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.

Arts Guild of Sonoma
Through July 31, William’s Pond Series
*** Gallery Reception, Saturday July 11, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Featured artist, Jenny Whitfield, uses hand pressed paper collage, acrylic gel mediums, and acrylic paint to create paintings that have the illusion of a three-dimensional aerial pond view. The William’s Pond body of work serves as a metaphor for inner thoughts, emotions and dreams. Also showing in the gallery is the July Member Show, with recent works by arts guild members.
140 East Napa Street, Sonoma
707-996-3115
artsguildofsonoma.org

Mandala Mirror, by Douglas Ballou.

Calabi Gallery
July 3 through August 15, Summer Selections
*** Opening Reception, Friday, July 3, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The exhibition features a selection of works by Douglas Ballou, Eva Belishova, and Bob Dreier, as well as many other gallery artists.
456 Tenth St., Santa Rosa
707-781-7070
www.calabigallery.com

Charles M. Schulz Museum
Through October 18, 2015, Animating Comics
The 1965 debut of A Charlie Brown Christmas brought Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang home to more than 15 million television viewers and enjoyed immediate acclaim. Earning an Emmy for Best Network Animated Special and a Peabody Broadcasting Award, this 30-minute production and the Peanuts films that followed have become treasured additions to our collective culture. This exhibition celebrates the art of animating comics and features rarely displayed production cells from award-winning animations, including Peanuts, Batman, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa
707-579-4452
www.schulzmuseum.org

Chroma Gallery
Through July 10, Metamorphosis; The Art of Change and Rebirth
The artwork in this show visually interprets transformative changes in appearance, character, structure or substance, such as the profound changes in our lives—the transformation from child to adolescent, adult to elder; the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly.
312 South A Street, Santa Rosa
707-293-6051
www.chromagallery.net

Cloverdale Arts Alliance Gallery
Through July 16, Medley
Group show with featured guest artists.

July 17 through September 17, Serenade
*** Artists’ Reception, Saturday, July 18, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The featured resident artist for is Drew Jackson. Guests Artists for are Diana Majumdar and Rive Nestor. Other resident artists included in this exhibition are Laura Paine Carr, Pamela Heck, Terry Holleman, Sharon Kozel, Paul Maurer, and Hanya Popova Parker.
204 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale
707-894-4410
www.cloverdaleartsalliance.org

Graton Gallery
June 30 through August 9, Chiaroscuro
*** Artists’ Reception, Saturday, July 11, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Featuring work by Marylu Downing along with guest artist Patrick Fanning. Also showing work by Judy Bellah, Beverly Bird, Michelle Carnes, Dan Scannell, and Ron Sumner.
9048 Graton Road, Graton
707-829-8912
www.gratongallery.net

Peach Green Vessel.

Healdsburg Center for the Arts
Through August 16, Clay & Glass
Fourth Annual clay and glass exhibition featuring 16 talented California artists, and includes both functional and figurative work, as well as diverse techniques. For a list of exhibiting artists and to see samples of work, go to the HCA website.
9130 Plaza Street, Healdsburg
707-431-1970
www.healdsburgcenterforthearts.com

Ice House Gallery
Through July 4, The Art of the Car
Cars are a huge part of the fabric of our lives and as symbols of our culture. The artists included in this exhibition reflect a tradition of car art that can be nostalgic, fun and beautiful. Works include ceramic sculpture by Jon Gariepy and paintings by Chester Arnold, D.A. Bishop, Gale McKee, Rey Isip, as well as posters by David Singer.
405 East D Street, Studio B, Petaluma
707-778-2238
www.icehousegallery.org

Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, Heron Hall Art Gallery
Through August 30, Breathing Space—Paintings by Susan Ball
On view are new large-scale paintings and drawings by Susan Ball inspired by the Laguna de Santa Rosa.
900 Sanford Rd., Santa Rosa
www.lagunafoundation.org

Museums of Sonoma County
Art Museum
Through September 20, SLANG Aesthetics! The Art of Robert Williams
A true maverick, Robert Williams sought to create vital work that channeled the shifting energies and immediacy of counterculture, from the 60s onward, Williams’ paintings invoked a return to craftsmanship, figuration and demotic imagery that rejected the elitist tenets of conceptual minimalism.
511 B Street, Santa Rosa

Washing Windows, by Otto Hagel.

History Museum
Through August 30, LIFE, Labor, and Purpose: The Photographs of Hansel Mieth and Otto Hagel
This exhibition presents photographs from the Museum’s collection of work by Mieth and Hagel. Living in San Francisco in the 1930s the couple documented the Depression, not just from behind the lens, but toiling in the fields, riding rail cars, and living in tents just like their subjects. Mieth became the second woman to join the LIFE magazine’s corps of photographers. Hansel Mieth and Otto Hagel eventually made their final home on a ranch above Mark West Creek in Santa Rosa.
Also on view is I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story. The work celebrates Asian Pacific American history across a multitude of incredibly diverse cultures. The exhibition takes a look at this history, from the very first Asian immigrants to the influx of highly skilled workers many decades later.
425 Seventh Street, Santa Rosa
707-579-1500
www.sonomacountymuseum.org

Occidental Center for the Arts
Through July 5, Summer Solstice
An exhibition of work by Sonoma County artists interpreting the Summer Solstice. Juried by artist E. Ryder Sutton.

