Pop-up Art Gallery 'Class C' Rolls Into Irvine Barclay Theater Plaza

Mobile studio and exhibition features works by UC Irvine artists exploring infrastructure and car culture.

Apr. 15, 2026 at 9:39pm

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An abstract, minimalist illustration featuring jagged black silhouettes and geometric shapes in a high-contrast composition, conceptually representing a mobile art gallery van and the themes of transportation and infrastructure in Southern California.The mobile 'Class C' art gallery brings a pop-up exhibition exploring infrastructure and car culture to the UC Irvine campus.Los Angeles Today

Artist Ruben Ochoa has brought his mobile art gallery van back to the UC Irvine campus for a pop-up exhibition called 'Class C' featuring works by UCI-affiliated artists. The activation is presented in conjunction with 'Breakdown/Breakthrough: Art and Infrastructure' at the UC Irvine Langson Museum and explores themes of transportation, commuting, and the built environment of Southern California.

Why it matters

The 'Class C' pop-up gallery provides a unique platform for emerging UC Irvine artists to showcase work that reflects on the region's infrastructure and car-centric culture. By bringing the mobile gallery back to campus, the exhibition aims to inspire the university community to consider how the built environment shapes their daily movement, visibility, and sense of belonging.

The details

Ochoa's converted Chevy van serves as the mobile studio and gallery space, with the front seat made to resemble an office and the main interior designed like a traditional white-walled exhibition space. Inside, the van features works by three UCI-affiliated artists - Sean Duffy, Beatrice von Rague Schleyer, and André Woodward - that explore themes of transportation and infrastructure. Schleyer's black-and-white photographs, for example, depict mildly damaged cars to 'denaturalize the relationship between the body and the car' and inspire a call for better public transit.

  • The 'Class C' pop-up gallery debuted on April 13, 2026.
  • The exhibition will be on view at the Irvine Barclay Theater plaza through April 18, 2026.
  • An artist talk with Ruben Ochoa will be held on April 18, 2026 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art.

The players

Ruben Ochoa

An artist who converted a Chevy van into a mobile studio and gallery space, inspired by his Mexican immigrant parents who used a van to deliver tortillas in the 1970s.

Beatrice von Rague Schleyer

A current MFA student at UC Irvine who commutes from the Los Angeles area and has two black-and-white photographs featured in the 'Class C' exhibition.

Michaëla Mohrmann

The assistant curator of the UC Irvine Langson Museum, who organized the 'Breakdown/Breakthrough: Art and Infrastructure' exhibition that the 'Class C' pop-up is presented in conjunction with.

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What they’re saying

“Part of my visual interest in these as subjects is they do kind of denaturalize the relationship between the body and the car itself. While we might think of the car's exterior as a form of armor for our own bodies that are being transported, these works are meant to have attention to a level of visual seduction and also show the destruction that is inherent in using your car as your primary mode of transportation.”

— Beatrice von Rague Schleyer, MFA Student

“There is a velvetiness, she uses these toners to bring out warm or cool tones, depending on the image. There is a sort of sensuality to the prints and there is a contrast between care and destruction that is happening there.”

— Michaëla Mohrmann, Assistant Curator, UC Irvine Langson Museum

“The underlying project inside these picture is to inspire the call for a more robust system of public transportation.”

— Beatrice von Rague Schleyer, MFA Student

What’s next

On April 18, 2026, Michaëla Mohrmann and Ruben Ochoa will host an artist talk at the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art to dive deeper into how Southern California's built environment shapes movement, visibility, and belonging.

The takeaway

The 'Class C' pop-up gallery provides a unique platform for emerging UC Irvine artists to explore the region's infrastructure and car culture, inspiring the university community to consider how the built environment impacts their daily lives and commutes.