Manuel Neri: 1930-2021
Manuel Neri was born in Sanger, California. He originally intended to become an electrical engineer, but a class in ceramics interested him in art instead. Neri then changed schools and went to the California College of Arts and Crafts and subsequently studied at the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute). He originally studied abstract expressionism, popular at the time. Then in the mid-1950s he began to focus on figurative art. “I would say that I did a U-turn in my art in 1955 when I saw my first child being born,” he said. “It was a fantastic moment. I realized then that the female body has the magic. The male may have the power, but the female has the magic.” (Artists Forum, 2004)
Neri is now known for his association with the Bay Area Figurative movement and his life-size mostly female sculptures in plaster, bronze, and stone. He is also known for teaching, working at the California School of Fine Arts, the University of California, Berkeley and, for many years, at The University of California, Davis. Since the early 1970s, Neri worked with Mary Julia Klimenko as his model. His sculptures, drawings and paintings of the female figure combine the contemporary with the ancient. While suggesting classical sculptures in pose, his final works are decidedly modern.
In 1990, Neri retired from the University of California, Davis. He continued to live in CA and work in his Bay Area studio. Neri also had a studio in Carrara, Italy, where he spent several months each year working on marble sculptures. Manuel Neri passed away in October 2021.
Special thanks to: Artists Forum, 2004
BORN 1930 Sanger, CA
EDUCATION
1956–58 California School of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
1951–56 California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
1951–52 University of California, Berkeley, CA
1949–50 San Francisco City College, San Francisco, CA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2017 Manuel Neri: Recent Acquisitions from the Artist’s Trust, The Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas
2008 The Figure in Relief, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2007 Gerald Peters Gallery, New York, NY
Riva Yares Gallery, Santa Fe, NM & Scottsdale, AZ (also ‘05, ‘98, ‘95, ‘93, ‘89)
Portland Art Museum, Portland, ME
Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco, CA (also ‘05, ‘04, ‘03, ‘01)
2006 Manuel Neri, Ameringer & Yohe Fine Art, New York, NY
Manuel Neri: Figure in Relief, Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ
2005 University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Manuel Neri, Palpable Tensions, Fresno Art Museum, Fresno, CA
Artists’ Books/The Collaborative Process, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
2004 Collaboration and the Creative Process: Artists’ Books by Manuel Neri and Mary Julia Klimenko, San Jose
Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2002 Charles Cowles Gallery, New York, NY (also ‘00, ‘98, ‘97, ‘95, ‘93, ‘91, ‘89, ‘86, ‘82, ‘81)
Japonais: Sculpture & Paintings on Paper, B. Sakata Garo, Sacramento, CA
Galerie Simonne Stern, New Orleans, LA (also ‘99, ‘97, ‘95)
2000 Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID (also ‘97)
Campbell-Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA (also ‘99, ‘97, ‘95, ‘93)
1999 Stremmel Gallery, Reno, NV
1998 Robert Mondavi Winery, Oakville, CA
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
1997–98 Early Work, 1953–1978, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
1997 Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA
San Marco Art Gallery, Dominican College, San Rafael, CA (also ‘90)
Recent Marble Sculpture, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Galerie Claude Samuel, Paris, France
1996–99 A Sculptor’s Drawings, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Laumeier
Sculpture Park, St. Louis, MO; Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA;
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Lincoln, NE; The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY
1996 Lisa Kurts Gallery, Memphis, TN
1995 Manuel Neri: Classical Expressions, Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art, Las Vegas, NV
Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO
1994 Morgan Gallery, Kansas City, MO (also ‘92)
Master Artist Tribute III, Hearst Art Gallery, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, CA
Margulies/Taplin Gallery, Boca Raton, FL (also ‘92, ‘90)
1993 Manuel Neri: Painted and Unpainted, Dia Center for the Arts, Bridgehampton, NY
Drawings and Sculpture, University of Alabama Art Gallery, Tuscaloosa, AL
Bingham Kurts Gallery, Memphis, TN (also ‘90)
1992 She Said: ‘I Tell You It Doesn’t Hurt Me’, Fresno Art Center, Fresno, CA (also ‘92, ‘90, ‘88, ‘84, ‘81)
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA (also ‘90, ‘88, ‘84, ‘81)
1991 Manuel Neri: Drawings, Part I, Richard L. Nelson Gallery, University of California, Davis, CA
Eve Mannes Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1990 Manuel Neri: Bronzes, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
1989 Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
Manuel Neri: Plaster, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Manuel Neri: Sculpture and Drawings, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA
1988 Manuel Neri, A Personal Selection, Wiegand Gallery, College of Notre Dame, Belmont, CA
James Corcoran Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1987 Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA
San Antonio Art Institute, San Antonio, TX
1985 Manuel Neri: Sculpture and Drawings, Robert Else Gallery, California State University, Sacramento, CA
1984 Middendorf Gallery, Washington, DC
California State University Art Gallery, Chico, CA
Gimpel-Hanover & Andre Emmerich Galerien, Zurich, Switzerland
1983 Manuel Neri, Sculpture and Drawings, Middendorf/Lane Gallery, Washington, DC
1981 Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
Manuel Neri: Sculpture/Drawings, The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA
Manuel Neri: Drawings and Bronzes, The Art Museum Association, (traveled through ‘83)
