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 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.

The following is a partial list of local art exhibitions. Many eateries, wineries, and civic buildings also present changing art shows in their spaces.

*** Designates an Opening Reception.

Apple Blossom Festival
April 18 and 19, Apple Blossom Festival Art Show
*** Opening reception, Friday, April 17 from 7 to 9 p.m.
This annual art show features more than 100 new works by Art Workshop of Western Sonoma County members. You’ll find a variety of paintings, drawings, and photographs depicting a range of subject matter from rural landscapes to experimental abstracts. Awards for this year’s show were selected by Sonoma County artist Sandra Speidel.
Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 282 S. High Street, Sebastopol
www.appleblossomfest.com

Arts Guild of Sonoma
April 1 through April 27, Small But Grand Works
*** Opening reception, Saturday, April 4 from 4 to 7 p.m.
Celebrating the artistic talents of Sonoma Valley High School and other Valley students.

Also on view is the April Members’ Show, with recent work by featured Arts Guild Members, Sophie Acheson, Patricia Akay, Roberta Alexander, Barbara Aliza, George Dawnay, Irene Guidici Ehret, Zaza Fetterly, Yvonne Giambroni-Martin, Christine Gonzalves, Susan Heeringa-Pieper, Kirk Hinshaw, Carol Larson, Jackie Lee, Nancy Martin, Loran May, Brian Martinelli, Helen Mehl, Ruby Newman, Bev Prevost, Joan Shepherd, Lyn Swan, Thena Trygstad, and Jenny Whitfield.
140 East Napa Street, Sonoma
707-996-3115
artsguildofsonoma.org

Calabi Gallery
Extended through April 4, Art Inspired By The Natural World
*** First Friday Art Walk! Santa Rosa Arts District, Friday, April 3, from 5 to 7 p.m.
This exhibition encompasses a vast range of artistic interpretations from traditional landscapes and realistic depictions of flora and fauna to abstracted evocations of the artist’s emotional response to the natural world. Artists include Douglas Ballou, Warren Bellows, Holly Downing, Pamela Glasscock, Karen Green, Fran Hardy, Joyce Ertel Hulbert, Mary Jarvis, Sun Jones, Carolyn Lord, Sherrie Lovler, Lucy Martin, Isabelle Proust, Jim Spitzer, Inna Talantova, and Richard Wagener.
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 

Chroma Gallery
Through April 4, Dreamings: Australian Aboriginal Art
Though seemingly abstract, the multilayered paintings reflect the Aboriginal experience of reading the veiled secrets of the desert environment, its plants, animals and pathways.

Painting by Shinga Shell.

April 8 through May 10 Shinga Shell: Abstractions
*** Opening Reception, Saturday April 11, from 2 to 4 p.m.
This month they inaugurate Emerging Artists, a new series promoting undiscovered artists. The first show features the vibrant abstract paintings of Sonoma County artist Shinga Shell. In her work, graphic marks and icons overlay brilliant fields of color. Some of the paintings are contemporary echoes of the raw street art of Jean-Michael Basquiat.
312 South A Street, Santa Rosa
707-293-6051
www.chromagallery.net

Cloverdale Arts Alliance Gallery
Through May 14, Tempo
Group show with Guest Artists Jonqui Albin, Robin Spencer-Crompton, Peter Crompton, and Rebeca Trevino. Pamela Heck is the featured resident artist.
204 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale
707-894-4410
www.cloverdaleartsalliance.org 

“Musings”, by Pamela Powell.

Graton Gallery
Through April 5, Small Works 2015
Annual juried exhibition of small work.

April 7 through May 17, Musings, work by Pamela Powell and Rik Olson
*** Opening Reception, Saturday, April 11, 2 to 5 p.m.
Also showing are guest artists, Elizabeth Peyton, Vi Strain, Nancy Wheeler Klippert, Nancy Ricciardi, Shawn Lux, and Holly Jordan.
9048 Graton Road, Graton
707-829-8912
www.gratongallery.net 

Hammerfriar
132 Mill Street, Ste.101, Healdsburg
707-473-9600
www.hammerfriar.com 

Healdsburg Center for the Arts
Through April 19, Art of Gastronomy
The work for this national juried exhibition was selected by jurors Spring Maxfield, Charlie Pendergast, Vicky Kumpfer and C. K. Itamura, and includes a variety of media. For a list of related programs and events check their website.
9130 Plaza Street, Healdsburg
707-431-1970
www.healdsburgcenterforthearts.com

Ice House Gallery
Through April 11, Birds
Celebrating the art of rendering birds in various media.

The Beatles, by Curt Gunther.

April 18 through May 23, The Beatles at the IceHouse Gallery
*** Opening reception Saturday, April 18 from 5 to 8 p.m.
An exhibition of classic black and white photographs of the Beatles by Curt Gunther who traveled with, and documented the band during their first American tour in 1964. This group of images captures John, Paul, George and Ringo on the doorstep of international fame.
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 

Occidental Center for the Arts
Through May 4, Rebirth; A Juried Art Exhibit
A juried exhibition exploring what it means to start over, to come alive again, to go through transitions and transformations. Juried by Sonoma County painter and teacher, Susan St. Thomas.
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 April 5, Art Shapes the World
This 4th Annual Youth Exhibit features artwork by K-12 students in the greater Petaluma area.

Mick Jagger, by Baron Wolman.

April 18 through May 31, The Art of Rock ‘n Roll
*** Opening reception Saturday, April 18 from 6 to 11:00 p.m., featuring surf rock band, The Deadlies, from 8 to 11:00 p.m.
On view are iconic photos, curated by Joseph McDonald, from the Rock ‘n Roll era as well as vibrant posters that announced the great rock concerts of the time. The exhibition includes photographs by Baron Wolman, Ed Perlstein, Jim Marshall and Curt Gunther, along with posters by Alton Kelley, Pat Ryan, and Stanley Mouse. A Groove Room with surround sound, and listening stations at selected photographs will be set up to enhance the total musical experience. For dates, times and tickets for special events, visit the Events page on their website.
230 Lakeville Street, Petaluma
707-762-5600
www.petalumaartscenter.org

Ren Brown Collection Gallery
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 May 3, Showin’ On The River!
This annual juried photography show features 57 images by 41 area photographers.
132 Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma
707-775-4278
www.riverfrontartgallery.com

Santa Rosa Junior College, Robert F. Agrella Art Gallery
1501 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa
707-527-4298
www.santarosa.edu/art-gallery

“Fentons Banana Split” by Juannie Eng

Sebastopol Center for the Arts
April 3 through May 2, Palates to Palettes
*** Opening Reception, Friday, April 3, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
The artwork in this exhibition, selected by juror Virginia Tominia, explores various aspects of food and feasting.
Showing in Gallery II and III is artwork by Analy High School students under the guidance of teachers Tera Crawford, and Anita Sandwina.
282 High Street, in the Veterans’ Memorial Bldg., Sebastopol
707-829-4797
www.sebarts.org

Sonoma County Museum
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.

Through April 20, Alison Saar: Thistle and Twitch
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.

Robert Indiana, LOVE (1972), © 2015 Morgan Art Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS)

April 12 through May 25, Andy Warhol to Kara Walker: Picturing the Iconic
*** Grand Opening of the new Art Museum of Sonoma County, Saturday, April 11, 7:30 to 11 p.m., tickets available online.
This inaugural exhibition features a selection of prints from the 1960s through the present focusing on the concept of the “iconic.” The collection includes work by Pop icons Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Jasper Johns, and Ed Ruscha, as well as by a selection of major contemporary artists including Bruce Nauman, Enrique Chagoya, Jeff Koons, Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, John Baldessari, and many others.
425 Seventh Street, Santa Rosa
707-579-1500
www.sonomacountymuseum.org

Sonoma State University, University Art Gallery
Through April 12, Student Exhibition 2015
The exhibition, which reflects courses offered in the art studio program at SSU as well as the students’ own creativity, features over 40 works of art in a variety of media—painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, and mixed media. The artwork was selected by Amy Owen, curator at di Rosa, and Chris Thorson, whose work was featured in a recent SSU sculpture show.
1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park
707-664-2295
www.sonoma.edu/artgallery

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
Through May 17, Unconventional and Unexpected: Quilts below the Radar, 1950–2000
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.
Also showing: Shaker Stories—from the Collection of Benjamin H. Rose III
Dreamers, visionaries and utopian pilgrims, the Shakers thrived for more than two hundred years. Benjamin H. Rose III has assembled an exceptional, world-class collection of Shaker furniture and artifacts.
551 Broadway, Sonoma
707-939-7862
www.svma.org

Painting by Suzanne Jacqout.

On The Art Wall at Shige Sushi
Through May 31, Suzanne Jacquot—Abstract Painting
*** Opening Reception, Monday, April 6, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
A recipient of the SFMOMA SECA award, artist Suzanne lives and creates her art in Sonoma County.
8235 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati
707-795-9753

Upstairs Art Gallery
April 4 through April 26, Rural Architecture: Paintings by Dan Scannell
*** Artist’s Reception, Saturday, April 4, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Dan Scannell is interested in the play of light on the buildings he sees in rural settings here in Sonoma County, the California Central Valley, and in his travels. These solitary structures set in wide open spaces have light playing off the surfaces and planes creating shadows and atmosphere, giving them a sense of a particular time and place.
306 Center St., Healdsburg, CA
www.upstairsartgallerysite.com

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