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Diana Pumpelly Bates: Unity Revolution Exhibition
January 28 @ 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

The Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery is pleased to present Diana Pumpelly Bates: Unity Revolution curated by Bridget R. Cooks. Known for her bronze sculptures and metal public art visible throughout Northern California, Diana Pumpelly Bates, (MA 1987, MFA 1989) began her career as a painter and printmaker. In the 1960s, she explored themes of unity, beauty, and family in large-scale canvases and small prints. Bates’ curious forms express movement and energy. The unique, two-toned, chromatic pairing in each composition offers vibrations of color. From a distance, the silhouetted shapes appear as single forms. A closer look shows multiple elements united to make a whole. Based on her experiences of family formations and interpersonal relationships, Bates considers each painting a combination of codes and secrets, and nonsense and beauty that give her life.
As a student at SJSU in the 1980s, she discovered her love for sculpture and spent most of her time in the art foundry. There she distilled her interests in three-dimensional works inspired by natural forms. Several of these works have become part of our shared visual culture through public commissions for public parks, rails stations, buildings, and a bridge in San José, San Francisco, Pleasanton, Sacramento, and Sunnyvale. Other smaller scale bronze work was inspired by the Baháí faith, African American literature, and Bates’ everyday experiences. Diana Pumpelly Bates: Unity Revolution brings together the artist’s painting, prints, and sculptural works for the first time. It is a refreshing exhibition of rediscovered selections, some of which have not been exhibited for over fifty years.
Opening Reception
Bridget R. Cooks: How to Write a Black Woman into Art History
January 28, 2025
5-6pm, Art 133
In this program, art historian and guest curator, Bridget R. Cooks will discuss the work of artist and SJSU alum, Diana Pumpelly Bates. Cooks will offer insight into the process of discovering Pumpelly Bates’ work, conceiving of the exhibition, and sharing Pumpelly Bates’ art with the public. The lecture will address what’s at stake in revisiting Pumpelly Bates’ art and the larger project of writing about African American women artists in the effort to transform art museums and art history.
Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, Art Building Room 127
San Jose State University
One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192