What brings together the work of Peter Edlund, from Brooklyn via San Francisco, Fred Tomaselli, also from Brooklyn via Los Angeles, and Leslie Shows, from San Francisco via Alaska all at one time in Davis California? All three revel in the natural world and make art that seeks to find a way to understand the human relation to wilderness.

Tomaselli is internationally acclaimed for his collage paintings depicting birds, nature, and narratives in thick resin. Shows also makes collaged paintings based on man's impact on nature, and is considered to be one of the handful of most important artists to emerge from San Francisco in the past ten years. Edlund, who makes representational monochromatic depictions of natural settings, has carved out a significant career since returning to the Northeast after many years in San Francisco and is a professor at the acclaimed School of the Visual Arts in Manhattan.

"I believe that this will prove to be the most important painting show that I have organized in my seven years at the Nelson; these are three very special artists and it's a thrill to bring their work to the attention of this community for the first time," says Renny Pritikin, director of the Nelson. A catalogue will be published for the exhibition with an essay by Pritikin and color images of the artists' work.

For further images and information, please contact Katrina Wong at kliwong@ucdavis.edu.