SAN JOSE, California (March 30, 2017)— The San Jose Museum of Art will celebrate Earth Month and its trio of spring exhibitions that focus on water at a public reception on Friday, April 7, 2017, from 7 to 10 PM. The evening will include live music by Spirit of Baba: Contemporary African Drumming and the Joel Nelson Jazz Ensemble. Tickets are $15 (free to members) and are available online at SanJoseMuseumofArt.org. 

The event marks the opening of the exhibition The Darkened Mirror: Global Perspectives on Water and celebrates the spring exhibition Fragile Waters: Photographs by Ansel Adams, Ernest H. Brooks II, and Dorothy Kerper Monnelly. 

The Darkened Mirror comprises recent work by five international artists who address humanity’s conflicted relationship with water. On view April 7 – August 27, 2017, it will include works by Vibha Galhotra, Gerco de Ruijter, Khvay Samnang, Jesper Just, and Amy Balkin. In their videos and installation work, these artists address such themes as water access and ownership in Cambodia; agricultural irrigation in the American Southwest; the ethical implications of desert settlements; river pollution in India; and the physical and political impact of climate change locally and globally. 

Fragile Waters: Photographs by Ansel Adams, Ernest Brooks II, and Dorothy Kerper Monnelly features 120 black-and-white photographs by three artists who have expressed their lifelong commitment to protecting the sanctity of the environment through the universal language of photography. 

Fragile Waters is traveled by photokunst and curated by Jeanne Falk Adams. Fragile Waters is organized at San Jose Museum of Art by Susan Sayre Batton, interim director, with Jessica Yee, curatorial assistant. Sponsored by the Myra Reinhard Family Foundation, McManis Faulkner, Melanie and Peter Cross, Carol and Gerhard Parker, and Dr. Jan Newstrom Thompson and Paul Goldstein. Additional support for education programs at SJMA has been provided by Avi Stachenfeld.  The Darkened Mirror is curated by Lauren Schell Dickens and sponsored by the Myra Reinhard Family Foundation. 

SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART

The San Jose Museum of Art celebrates new ideas, stimulates creativity, and inspires connection with every visit. Welcoming and thought-provoking, the Museum rejects stuffiness and delights visitors with its surprising and playful perspective on the art and artists of our time. SJMA is located at 110 South Market Street in downtown San Jose, California. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 5 PM and until 8 PM or later on the third Thursday of each month. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students, and $5 for youth ages 7 -18. Members and children. For more information, call 408-271-6840 or visit www.SanJoseMuseumofArt.org.

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Programs at the San Jose Museum of Art are made possible be generous support from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, Yvonne and Mike Nevens, The Lipman Family Foundation, and a Cultural Affairs Grant from the City of San José.