Familiar Strangers – Devynn Barnes, Madelyn Covey, Monica Guillory, Pamela Mooney, Jillian Shea, Julianne Sterling, & Deirdre White
May 16 - June 20
Free
Manna Gallery is excited to present a group exhibition featuring seven Bay Area figurative artists exploring the shifting relationships between memory, identity, and image. In a time when identity is constantly performed, recorded, and revised, the exhibition focuses on the unstable space where perception and recollection overlap, where what we see, remember, and share is never entirely fixed. The works embrace a deliberate ambiguity, reflecting the blur of digital culture, the fragility of memory, and the subjectivity of observation. Across their practices, these artists consider how personal and collective histories are shaped, obscured, and reimagined, inviting viewers to reflect on how images influence the stories we tell about ourselves and one another.
May 16 – June 20, 2026
Artists’ Reception: Saturday, May 16, 2-4 pm
Oakland Art Murmur 20th Anniversary party on 25th St: Saturday, May 30
First Friday: June 5, 5-8 pm
Gallery Hours: Saturdays, 12-5 pm & First Fridays, 5-8 pm
About the artists:
Devynn Barnes invites viewers to confront their own narratives, encouraging a collective awakening, communal (melanated) homecoming, and admittance to our interconnected archives. Monica Guillory transforms vintage photographs into layered paintings that hold both the warmth of connection and the fragility of memory. Madelyn Covey paints intimate portraits on found wallpaper, exploring identity, domesticity, and the subtle performances of everyday life. Pamela Mooney reimagines and distorts source imagery, prompting reflection on how cultural narratives shape perception and future possibilities. Jillian Shea captures nightlife scenes to examine femme visibility, agency, and resistance within spaces of looking and being looked at. Julianne Wallace Sterling’s recent paintings transform personal travel photographs into atmospheric, dreamlike cityscapes where portraiture, memory, and imagined light intertwine. Deirdre White constructs poetic, unsettled worlds where personal memory and collective experience intertwine amid loss, resilience, and wonder.