Tree Galaxy Teatro- Center Stage, quilt

July 10 through August 23, Holes
*** Opening reception, Sunday, July 12, from 2 to 5 p.m.
On view are quilts by the Pointless Sisters, an artists’ group dedicated to unconventional quilting. Inspired by the word holes, the quilts actually contain holes, and may suggest or interpret a black hole, cosmic holes, or even an African Watering Hole. The work also takes on an altered point of view, such as from above, below, very near, a bird’s eye view, or from outer space, etc.
3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental
707-874-9392
www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org

Paradise Ridge Winery Sculpture
Through April 2016, Conversations in Sculpture
The exhibition of large outdoor sculpture combines outstanding art with a beautiful and natural setting. Eleven artists explore the theme of Conversations—defined as an exchange of ideas. Participating artists are Terry Berlier, Welat Najeeb, Dee Briggs, Joey Enos, Linda Fleming, Jin Lee, JP Long, Nathan Lynch, Mark Malmberg, Gregory Pagel, and Sabine Reckewell.
4545 Thomas Lake Harris Drive, Santa Rosa
www.celebratesculpture.com or www.prwinery.com

Petaluma Arts Center
Through July 26, Edgar Degas: The Private Impressionist, Works on Paper by the Artist and his Circle
Featuring more than 100 works on paper, the exhibition includes 40 drawings, prints, pastels, and photographs by Degas, as well as works on paper by artists in his circle, including Mary Cassatt, Paul Cézanne, Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. See the website for list of related events.
230 Lakeville Street, Petaluma
707-762-5600
www.petalumaartscenter.org

Ren Brown Collection Gallery
Currently on view in the gallery is a broad selection of Small Works by some favorite artists, including mezzotints by Holly Downing, woodblocks by Tamekane Yoshikatsu, etchings by Higashi Kaoru and a collection of miniature woodblock prints made by Hasui Kawase in 1936. 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 July 5, Two Photographers
Wine Country Retrospective, photographs by Lance Kuehne, and The Nature of My Journey, photographs by Jeff G. Allen.

July 8 through September 6, Showin’ on the River – Juried Fine Art Show
*** Artists’ Reception, Saturday, July 11, 5 to 9 p.m.
132 Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma
707-775-4278
www.riverfrontartgallery.com

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

Santa Rosa Junior College, Petaluma Campus
Mahoney Library Gallery
Through July 26, Alcatraz Florilegium
On view are 31 works by artists of the Northern California Society of Botanical Artists. The collection was created in collaboration with the Garden Conservancy and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy to create a series of botanical drawings and paintings to document the Gardens of Alcatraz.
680 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma
www.santarosa.edu/library/art/mahoney

The Last Shards of Blue, 2014, by Dawn Hart.

Sculpturesite Gallery
Through August 23, Vernissage 2015
In the first exhibition at their new gallery location you can see work by Frances Semple, Judith Stewart, Jane Burton, Tyler Burton, Jeff Metz, Dina Angel-Wing, Bella Feldman, and JP Long indoors, and Troy Pillow and John Tyler outdoors. Also debuting work by California artist Dawn Hart with two figurative bronzes.
Jack London Village, 14301 Arnold Dr. Suite 8, Glen Ellen
707-933-1300
www.anewleafgallery.com

Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Through July 31, Mainly Black and White
Juried exhibition of nearly 60 artworks in a variety of media, selected by Juror, Paul Mahder. In Gallery II, Sentient Life presented by local artist C. Anissa Rust, who translates an energy that belies the term ‘still life.’ Showing in Gallery III, Color Cascades, a colorful fiber installation by Cecily Axt, featuring palettes of painted fabric torn and formed into sculptural hangings.
282 High Street, in the Veterans’ Memorial Bldg., Sebastopol
707-829-4797
www.sebarts.org

Painting by Laine Justice.

SlaughterhouseSpace/Studio
Through August 15, The Battle of Mara
New large-scale abstract paintings by Laine Justice.
280 Chiquita Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
http://www.slaughterhousespace.com

Sonoma State University, University Art Gallery
Gallery closed for the summer.
1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park
707-664-2295
www.sonoma.edu/artgallery

Untitled (c. 1957-66) Richard Diebenkorn, ©The Richard Diebenkorn Foundation.

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
Through August 23, The Intimate Diebenkorn: Works on Paper 1949-1992
Richard Diebenkorn is most widely known for his signature large- scale, vivid abstractions. Through his earlier figurative work Diebenkorn became known as one of the founders of the Bay Area figurative school, a style of realism developed in northern Californian. Go to their website for related programs and events.
551 Broadway, Sonoma
707-939-7862
www.svma.org

The Art Wall at Shige Sushi
Through August 2, Seiko Tachibana—Elements
Seiko’s distinctive art balances Asian tradition with minimalist modernity. Her work is expressed in a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, mixed media, and printmaking. Among printmaking techniques, she is a master of intaglio processes, particularly aquatint.
8235 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati
707-795-9753

The Wine Emporium
Through September 7, Women in Myth and Fairytale
Featured artist, Chamisa Kellogg, explores the role of archetypal female characters, from goddesses to little girls. Most of these stories center around themes like human desire, love, jealousy, vengeance, and longing.
125 N. Main St., Sebastopol
707-823-5200
www.the-wine-emporium.com/slideshow

Upstairs Art Gallery
Through July 26, Vines and Vistas – Paintings by Laura Roney
*** Artist’s reception on July 11, from 3 to 8 p.m.
Laura Roney’s family connection to the wine business gives her ample opportunity to paint the vines and vineyards with which she is so familiar. Frequently painting on location, she captures the light of the day in small paintings that sometimes are recreated in more detail on a larger scale.
306 Center St., Healdsburg
707-431-4214
www.upstairsartgallerysite.com

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