monca is proud to present two new exhibitions, A City, Its People and Places by Mike Manente -AND- Draw the Line, on view from Thursday, November 19, 2026 to Sunday, January 10, 2027.
monca invites you to join us for the opening reception celebrating these new exhibitions on Friday, November 20, from 6 PM to 8 PM.
Admission to the opening reception is free. No-host bar available with assorted refreshments.
About the shows:
A City, Its People and Places - Mike Manente
The Museum of Northern California Art will be featuring the work of Mike Manente, an experienced artist with a successful career as a pictorial artist in the outdoor advertising industry.
In 1991, he started his own sign-painting business, and by the late 1990s, he was able to devote more and more time to pursuing his art and personal vision. During this period, Mr. Manente became a member of the American Society of Portrait Artists
in New York City and a certified instructor with the Portrait Institute’s Portrait Clubs of America, also based in New York.
Over the years, Mr. Manente has worked in several studios. Both his former studio in West Oakland, CA and his current studio in Emeryville, CA have been located in gritty, light-industrial neighborhoods. The work presented here is a testament to his enduring fascination with and love of painting the world around him.
Image: The Firefighter, Mike Manente, on display 2015.
Draw the Line
Draw the Line is a juried exhibition celebrating drawing in all its forms. From the 168 submissions received in monca’s call for art, 49 works by Northern California artists were selected for this exhibit.
Drawing is a notoriously difficult medium to define, so we embraced a broad view. The works here treat mark-making, line, and gesture as their primary language. Artists use both traditional and unconventional tools on surfaces ranging from paper to the unexpected. Some work digitally, and others “draw” with three-dimensional materials, blurring the boundary between drawing and sculpture.
Image: Ink Fragment 52, Aiden Kringen.
