Having presented an expansive and exhilarating programming during 2019 at MCASB, including the work of diverse internationally renowned artists, whose practices range from installation, to film and photography, to ceramics, music, and performance, we are thrilled to be closing the year honoring painting and its many manifestations by presenting powerful and beautiful works by New York-based artist N. Dash.

At MCASB we are spearheading change through creative expression, not only through world-class exhibitions and innovative engagement programming but also by giving back to the community and its overall cultural ecosystem. MCASB endeavors to activate our community by supporting our local university and high school interns and program fellows, fostering the new generation of leaders, as well as collaborating with like-minded local, regional and national organizations such as the Santa Barbara Center for Art, Science and Technology (SBCAST), University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), Santa Barbara Public Library (SBPL), Pacific Pride Foundation (PPF), Casa Serena, and many more.

All of this is only possible if the Santa Barbara community actively engages with us. If you are inspired by our exhibitions, stimulated by our speakers, and enjoy participating in our programming, please consider supporting the Museum with a donation. Your active support is vital to us!

We would like to express our gratitude to all who contributed to MCASB’s 2019 Exhibition Programming and trusted us in honoring the legacy of this 43-year-old institution founded by artists and art supporters to exhibit, educate, and cultivate the art of our time. We are grateful for your continued support!

Wishing you a beautiful holiday season, we look forward to seeing you in 2020!

Warmly,

Abaseh Mirvali
Executive Director & Chief Curator

November 22, 2019 – February 16, 2020
At MCASB, 653 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

The paintings, photographs, and drawings of N. Dash (b. 1980, Miami, Florida, USA) convey a profound tactile sensitivity through the artist’s manipulation of materials such as fabric, adobe, jute, polystyrene, paper, and string. Utilizing this variety of media with minute attention to detail, Dash constructs works that engage with visible and invisible forms of energy and movement: of bodily meridians, architectural circulation, and environmental flux. Transmuting rough materials into finished pieces with a sculptural sensibility, Dash’s work evokes the materially embodied yet intangible presence of attentive touch. More »

N. Dash (b. 1980, Miami, Florida, USA) lives and works in New York, New York, USA. N. Dash’s work spans painting, sculpture, photography and drawing and employs both natural and manmade materials, including pigments, adobe/mud, jute, graphite, fabric, and polystyrene. Across these materials, the artist’s inimitable approach seeks to both record sensory and informational capacities of touch and render typically unseen conduits of energy: ecological, architectural, and corporeal.

Genevieve Gaignard, Outside Looking In

March 5 – May 31, 2020
At MCASB, 653 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB) is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of LA-based artist Genevieve Gaignard, entitled Outside Looking In, on view in MCASB’s Main Space from March 5 – May 31, 2020. More »

This exhibition is curated by Alexandra Terry, Associate Curator, MCASB.

Genevieve Gaignard (b. 1981, Orange, Massachusetts, USA) is a Los Angeles-based artist whose work focuses on installation, sculpture, and photographic self-portraiture to explore race, femininity, and class. As a biracial woman in America, Gaignard investigates the aesthetic and cultural divide between black and white, a chasm as palpable as it is “invisible.” She interrogates notions of “passing” by positioning her own female body as the chief site of exploration—challenging viewers to navigate the powers and anxieties of intersectional identity.

N. Dash, Installation View, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, 2019, Courtesy the Artist and MCASB, Photo: Alex Blair.

Genevieve Gaignard, The Line Up (Cream), 2017, Chromogenic print, 27 x 18 in (68.58 x 45.72 cm), Edition 1 of 3, 2 AP; The Line Up (Powder Blue), 2017, Chromogenic print, 27 x 18 in (68.58 x 45.72 cm), Edition 1 of 3, 2 AP; The Line Up (Orange), 2017, Chromogenic print, 27 x 18 in (68.58 x 45.72 cm), Edition 1 of 3, 2 AP. Courtesy the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles.