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.

Calabi Gallery
March 5 through April 30, 3/16th OFF!
*** Opening reception Saturday, March 5 from 4 to 7 p.m.
On view are artworks from their vintage collection as well as new and contemporary work by Douglas Ballou, Warren Bellows, C.K. Itamura, Jim Spitzer, and many others. In addition, they will be featuring work by new gallery artist, Catherine Daley.
456 Tenth St., Santa Rosa
707-781-7070
www.calabigallery.com

Charles M. Schulz Museum
Through April 24, 2016, Snoopy and the Red Baron
Snoopy first imagined himself as a World War I Flying Ace on October 10, 1965, making 2015 the 50th anniversary of this popular persona. When asked about the origins of Snoopy’s aviator role, Charles Schulz credited his son’s interest in making plastic airplane models as his chief inspiration. Schulz described drawing a little helmet on Snoopy . . . acknowledging, “I knew I had one of the best things I had thought of in a long time.”
2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa
707-579-4452
www.schulzmuseum.org

Christie Marks Fine Art Gallery
March 3 through April 16, Translations; Photography by Don Van Amerongen
***Opening Reception, Friday, March 4, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The show features digitally painted photos taken in Myanmar, India, and Tibet. A restless voyager, Don’s work explores the interpretive intersection between color, form and meaning, while reimagining the ancient artifacts, places and spiritual traditions of these mystical lands. Conversation with the Artist; Thursday, March 17, 6 p.m.
312 South A Street, Suite #7, Santa Rosa
707-695-1011
http://christiemarksfineart.com

 

Chroma Gallery
March 17 through April 22, Art of The Figure
*** Artist’s reception: Friday, March 18, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Featuring artwork by members of the many Sonoma County figure drawing groups who get together to draw or paint from live models.
312 South A Street, Santa Rosa
707-293-6051
www.chromagallery.net

 

Cloverdale Arts Alliance Gallery
Through March 17, Inquiry
Featured Resident Artist for this group show is Sharon Kozel, along with Laura Paine Carr, Pamela Heck, Terry Holleman, Drew Jackson, Paul Maurer, and Hanya Popova Parker, and Guest Artists; Mary Linnea Vaughan, Wayne Husted, and Ann Frowick showing Abstract painting, glass, and sculpture.
204 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale
707-894-4410
www.cloverdaleartsalliance.org

Dutton-Goldfield Winery
Through March 15, Paintings By Marsha Connell
Coast and Countryside, Plein Air Landscapes of Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino.
3100 Gravenstein Highway North
Corner of Hwy 116 and Graton Road, Sebastopol
www.duttongoldfield.com/news

Gallery 300
March 26 through April 24, Visualization: Seeing Through The Eyes Of Two Women Artists
*** Opening Reception Saturday, March 26, 2016 from 2 to 5 p.m.
This exhibition of all new work by Jennifer Hirshfield and C.K. Itamura explores the differences between and commonalities of their approaches to creating art and the materials they use to manifest their visions. Closing Reception Sunday, April 24 from 2 to 5 p.m.
300 South A Street, Santa Rosa
Gallery-300.com
PeachFarmStudio.com

Graton Gallery
March 1, through April 10, Nine Artists ~ Nine Perspectives
*** Artists Reception, Saturday, March 5, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Graton Gallery Partners Show Featuring: Sally Baker, Susan R. Ball, Marylu Downing, Bruce K. Hopkins, Rik Olson, Pamella Powell, Susan Proehl, Sandra Rubin, and Mylette Welch. With guest artists: Tim Haworth, Nancy Lee, Steve Richards, and Jill See.
9048 Graton Road, Graton
707-829-8912
www.gratongallery.net

 

Hammerfriar Gallery
Through April 9, Moving Target: American Dream
A mixed media exhibit of work by Ryan Carrington, who deals with a wide range of issues that connect labor, class, work ethic, and economics with his personal history and family. Using cast objects, construction materials, and tools that combine craftsmanship with symbolic irony, he is able to communicate his thoughts, ideas, and memories regarding themes of labor.
132 Mill Street, Ste.101, Healdsburg
707-473-9600
www.hammerfriar.com

 

Healdsburg Center for the Arts
March 10 through April 10, Full Circle: Pond Farm Revisited
*** Opening Reception Saturday, March 12, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Showcasing the work of five potters; Thor Thornson, Peter Hegland, Jeanne and David Aurelius, Kate and Jere Huffman, who were students of Marguerite Wildenhain at the historical Pond Farm Pottery, located in Armstrong Woods.
9130 Plaza Street, Healdsburg
707-431-1970
www.healdsburgcenterforthearts.com

 

Ice House Gallery
405 East D Street, Studio B, Petaluma
707-778-2238
www.icehousegallery.org

Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, Heron Hall Art Gallery
Through April 24, California Flora
On view are botanical paintings in colored pencil by Nina Antze.
900 Sanford Rd., Santa Rosa
www.lagunafoundation.org

Lawson Galleries Guerneville
March 1 through March 30, Gayle Cooper Uncommon Threads
***Artist Reception March 4, 1st Friday Art Walk 5 to 8 p.m.
New fiber works from Sebastopol artist Gayle Cooper.
16300 Church St., Guerneville
707-869-1099

My Daughter the Framer, inside Corricks
March 3 through April 30, Pieter Myers
*** Opening reception Friday, March 4, 5 to 7 p.m.
Photogravure prints of figure drawings by Pieter Myers.
637 4th Street, Santa Rosa
707-542-3599

Museums of Sonoma County
Art Museum
Through April 17, Running Fence: 40 Years Post
Honoring the 40th anniversary of the Running Fence since it graced the hills of Sonoma and Marin Counties in 1976, the show features artwork by Christo and Jeanne-Claude from the Tom Golden collection, including drawings, sculptures, collages, and photographs.
511 B Street, Santa Rosa

History Museum
Ongoing, The History of Sonoma County in 100 Objects
An authentic object not only bears witness to history, it is also part of history—it was there, at that time, at that place. Selecting from its collection of over 17,000 objects, the History Museum of Sonoma County presents the History of Sonoma County in 100 objects.
425 Seventh Street, Santa Rosa
707-579-1500
www.museumsc.org

Occidental Center for the Arts
Through March 13, Gallery Volunteers – Gratitude
Showcasing artwork by the dedicated OCA volunteers. If you are interested in becoming an OCA volunteer, contact the Center for details.

March 19 to May 7, X Posed
*** Opening reception, Saturday, March 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Showing artwork by participants of the ongoing Thursday Night Drawing Group.
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
March 19 through May 1, Cast, Forged & Welded: MetalWorks
*** Artist Reception Saturday, March 19, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Showcasing the work of ten Bay Area artists, the exhibition explores contemporary trends in metal sculpture and demonstrates a variety of ways the unique properties of metal are used to create expressive and design-focused works of art. See the website for a list of related events.
230 Lakeville Street, Petaluma
707-762-5600
www.petalumaartscenter.org

Pigment + Paste
Through March 12, Proust: Ink Paintings
New paintings by Isabelle Proust.
6780 Depot Street, In the Barlow, Sebastopol
707-861-3867
www.pigmentandpaste.com

Ren Brown Collection Gallery
Currently on view are recent acquisitions of work by Sarah Brayer, Katsunori Hamanishi, Daniel Kelly, Gashu Fukami, Carol Brighton, Shigeki Kuroda, and Bill Poulson. 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
March 9 through May 8, Annual Juried Photography Show
*** Opening Reception, Saturday, March 12, from 5 to 9 p.m.
Featuring the work of over 20 artists using straight as well as mixed-media photography.
132 Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma
707-775-4278
www.riverfrontartgallery.com

 

 

 

