Worth-Ryder Gallery

I am totally biased here, because my wife is the new curator at this gallery, but for her first show she brought together a collection of new media work featuring both Bay Area artists and people from as far away as Spain and put on a truly great show (and I’m a harsh critic when it comes to art). She’s very talented, and if you’re into contemporary art you owe it to yourself to see some of her shows.
The gallery is about half-​time dedicated to student shows, and curated shows by professional artists. While either can be very interesting, many student shows don’t live up to their potential. At Berkeley, the department seems to have made a fresh commitment to making the student shows be as professional as they can.
My only complaint is that, as part of a University department housed in a large, shared building, the gallery has no street-​facing presence. It is located in the same building as the Anthropology museum, in a hallway on the ground floor past the entrance to the Anthro exhibits. Considering that there are some really good shows going on at Worth-​Ryder, I hope the University can get it together to give the gallery a little more presence.
BAM is great, but it isn’t the only place at UCB for art. Check out Worth-​Ryder next time you’re over there (it’s basically across the street from BAM — look for the signs for the Anthro museum).