April 24, 2026
ArtCenter College of Design Presents Graduate Art MFA Exhibition Days of Future Past
May 1 – May 22, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, May 1 | 5–7 p.m.
Pasadena, CA - ArtCenter College of Design’s Graduate Art and Exhibitions present Days of Future Past, 2026 iteration of its annual group exhibition of graduating artists, on view May 1 through May 22, 2026, in the Graduate Art Main Galleries at the College’s South Campus.
The exhibition presents work by Milan Aguirre, Grace Eassa, Jessie Edelstein, Michael Montemayor, Velocity Parker, Aylee Rhodes, and Ryan Zhao.
Drawing its title from the 2014 X-Men film, in which time-traveling characters act on their past to alter the future and create a new, rewritten present, the seven artists featured mine the recent past to explore our present condition.
In Days of Future Past, from Milan Aguirre’s reinterpretation of Evel Knievel, the 1970s motorcycle stunt performer, to Jessie Edelstein’s installation and performance work comprised of near-obsolete digital content, there is a loosely shared throughline of examining the past to redefine the present.
The artists’ references to the past are reminiscent of Jacques Derrida’s idea of “hauntology,” wherein the past persists in the present moment, often as a sense of loss for promising futures that never arrived. In the exhibition a subverted form of hauntology is presented. Rather than focusing on loss, they approach the recent cultural past with a curiosity to bring on the new.
Days of Future Past is curated by Hyesoo Christina Valentine, Associate Director and Curator of Exhibitions, ArtCenter Galleries.
To learn more about ArtCenter’s Graduate Art MFA Program, please visit: https://www.artcenter.edu/academics/graduate-degrees/art/overview.html.
EXHIBITION INFORMATION
Days of Future Past
Friday, May 1 through Friday, May 22, 2026
ArtCenter College of Design (South Campus)
Graduate Art Main Galleries
950 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA
Hours: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday
(Please check in at the security desk upon arrival.)
FREE
Note: The exhibition will be open during Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair at ArtCenter, May 7-10.
Opening Reception
Friday, May 1, 2026, 5–7 p.m.
Open to the Public. No RSVP necessary.
The Days of the Future Past opening is part of the College’s Spring 2026 graduation events, culminating in the Spring 2026 Grad Show at the Pasadena Convention Center on Saturday, May 2, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
About ArtCenter College of Design
Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. With a mission to educate, inspire and empower creative and design leadership, the College is renowned for its undergraduate and graduate degree programs spanning industrial design, media and technology, as well as visual and applied arts. With deep industry relationships, state-of-the-art facilities and a strong faculty roster, ArtCenter provides real-world experience aligned with industry needs. Through rigorous, hands-on, practitioner-led instruction, the College prepares students for meaningful creative careers. For nearly 100 years, ArtCenter alumni and faculty have shaped many of the world’s most iconic products, vehicles, campaigns and creative works, leaving a lasting impact across art, design and culture.
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