By Marie-Elena Schembri

Whether you choose to dip your toes into fantasy, immerse yourself in nature or peer into the past for insight into the future, this curated list of Sacramento-area art exhibitions taking place in January is a great way to jump-start your new year with a fresh perspective, inspiration and invigorated senses.

Solo exhibitions

Explore new worlds at the Joseph Bellacera: In and Out of Phase: The Topographies of Light exhibition at Midtown’s Viewpoint Photographic Art Center this January. Opening Jan. 8 and running through Feb. 1, this exhibition features award-winning Sacramento artist Joseph Bellacera’s photographic works. Manipulating images of mundane details, Bellacera infuses color and patterns into the ordinary and creates new worlds within. These vibrant abstract photos are a meditation on light, energy and vibration, inviting the viewer to discover “a deeper and more imaginative level of awareness of the underlying energy patterns of the physical world,” according to the artist’s statement. The gallery will host a Second Saturday reception on Jan.11 from 4-7 p.m. and an artist’s reception on Jan. 12 from 1-4 p.m.

Sacramento artist and educator Kristine Bybee will showcase her collection of oil paintings, “Path to Illumination,” at ARTHOUSE on R Gallery during their Second Saturday event on Jan. 11. The exhibit features Bybee’s paintings of California’s natural landscapes, often incorporating gold, silver and copper leaf to highlight intricate details and illuminate her subjects. Inspired by a deep reverence for nature, Bybee’s expressive yet delicate paintings evoke a sense of wonder and beauty while inviting viewers to connect at a deeper level with the natural world.

Group exhibitions

Usher in 2025 with creative inspiration, starting with a visit to the UC Davis Manetti Shrem Museum to view an extraordinary collection of contemporary art. “Through Their Eyes” presents over 60 works by established and emerging artists spanning the last half-century, including photography, video, painting and sculpture. From Nan Goldin’s intimate and sexually charged urban snapshots to Jumana Manna’s ceramic sculptures of flesh-toned plumbing parts, the exhibition explores female identity through sexuality and gender expression while also dissecting the way that women are perceived and expected to adhere to societal expectations.

Curated from the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection on loan from Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Torino, Italy, these works have never been exhibited together before in the United States. Manetti Shrem’s associate curator and exhibition department head, Susie Kantor, shared insight into her process for selecting the works and how they make a cohesive statement. 

Grouped into six sections, Kantor pulled inspiration from the artists’ own words to create the categories: Infinite Possibilities, Systems of Value, Becoming a Commodity, The Private and The Public Body, The Notion of the Facade, and In Front of the Camera/Behind the Scenes.

“I actually found the phrase ‘infinite possibilities’ in quotes from two of the artists in that section, both Ambera Wellman, the contemporary painter, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. It was really interesting,” Kantor said. “All the artists in that section are thinking about the different ways the body is pulled apart and thinking about the darker ways that happens, but then also thinking about [the] future and being released from some of the bonds that we have through the body. So that’s where the exhibition starts.” 

For Kantor, the artists in the exhibition are “pushing back against impossible ideals and notions of what women can and should be” through their art.

“I find that super exciting and I’m excited to have our students see it. I think anything that sort of questions the status quo these days is really important and I’m just excited to be able to show all these artists who are doing that,” Kantor said.

“Through Their Eyes” is on view from Jan. 26 to June 22, with an opening reception on Feb. 2.

Artist collaborative Axis Gallery, located inside the Verge Center for the Arts building, is exhibiting two California artists, Mirabel Wigon and Molly Champlin, whose highly detailed paintings incorporate the three-dimensional world through dense, layered imagery and techniques such as collage and digital photogrammetry (3D modeling). Axis Mundi brings together these distinct artists to expose viewers to “a visually decadent space of rejuvenescence, respite and promising futures.” A Second Saturday reception will be held on Jan. 11 from 5-8 p.m. and a virtual panel conversation with the artists will take place on Jan. 25. Contact Axis Gallery for more details.

In Roseville, Blue Line Arts’ longstanding national art competition — the Crocker-Kingsley Exhibition — will bring plenty of fresh and exciting art to the area, with about 80 works selected by guest juror Grace Kook-Anderson, curator of Northwest Art at the Portland Art Museum. Offering artists a chance to win up to a $2,000 cash reward, this popular biennial art competition has brought in work from some of California’s most celebrated artists, including David Gilhooly, Wayne Thiebaud, Ruth Rippon, Mel Ramos and Roland Petersen. In addition to the opportunity for cash prizes, a limited selection of five to seven works from the show will be selected by Crocker Art Museum curatorial staff to be displayed in a special exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum following the Blue Line Arts show.

Executive Director MaryTess Mayall described this year’s exhibition as “a really beautiful mix of contemporary work” that spans a wide range of media, themes and subject matter. 

“I would really just love to encourage people to come out and see the work in person,” Mayall said. “I feel like every artist who’s been selected, their work is just so high quality and photos just really don’t do it justice.”

An opening reception will take place at Blue Line Arts in Roseville on Jan. 18 from 5-7 p.m. with live music, refreshments and a chance to meet the artists. Award selections will be announced during the opening reception, and visitors will have a chance to vote for their favorite pieces in person until the closing reception on Feb. 15, where a winner will be announced.

This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics and protocols, the city had no editorial influence over this story and no city official reviewed this story before it was published. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review, Sacramento Observer and Univision 19. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.