By Satri Pencak

Sonoma County has been a magnet for artists and art connoisseurs for many decades, and continues to attract sophisticated artists and art collectors, along with the casual art lovers. Combined with the sheer natural beauty, and general creative ambience, the area readily entices visitors, as well as long-time residents, to explore the many and varied fine art offerings. With the addition of great food, drink, and outdoor activities, it’s easy to spend a day, a week, or a lifetime traversing through the vineyards, forests, and rolling hills, along the scenic coast, and through the welcoming towns of Sonoma County.

*** Designates an Opening Reception.

Arts Guild of Sonoma
February 6 through March 2, February in The Gallery
*** Opening reception, Friday, February 6, from 6 to 8 p.m.
On view is recent work by Arts Guild Members; Sophie Acheson, Barbara Aliza, Anji Bartholf, George Dawnay, Dee Dushkes, Irene Guidici Ehret, Yvonne Giambrone-Martin, Christine Gonzalves, Susan Heeringa-Pieper, Kirk Hinshaw, Carol Larson, Christine MacDonald, Nancy Martin, Ellie Portner, Bev Prevost, Lyn Swan, and Joan Shepherd.
140 East Napa Street, Sonoma
707-996-3115
artsguildofsonoma.org

Foggy Morning, Mendocino Lichens, by Lucy Martin

Calabi Gallery
Through March 28, Art Inspired by the Natural World
This group exhibition encompasses a range of interpretations of nature, including landscapes, animals, and botanicals, as well as abstract renditions. The gallery features an eclectic array of artwork from the 19th, 20th and 21st century.
456 Tenth St., Santa Rosa
707-781-7070
www.calabigallery.com

Charles M. Schulz Museum
Through June 7, Ghosting Schulz
Schulz proudly wrote, drew, and lettered every Peanuts strip. He did, however, employ cartoonists who assisted him with other cartoon endeavors such as his sports-related comic strip It’s Only a Game and Peanuts comic books. Learn about Jim Sasseville, Dale Hale, and the artists of Charles M. Schulz Museum Creative Associates, who have attempted to capture Schulz’s indefinable line.
2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa
707-579-4452
www.schulzmuseum.org

Christie Marks Fine Art Gallery
Through February 28, Close to Home
In this exhibition, artists Christie Marks and Max DuBois explore both the psychic and concrete aspects of everyday life. Beyond the surface, this work is affirmative expressing joy and hope even as it confronts difficult themes such as loneliness, poverty, and disenfranchisement.
322 Healdsburg Avenue. 2nd Floor, Healdsburg
707- 695-1011
 www.christiemarksfineart.com

Chroma Gallery
February 4 through March 1, Annual Small Works Show
*** Opening reception Friday, February 6, 5 to 8 p.m.
This show features paintings, sculptures and ceramics no larger than 12 by 12 inches. From elegant to elementary, iconic to comic, abstract to realistic–you will find affordable artwork, small enough to hang almost anywhere in your home. Presented along with the SOFA Arts District and Chroma Gallery, you can visit more than a dozen studios and galleries, representing over 30 artists. Refreshments and live musical entertainment at Chroma Gallery.
312 South A Street, Santa Rosa
707-293-6051
www.chromagallery.net

Cloverdale Arts Alliance Gallery
Through March 19, Prelude
Featuring resident artist, Paul Maurer, with guest artists, Joel Bennett and Rene Dayan-Whitehead.
204 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale
707-894-4410
www.cloverdaleartsalliance.org

Graton Gallery
Through February 22, Anything Goes —A Juried Show
On view are 119 artworks created by 93 local artists selected by two jurors, Sonoma County artists, Sandra Speidel and Clark Mitchell.

February 24 through April 5, Small Works 2015
*** Opening reception on Saturday, February 28, 2 to 5 p.m.
Annual juried exhibition of small work.
9048 Graton Road, Graton
707-829-8912
www.gratongallery.com

Who We Are, by Bill Shelley.

Hammerfriar
Through February 28, Bill Shelley; Who We Are
In his paintings, Shelley uses portraiture to address the identity of an individual, as well as the identity of the larger society, and how that society is structured.
132 Mill Street, Ste.101, Healdsburg
707-473-9600
www.hammerfriar.com

Healdsburg Center for the Arts
Through February 8, Members Show 2015
This year’s theme is about ideas, feelings, and things that happen on the “Inside”, and includes all media. Demonstrations are scheduled during the show.

February 11 through March 8, Fourth Annual Young Artists Exhibition
*** Opening reception on Friday, February 20, 4 to 7 p.m.
Work by students from 10 local schools.
9130 Plaza Street, Healdsburg
707-431-1970
www.healdsburgcenterforthearts.com

Ice House Gallery
Through February 28, Michelle Chayes & Jane Murphy
Mixed media works, featuring “The Queen’s Museum”.
405 East D Street, Studio B, Petaluma
707-778-2238
www.icehousegallery.org

Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, Heron Hall Art Gallery
Through April 29, Celebrating the Wild
Featuring original illustrations and paintings by Molly Eckler.
900 Sanford Rd., Santa Rosa
www.lagunafoundation.org

MLK and Obama at OCA.

