The Inoperative Community: Exhibition X Practice, UCI 1965-2025—an archival exhibition of the University Art Galleries (UAG), spanning 1965 to the present—provides an unprecedented look at the gallery’s evolving curatorial and artistic legacy, highlighting its significant role in shaping the artistic and academic communities at UCI and beyond. The exhibition takes its title from Jean-Luc Nancy’s famed essay from 1986, "The Inoperative Community," in which he presents a non-hegemonic, fluid model of community. In this context, the UAG's history is understood not as a linear narrative, but as an evolving, collective moment where diverse voices and practices converge and shift over time.

The Inoperative Community showcases a broad range of materials, including artworks, photographs, exhibition documentation, catalogues, publications, and other archival artifacts. While elements of the archive have been accessed by researchers over the years, this exhibition is the first to present the full spectrum of the gallery's multifaceted activities. Thus, it offers a comprehensive exploration of the UAG’s interdisciplinary legacy for students, scholars, and artists—on campus and internationally. The UAG’s history is marked by the leadership of several key directors, each of whom contributed to shaping the gallery’s identity and its role within the broader artistic and academic landscape. The exhibition traces these shifts through distinct epochs:

1965–1968: John Coplans
1968–1970: Alan Solomon
1972–1975: Hal Glicksman
1975–1990: Melinda Wortz
1991–1996: Catherine Lord
1998–1999: Brad Spence
2004–present: Juli Carson

Featured artworks and archival material by:

Artwork: Larry Bell, Craig Kauffman, Peter Voulkos, Joe Goode, Bruce Conner, Wallace Berman, Chris Burden, Robert Wilhite, Guy de Cointet, Peter Alexander, Hannah Wilke, David Lamelas, Alan Saret, John Coplans, Faith Wilding, Roy Lichtenstein, Tony DeLap, Nancy Buchanan, Sam Gilliam, Carlos David Almaráz, Michael Frimkess, John Knight, Nicole Eisenman, Judie Bamber, Carrie Mae Weems, Bas Jan Ader, Simon Leung, Zinny/Maidagan, Yael Bartana, Adrià Julià, Koki Tanaka, Roberto Jacoby, Florian Pumhösl, Monica Majoli, Artur Żmijewski, Kelly Barrie, Jane & Louise Wilson, Maura Brewer, Alicia Piller, Andrea Geyer, Mary Kelly, Jacob Lenc, Simon Klein, Jered Frigillana, and others. 

Archives: John Baldessari, Los Four (Carlos David Almaráz, Roberto De La Rocha, Gilbert Sanchez Lujan, Frank Edward Romero), Maria Nordman, Bruce Nauman, Billy Al Bengston, John Mason, Malcolm McClain, James Melchert, Ron Nagle, Manuel Neri, Kenneth Price, Henry Takemoto, George Herms, Edward Kienholz, Fred Mason, Ben Talbert, Tom Eatherton, Eric Orr, Richard Ballard, Vija Celmins, Robert Irwin, Richard Smith, Bruce Richards, Coco Fusco & Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Charles Gaines, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Renée Green, David Hammons, Ben Patterson, Adrian Piper, Sandra Rowe, Gary Simmons, Lorna Simpson, Pat Ward Williams, Fred Wilson, Yvonne Rainer, Barbara Kruger, Lyle Ashton Harris, Catherine Opie, Laura Aguilar, Robert Blanchon, Patricia Cronin, Martha Fleming, Lyne Lapointe, Rinaldo Hopf, Doug Ischar, Glenn Ligon, Paul Pfeiffer, Eugene Rodriguez, Connie Samaras, Millie Wilson, Sol LeWitt, Sam Watters, Stephanie Taylor, Sharon Hayes, Vincent Benjamin Pruden, Dorit Margreiter, Gaylen Gerber, Katya Sander, Molly Corey, Christóbal Lehyt, Shana Lutker, Kenny Berger, Erika Vogt, Constanze Ruhm, Barbara T. Smith, Ed Moses, Yoshua Okón, Omar Mismar, Kerry Tribe, Cauleen Smith, Lutz Bacher, Panos Aprahamian, Heather M. O’Brien, Simon Liu, Michael Moshe Dahan, Cog•nate Collective, Basyma Saad, Yong Soon Min, Sula Bermudez-Silverman, Danielle Dean, Africanus Okokon, among many others.

With a robust roster of artists as its backdrop, The Inoperative Community explores how shifts in leadership reflected broader cultural and political movements and the changing landscape of contemporary art. This show not only documents and preserves the archive, but also provides a platform for original and transformative contributions, inviting collaboration across disciplines and responses that foster new communities. In so doing, The Inoperative Community creates an immersive and critical space for understanding the complex history of the UAG, while also offering a space for new interpretations and future conversations about art, community, pedagogy, and institutional legacy.  


Curators: Juli Carson, Kevin Appel, and Sasha Ussef
Curatorial Assistant: Mona Welch 
Exhibition Graphics: Richard Kahwagi at Si Six Scies Studios 
Climate Case Table Design and Fabrication: Anthony Martinez-Galvan 
Technical Design: Pierre Briet    
Preparators: Chella Foster-Flynn and Alberto Lule 
Gallery Assistant: Teresita Salazar Cienfuegos 
Photography: Yubo Dong at ofstudio photography