JIM MELCHERT: Still, The Meandering Path

Gallery 16 will celebrate the life, work and legacy of Jim Melchert with a special memorial exhibition: Still, The Meandering Path, July 28 - September 8. Over the last year, Jim and Griff Williams were preparing for an exhibition of his new work, which he was busy creating right up until his passing. 

Melchert died at his home in Oakland on June 1, 2023, at the age of 92. He was one of the most influential Bay Area artists of the last century and over his fifty year career, he cast a remarkably long shadow of grace and influence. Jim has left behind an inspiring legacy of kindness, curiosity, compassion and a lifetime of uplifting the agency of others. In this spirit, we have invited a number of other artists working in the field of contemporary ceramics to participate in the exhibition as well. Jim was very fond of this idea. Those works, curated by Nathan Lynch, will be exhibited alongside Melchert's last works from his studio. We see this as a testament to his enduring influence and living legacy. Artists include Ashwini Bhat, Dana Hemenway, Liz Hernández, Sahar Khoury, Cathy Lu, Nathan Lynch, Tucker Nichols, Gay Outlaw, Maria Porges, Tracy Ren, Erik Scollon, Nicole Seisler, Michael Swaine, and Wanxin Zhang.

Melchert was part of a generation of artists that made ceramics a contemporary art form. That in itself is an uncommon feat, but his desire to be of service to others more broadly led him to become the NEA Director of Visual Arts, the Director of the American Academy in Rome, and a beloved professor at UC Berkeley.  

Renny Pritikin wrote, “he was a beloved educator and mentor to several generations of artists, a role model for a life in service to the field, and an artist never satisfied with settling for the conventional path.”

Still, The Meandering Path will honor Melchert's life as an artist and a force for good.