Michael Whiting: Wave and Sailboat

The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (the MAH) is excited to announce the temporary exhibition of two new sculptures by internationally-renowned artist Michael Whiting.

Constructed from welded steel and colored with bright automotive enamels, artist Whiting’s playful sculptures draw from the forms and imagery of early video gaming and computer graphics. Recognizing the extreme sparseness of forms inherent to the constraints of pixel-based technologies, Whiting states “video gaming and minimalism arrived at the same visual conclusion through different means and by opposite intentions.” Whiting likewise attempts to communicate as much visual information as possible with his essential forms that combine the reductive simplicity of the minimalist movement and the sensibility of pop art in re-contextualizing cultural icons.

“Wave” and “Sailboat” will be on temporary display in the Blanchard Sculpture Garden through March 2026, and are able to be viewed during the MAH’s open hours Thursday-Monday.