In late 1992, when the Berkeley Art Museum first dedicated two galleries to its noteworthy Asian art collections, Berkeley scholar Sheila Keppel stepped in to organize the presentation of a distinguished selection of Chinese ceramics on loan to the museum. After being named adjunct curator for Asian art in 1995, Sheila put together consistently illuminating exhibitions and programs exploring the Asian collections here, until her retirement in July 2005. In honor of her contributions, BAMPFA is hosting an exhibition of works Sheila has selected to highlight the exhibitions that have adorned the Asian Galleries during her tenure, as well as significant gifts of Asian art acquired during the past ten years. The diverse mix of objects includes paintings, prints, sculpture, and ceramics from China, Japan, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus James Cahill, a great scholar of Chinese painting, expressed his appreciation of Sheila's expert and enthusiastic work: “A good part of the pleasure of being in Asian art circles in Berkeley has come from Sheila Keppel's involvement in them, in a number of roles, all deeply enriching. First (for me) she was a graduate student who wrote a very fine thesis on the oribe wares of Japan, from the dual standpoints of scholarly researcher and practicing potter. Continuing in this direction, she has delivered papers at international symposia on Asian ceramics. . . . Most to the point for the present context, Sheila has (organized) more than thirty well-planned and stimulating exhibitions, mostly drawn from the museum's own rich collections. Equipped with a broad understanding and a lot of ingenuity in coming up with original themes, she has brought the works of art together in juxtapositions that were often unexpected, but always enlightening. The whole Berkeley art community, academic and public, owes a great deal to Sheila for her expertise and her dedication.”