Occidental Center for the Arts
February 6 through March 1, Celebrating Black History
*** Opening Reception Friday, February 6 from 5 to 7 p.m.
An exhibition of pre- and post-civil rights era memorabilia and art from the collection of Raynetta James, an African-American woman and Sonoma County community leader. Also on display will be a juried collection of artwork from local artists reflecting their personal views about Black history.
3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental
707-874-9392
www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org

Paradise Ridge Winery Sculpture
Through May 31, 2015, 20@20: 20 artists at 20 years
A year-long outdoor sculpture exhibition by 20 artists; includes a selection of emerging artists along with a core group of internationally acclaimed established artists. The work is set in a stunning natural setting with meadows, and oak groves, in the historic Fountaingrove neighborhood in northwest Santa Rosa.
4545 Thomas Lake Harris Drive, Santa Rosa
www.celebratesculpture.com or www.prwinery.com

Petaluma Arts Center
Through March 8, Work & Play: The Eames Approach
The exhibition features work by the legendary design duo, Charles Eames (1907-1978) and Ray Eames (1912-1988), who were major influencers of design aesthetic and culture in 20th-century America. Also showing is work by their daughter Lucia, and granddaughter Llisa who have continued the Eames legacy of experimentation and play as part of the creative process.
230 Lakeville Street, Petaluma
707-762-5600
www.petalumaartscenter.org

Ren Brown Collection Gallery
February 5 through March 15, Mikio Watanabe: Mezzotints
*** Opening reception Saturday, February 7, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Japanese born artist, Watanabe, does meticulous images of the female figure in black and white, and scenes from nature—fish, birds, frogs, fruit and butterflies—in color. The artist will be in the gallery during the reception. Housed in a refurbished building with shoji and a small, serene Japanese garden, the gallery shows contemporary art by Japanese and regional Northern California artists.
1781 Coast Highway One, Bodega Bay
707-875-2922
www.renbrown.com

Riverfront Art Gallery
Through March 8, Winter Show
Group show featuring paintings, photography, and mixed-media by 10 invited artists.
132 Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma
707-775-4278
www.riverfrontartgallery.com

Santa Rosa Junior College, Robert F. Agrella Art Gallery
February 10 through March 12, 30 Years of SRJC Printmaking
*** Closing Reception on Thursday, March 12, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Original prints, works composed with printed elements, and other works on paper made by the Santa Rosa Junior College printmaking teaching staff of the last thirty years (1985-2015). Also on display are technically relevant historical examples of etching, engraving, mezzotint, woodcut, linocut, serigraphy, and stone lithography. Gallery Talk on Thursday, February 26, 12 to 1 p.m.
1501 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa
707-527-4298
www.santarosa.edu/art-gallery

Santa Rosa Junior College, Petaluma Campus
Mahoney Library Gallery
Through March 26, Pepperwood Preserve
Paintings by Marsha Connell.
Lecture with the artist on Monday, February 2, 12 noon to 1 p.m.
680 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma
www.santarosa.edu/library

Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Through February 20, Wetlands
In the Galletta Gallery, the juried exhibition showcases artwork by artists from around the country that portrays the wetlands in all of their diversity and importance. Gallery II features “Laguna de Santa Rosa – Through the Seasons” photographs by the Tuesday Afternoon Photography Group and Santa Rosa Photographic Society. Gallery III features a selection of Native American basketry. For information about demonstrations and lectures, visit their website.

February 27 through March 29, Peoples
*** Opening Reception Friday, February 27, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
The focus of this juried exhibition ranges from representation of the body to the essence of human experience. Gallery II presents work by 5 artists, Chester Arnold, Frances McCormick, Kurt Kemp, Jennifer Sturgill and Mark Perlman. Gallery III is showing In My Imagination, paintings inspired by people and their stories by Mary Sanders.
282 High Street, in the Veterans’ Memorial Bldg., Sebastopol
707-829-4797
www.sebarts.org

Sebastopol Library Forum Room Art Gallery
February 3 through February 28, Side by Side: Sally Briggs & Students
*** Artist’s Reception and Artist Talk on Wednesday, February 11, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Sebastopol Library
7140 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol
(707) 823-7691

Sonoma County Museum
Through February 9, Hole in the Head: The Battle for Bodega Bay and the Birth of the Environmental Movement
The exhibition chronicles the story of a nuclear power plant, proposed for construction at Bodega Head in 1958, and its defeat by members of the local community in 1964. The exhibition includes photographs, artifacts and multimedia presentations with many video interviews.

Sea of Serenity, by Alison Saar.

Through April 6, Indivisible: African–Native American Lives In The Americas
Since the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas, the lives of Native and African peoples have been closely intertwined. Blended tribes worked to preserve their land and rebelled against displacement. Their unique African-Native American cultural practices through food ways, language, writing, music, dance and the visual arts have thrived.

February 20 through April 20, Alison Saar: Thistle and Twitch
*** Opening reception, Friday, February 20, 6 to 7 p.m. $10
Informed by artistic traditions from the Americas to Africa and beyond, and by her mixed racial upbringing, Alison Saar fuses her paradoxical responses to the black-and-white delineations of political and social forces into a powerful, visual, and kinesthetic tension.
425 Seventh Street, Santa Rosa
707-579-1500
www.sonomacountymuseum.org

Sonoma State University, University Art Gallery
February 12 through March 8, SSU Art Faculty Exhibition
*** Opening reception, Thursday, February 12, 5 to 7 p.m.
The annual Art Faculty exhibition, showing work by Carlos de Villasante, Nathan Haenlein, Kurt Kemp, Jann Nunn, Mark Perlman, Gregory Roberts, Libby Black, Mads Lynnerup, and Allison Watkins.
1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park
707-664-2295
www.sonoma.edu/artgallery

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
February 14 through May 17, Unconventional and Unexpected: Quilts below the Radar, 1950–2000

Sunburst Quilt, at SVMA

The exhibition shows how primarily anonymous, often self-taught women have often produced quilts for everyday use in their homes, that nonetheless articulate many of the same issues that have been at the core of the development of modern art during the second half of the twentieth century. The exhibition presents a selection of visually stunning maverick quilts from the mid to late 20th century, in a contemporary art framework.
551 Broadway, Sonoma
707-939-7862
www.svma.org

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