UC Merced exhibit gets kinetic with art

With banging drums, bright colors and a huge winged dinosaur, the UC Merced Art Gallery’s latest exhibit is one for the senses.

The gallery is featuring the kinetic art of David Medley of Mariposa, whose retrospective show features pieces that span three decades of his work. Many of the pieces have moving parts and some play music or make noise.

The gallery opened the exhibit with a reception on Thursday.

Medley’s work is diverse, including paintings and sculptures that use wood, steel, copper and glass. He also has motorized or hand-cranked pieces with moving gears, including “Gearyoptryx,” a roughly 10-foot tall piece inspired by the winged dinosaur archaeopteryx.

He said many of his pieces are inspired by something he reads about in history or archeology.

“I get into things and I go through them, get tired and move onto something else,” the 64-year-old said.

Perhaps his inspiration is not a surprise as the pieces include those that appear to be ancient weapons, fossils or a model of a Byzantine boat. Then there’s the piece called “Circus Fish on Vacation,” a motorized sculpture encased in a box of a fish riding a bicycle.

Perhaps the show is best described by what Medley told one little boy staring at his art during the reception. “I make all these weird things,” he said to the child.

Medley is a former president of the Merced County Arts Council. He’s shown art in Sacramento, New York and Los Angeles, to name a few places.

The gallery’s manager, art professor Tonya Lopez-Craig, spoke highly of the work, saying she wished the gallery had space to house more of his pieces.

She said she looks to bring local artists to the campus regularly. “What I’m trying to do is bring the community in,” she said. “At least once a year, I’d like someone from the Central Valley (to exhibit).”

The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The show runs through Oct. 21.

Lopez-Craig said she can also open the gallery by appointment. Send an email to tlopez-craig@ucmerced.edu.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 5:39 PM with the headline "UC Merced exhibit gets kinetic with art."