1980 Manuel Neri: Sculpture and Drawings, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
Manuel Neri: Drawings, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
Grossmont College Gallery, El Cajon, CA
1979 Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA
1977 Manuel Neri: Recent Sculpture and Drawings, ArtSpace/Open Ring, E. B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1976 Neri Sculpture, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, New York, NY
The Remaking of Mary Julia: Sculpture in Progress, 80 Langton Street, San Francisco, CA
1976 Manuel Neri, Sculptor, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
1975 Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA (also ‘71,‘68, ‘66)
1974 Art Gallery, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
Manuel Neri: Sculpture and Installations, Davis Art Gallery, Stephens College, Columbia, MO
1972 Sacramento State College Art Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Davis Art Center, Davis, CA
1971 University of Nevada Art Gallery, Reno, NV
1970 St. Mary’s College, Moraga, CA
San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
1969 Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
1964 Berkeley Gallery, Berkeley, CA
1963 New Mission Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1960 Dilexi Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1959 Spatsa Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1957 The Six Gallery, San Francisco, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2008 Figures in Abstraction: Roy Borrone, Manuel Neri, Waldermar Mitrowski, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA
The Question is Known: (W)here is Latin American/LAtino Art?, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco, CA
You See: The Early Years of the UC Davis Studio Art Faculty, Hearst Art Gallery, Moraga, CA
2007 Evidence of Artists at Work, 1978–2007, San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, CA
October, CCA: 100 Years in the Making, The Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
2006 The Collection in Context: Bay Area Figurative Art, di Rosa Preserve, Napa, CA
2003 Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Scott White Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA
Pairings: Discovered Dialogues in Postwar Abstraction, Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Bay Area Artists: Select Works from the 1950s and 60s, Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2001 Kinds of Drawings, Herter Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ (also ‘94)
Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco, CA (also ‘00)
2000–01 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
2000 Winston Wachter Mayer Fine Art, New York, NY
Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, The White House, Washington, DC
1999 Charles Cowles Gallery, New York, NY (also ‘98, ‘97, ‘96)
Into the 21st Century: Selections from the Permanent Collection, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
California Classics, Isetan Museum of Art, Japan
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
1999 Twentieth Century American Sculpture at the White House, The White House, Washington, DC (also ‘94)
1998 The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR (also ‘97, ‘90)
1997 Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY
Richard L. Nelson Gallery, University of California, Davis, CA (also ‘89, ‘84, ‘82)
Norman R. Eppink Art Gallery, Emporia State University, Emporia, KS
Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna, Austria
The Beat Culture and the New America: 1950–1965, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY;
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA,
1996 John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Anne Reed Gallery, Ketchum, ID (also ‘91)
San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA (also ‘76, ‘73, ‘70, ‘62)
John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA (also ‘90)
American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY (also ‘93, ‘84, ‘82, ‘81)
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA (also ‘88, ‘87)
Freddie Fong Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA (also ‘84, ‘83)
1995 Udinotti Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA (also ‘89, ‘86, ‘85, ‘84, ‘83, ‘80, ‘76, ‘74, ‘68, ‘65, ‘59)
Frumkin/Adams Gallery, New York, NY (also ‘94)
Wiegand Gallery, College of Notre Dame, Belmont, CA
Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, SC
Nationsbank Plaza, Charlotte, NC
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Campbell-Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA (also ‘90)
Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, CA (also ‘94, ‘88)
Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA (also ‘81)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (also ‘92, ‘70)
California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA (also ‘61)
Working Together: Joan Brown and Manuel Neri, 1958–1964, Wiegand Gallery, College of Notre Dame, Belmont, CA
1994 Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA (also ‘85, ‘84, ‘82, ‘79, ‘75, ‘71)
Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA (also ‘93)
Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, The White House, Washington, DC
1993 Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM
Art Museum of Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz, CA
Laguna Gloria Museum, Austin, TX
1992 Colorado University Art Galleries, Boulder , CO
Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
1991 Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton, CA
Museo Estudio Diego Rivera, Mexico City, Mexico
M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA
1990 Barbara Kornblatt Gallery, Washington, DC
Queens Museum, Queens, NY
Butler Institute, Youngstown, OH
1989 Security Pacific Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1988 California Museum of Science and Industry, Los Angeles, CA
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (also ‘85)
Sierra Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV (also ‘81)
Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY
Leavenworth Carnegie Arts Center, Leavenworth, KS
Sheehan Gallery, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
Art Department Gallery, San Francisco State University, CA
Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC (also ‘77)
1987 Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, OK
Madison Art Center, Madison, WI
Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
1986 Marilyn Pearl Gallery, New York, NY
University Art Museum, Berkeley, CA (also ‘82, ‘70, ‘67)
May Kaufman Astoria Studios, Astoria, NY
909 Third Avenue and the Mendik Company, New York, NY
Center for the Arts, Vero Beach, FL
North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND
1985 Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA (also ‘76)
The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinatti, OH
1984 Spokane Center Gallery, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA
California State University, Long Beach, CA
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC
Fisher Gallery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA
1983 Sarah Lawrence Gallery, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
Renaissance Society, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Institute of Contemporary Art of the Virginia Museum, Richmond, VA
1982 Fresno Arts Center, Fresno, CA
Pence Gallery, University of California, Davis, CA
De Saisset Museum, University of Santa Clara, CA
1981 Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA
Middendorf/Lane Gallery, Washington, DC
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
1980 San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA
Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, Roslyn, NY
International Sculpture Center, Washington, DC
1979 Independent Curators, New York, NY
1978 Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM
1977 Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL
Kenmin Prefecture Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, Washington, DC
1976 Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, NY
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
1975 JPL Gallery, London, England
1972 E. B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Artists Contemporary Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1971 University of Nevada, Reno, NV (also ‘68)
St. Mary’s College Art Gallery, Moraga, CA
1970 Memorial Union Gallery, University of California, Davis, CA
1969 Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California, Berkeley, CA
Jason Aver Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1968 Reed College, Portland, OR
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
1967 California State College, Fullerton, CA
1966 University of California, Irvine, CA
1964 Stanford University Art Museum, Stanford, CA (also ‘62)
Primus-Stuart Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (also ‘62)
1962 Houston Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX
Staempfli Gallery, New York, NY (also ‘61)
1960 Batman Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1957 The Six Gallery, San Francisco, CA (also ‘55)
HONORS & AWARDS
2008 Bay Area Treasure Award, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
2006 Lifetime Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture, International Sculpture Center (ISC)
1995 Honorary Doctorate, Corcoran School of Art
1992 Honorary Doctorate, California College of Arts and Crafts
1990 Honorary Doctorate, San Francisco Art Institute
1985 Award of Honor for Outstanding Achievement in Sculpture, San Francisco Arts Commission
1982 Academy Institute Award in Art, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters
1980 Individual Artist Grant, National Endowment for the Arts
1979 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship
1970–75 Sculpture Grant, University of California at Davis
1965 National Art Foundation Award
1963 82nd Annual Sculpture Award, San Francisco Art Institute
1959 Nealie Sullivan Award, California School of Fine Arts
1957 Purchase Award in Painting, Oakland Art Museum
1953 First Award in Sculpture, Oakland Art Museum
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA
Di Rosa Foundation, Napa, CA
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Fresno Art Museum, Fresno, CA
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Honolulu Academy of the Arts, Honolulu, HI
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, MO
Memphis Brooks Art Museum, Memphis, TN
The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA
The Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
R. L. Nelson Gallery, University of California, Davis, CA
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln, NE
Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
University of New Mexico Fine Arts Center, Albuquerque, NM
Washington State Art in Public Places, Washington State Arts Commission, Olympia, WA
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
The Lannan Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Washington, DC
Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
The National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
University of California San Diego, Mandeville Library, Department of Special Collections, San Diego, CA
SELECTED COMMISSIONS
2003 Marble Sculpture Escalieta I for Iowa State University, Gerdin Building, Ames, IA
Bronze Sculpture Virgin Mary for St. Anne’s Church, Seattle, WA
1994 Marble Sculpture Aurelia Roma for Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, MO
1987 Marble Sculpture Española for North Carolina National Bank for NCNB Tower, Tampa, FL
Marble Sculpture Passage for The Linpro Company, for the Christina Gateway Project, Wilmington, DE
Marble Sculpture Ventana al Pacifico for U.S. Courthouse, Portland, OR
1980–82 Marble Sculpture Tres Marias for Office of the State Architect, State of California, Bateson Building, Sacramento, CA
TEACHING
1965–90 University of California, Davis, CA
1963–64 University of California, Berkeley, CA
1959–65 California School of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA