As we return from our COVID-19 lockdown, exhibition are expected to be announced for
the Fall 2021 semester.
Please check back for the latest updates.
Distant Connections is a virtual exhibition created by students during the Spring 2020 semester in ART
240: Graduate Seminar in Studio at Fresno State. It features the work of students,
faculty, area artists, and Fresno State alumni who generously shared their work with
students during seminar presentations or in-studio visits.
Initially an exhibition was planned to open on Art Hop at the M Street Gallery. Due
to COVID 19, we are obliged to present the work through a virtual space. Please enter
our virtual gallery, where we offer a glimpse into the creative work of these artists.
https://distantconnections.cargo.site/
The Business of Regret
October 2018
A Faculty and Graduate Exhibit
May 3rd-May 12th, 2018
ArtHop Reception: May 3rd from 5 - 8 p.m.
Insider Art: Exploring the Arts Within Prison Environments
An exhibition of work from Avenal State Prison
In Collaboration with the Center for Creaivity and the Arts
April 5-22, 2018
Intimate Space
December 7-20, 2017
HERRERA
Magnifying the People's Voice:
A Laurete's Journey Across America
In Collaboration with the Center for Creaivity and the Arts
Oct. 5-25, 2017
Faculty Works
The Fresno State Art and Design Department is proud to present Faculty Works, an exhibition
of artwork from their faculty and staff. For the first time this event will be held
in the gallery at the M Street Graduate Studios in downtown Fresno. This exhibition
showcases the diversity and talents of these established artists, many of whom have
exhibited extensively in Fresno including other prestigious galleries and museums
throughout the U.S. and abroad. Students, colleagues and visitors will have the opportunity
to observe a collection of professionally produced work that is representative of
the department’s longtime developed and seasoned art programs.
September 1 and 10, 2016
Content
Fresno State Celebrates First Anniversary of the Graduate Art Studios in Downtown
Fresno
May 5-14, 2016

"De 5th World"
James Luna
April 20-21, 2016
“De 5th World” reflects Luna’s reference to a new era of consciousness when humanity
relearns its responsibility to the land after witnessing the destruction created by
humanity’s greed. According to a Hopi prophecy, in the Fifth World a choice must be
made between destruction and reconnection.
Luna’s work is a continuation of the conversation renowned First Nations artist Wanda
Nanibush began with her recent exhibition, “The Fifth World.” Nanibush granted Luna
permission to reference her exhibition. “De 5th World” is Luna’s response to aspects
of our world that cannot yet be seen. Luna’s views have been informed by his personal
social, political and cultural struggles.
Luna is a Pooyukitchum (Luiseno) California Indian who resides on the La Jolla Indian
Reservation in North County, California. Luna is internationally recognized as a performance
and installation artist. His works utilize found objects, audio, video and photography.
Luna became known with his exhibition “The Artifact Piece,” in which he portrayed
himself as a living human artifact who questioned the institutional practice of objectifying
Indigenous people as extinct artifacts and compared Indian representation to the exhibition
of dinosaurs’ bones. By addressing misrepresentation, Luna reminds the viewer that
Native American communities are vibrant, living and evolving.
“In my work I am not just criticizing a condition, I am in the condition,” Luna said.
With “De 5th World,” Luna poses a new set of questions and critiques regarding humanity’s
disharmony and destruction.
Luna’s exhibitions have appeared throughout the continental United States, Canada,
Brazil and Europe. He was commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution to represent
the newly opened National Museum of the American Indian at the notable Venice Biennale
in 2005.
Luna has received numerous awards, including the coveted Joan Mitchell Award for Sculpture
in 2010. His works are often described as a whirling mass of pop culture icons and
visions falling between Miles Davis, Abstract Impressionism, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Waits,
Lucinda Williams and D’Angelo.