JAN 19 – MAY 9, 2027
MATERIAL FREQUENCIES
A Bay Area survey exploring electroacoustic music and sound art through artist-made instruments, sonic sculptures, and interdisciplinary works.
Pictured: Pauline Oliveros with Buchla 100 modular synthesizer, 1966, Center for Contemporary Music Archives, Mills College, Northeastern University
Material Frequencies explores the San Francisco Bay Area’s contributions to contemporary sound experimentation in visual art and performance. Guest curated by Tanya Zimbardo, the exhibition brings together artist-made instruments, sonic objects, sculptures and installations by Bay Area artists including Sholeh Asgary, Terry Berlier, Christopher Robin Duncan, Chris Kallmyer, Guillermo Galindo, Ava Koohbor, and Cheryl E. Leonard, among others.
This group survey will also feature a dynamic range of archival and artist-published materials—photos, posters, albums, videos—to illustrate the Bay Area’s role as a central hub for electroacoustic music, sound, art, and technology. Visionary composer Pauline Oliveros was the founding director of the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College on our Oakland campus, which became internationally-renowned for championing interdisciplinary collaboration, hands-on engineering, and aesthetic risk. Her pioneering work positioned technology and sound as tools for expanding human perception—an ethos that resonates throughout this show.
Material Frequencies is supported by The Jay DeFeo and Hung Liu Endowments and the William and Marilyn Mary Endowment.
Material Frequencies is presented as part of the Further Triennial, a new region-wide contemporary art event that brings together nonprofit arts institutions and cultural centers across Northern California for a season of original exhibitions and public programs in Spring 2027.
RELATED EVENTS – INFO COMING SOON!
Sounding the Future: Pauline Oliveros and the Bay Area’s Experimental Legacy | Saturday, February 6, 2027, 1:00-4:00 PM
Material Frequencies: Christopher Robin Duncan, SEASONS Sound Art Installation | March 11-14, 2027, 11:00 AM-4:00 PM and Sunday, March 14, 4:00-6:00 PM
Opening Celebration | Sunday, March 14, 2027, 4:00-6:00 PM
Material Frequencies: Live Performance with Chris Robin Duncan | Saturday, May 8, 2027, 6:30-8:30 PM