Gallery artist Roland Reiss is included in The Buck Collection, now part of the permanent collection of University of California Irvine Institute and Museum for California Art.   Gerald Buck, the Newport Beach develper, built an unparalleled collection of artwork, which includes two early Roland Reiss fiberglass and resin paintings --"Mister Twister" (1968) and "Lost Horions," (1969).

Initially collecting for pleasure, eventually Mr. Buck realized that he had in fact built something unique: more than thirty-two hundred (3,200) works, most of which were bought, boxed, and stored away. Many of the works in the collection have not been seen since they were purchased and stored, though Mr. Buck lent works to exhibitions across Southern California. As an autodidact regarding artwork, Mr. Buck focused his attention on his own personal study of the works, the artists, the genres, and their cultural significance. Among his chief desires was that the works be studied and appreciated for their many values.

In order to fulfill that commitment, at his death in 2013 Gerald Buck passed the collection to UCI, who plans to construct a fitting home for the Buck Collection (and others, centrally The Irvine Museum Collection, gifted to UCI in 2016). Over the next several years, UCI will build the UCI Institute and Museum for California Art, the focus for the exhibition of, and research on, California Art. Eager to introduce this great collection to the public, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts is now hosting the first public exhibition of selected works from the Buck Collection.

Fifty works from this collection, including Peter Alexander, Mary Corse, Larry Bell, Dewain Valentine, and Craig Kauffman, are now on view in "First Glimpse: Introducing The Buck Collection" (Curated by Kevin Appel, Stephen Barker, Cécile Whiting) through January 5, 2019. 

The exhibition, sponsored by the UCI Office of the Provost and the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, will be a unique opportunity to see some of the finest art produced in California.

University Art Gallery
712 Arts Plaza | Irvine, CA 92697-2775 
T 949 824 9854 | gallery@uci.edu

CAC Gallery | Contemporary Arts Center 
Bldg 721

Free admission
Gallery Hours | Tuesday - Saturday | 12:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Thursdays until 8:00 p.m.
Holiday Closures: November 12 & 22, December 25, January 1
imca@uci.edu | imca.uci.edu