weekdays | FREE parking on weekends.

[poster image: 24 untitled works, detail, by Albert Conteras]