Santa Rosa Junior College, Robert F. Agrella Art Gallery
Through March 17, Spiritual Journey, Jingdezhen Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute
Showcasing ceramics by Hiroshi Fuchigami, Metamorphosis from 1997 to the Present; and Gary Erickson, Ten years of Autobiography in American and Jingdezhen, China.
1501 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa
707-527-4298
www.santarosa.edu/art-gallery

Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Through March 20, Abstract
In the Main Gallery; Abstract, a juried show selected by Frances McCormack.
Also Showing: In Gallery II; Biodiversity, a Closer Look, sculpture by Bambi Waterman, and fresco by Krista Anandakuttan. In Gallery III; Spellbound; Morocco from Photos to Easel. Inspired by travel in Morocco, this show features 15 mixed media works by Christie Marks produced over the last two years. Accompanying the artwork are the reference photos taken by Marks during her travels.
282 High Street, in the Veterans’ Memorial Bldg., Sebastopol
707-829-4797
www.sebarts.org

Sebastopol Gallery
March 12, Lucy Martin
*** Artist’s Reception Saturday, March 12, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Lucy paints mushrooms, mostly in gouache and watercolor, with occasional use of colored pencil.
150 N. Main St, Sebastopol
707-829-7200
www.sebastopol-gallery.com/

 

Sonoma State University,
University Art Gallery
Through March 13, YES! Glue: A Half-Century of Collage by Bruce and Jean Conner
Collage—the art of cutting, gluing, and re-contextualizing found images from a variety of sources—has played a significant, if often subversive, role in the history of 20th century art, and was used by a group of Beat Generation artists living in the Bay Area during the 1950s and 60s, among them Bruce and Jean Conner. Gallery Talk with Jean Conner and Robert Conway, director of The Conner Family Trust, on Thursday, March 3, 12 noon.
1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park
707-664-2295
www.sonoma.edu/artgallery

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
March 19 through June 12, Modern Twist: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art
Modern Twist explores the evocative, sensual and sculptural power of contemporary bamboo art. It brings 38 exceptional works by 17 Japanese artists, displaying many of these technically innovative and imaginatively crafted works for the first time.

Also showing:  Thomas Ingmire: Contemporary Calligraphy,  Internationally renowned calligrapher Thomas Ingmire transgresses the boundaries of painting as well as the beauty of language in this exhibition of artist’s books, calligraphic works, drawings and sketchbooks.
551 Broadway, Sonoma
707-939-7862
www.svma.org

 

The Art Wall at Shige Sushi
Through April 3, Facets: Collage and paintings by Lisa Beerntsen and Deborah Salomon
Beerntsen’s delicately colored paintings are suggestive of mineral formations and complex organic molecules. Salomon’s subtle collages of found material are overlaid with multi-faceted forms that reflect a life-long interest in crystal structures.
8235 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati
707-795-9753
http://ctalcroft.wix.com/artwallatshige/

 

The PASSDOOR
March 1 through April 10, Choreography of Color by Jill Keller Peters
*** Artist Reception on Saturday, March 19, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Keller Peters is introducing her new paintings that combine warms and cools, lights and shadow, expressed in color-filled squares. The theme is an exploration of the rhythms and movements of color created to examine the states of wellbeing and wonder. These paintings are simple, yet complex in the relationship between each carefully chosen color present on the canvas.
6780 McKinley St., #150, The Barlow, Sebastopol
www.thepassdoor.net/

 

Upstairs Art Gallery
Through March 27, Lenona Winter – California Impressionist
*** Opening Reception Saturday, March 5, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Lenona Winter’s impressionistic paintings are her responses to the landscapes of Sonoma County; from the oak covered hills of Taylor Mountain to Bodega’s rugged coast. She seeks out emotionally-involving subjects that she returns to often, painting on-site.
306 Center St., Healdsburg.
www.Upstairsartgallery.net

 

 

Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Sculpture Garden
Through June 2017, Root 101
On view in the new Sculpture Garden is the inaugural exhibition of recent work by Bruce Johnson. The work is comprised of colossal wood sculptures made from salvaged old growth redwood, which he has been working with for over 50 years.
50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa
http://wellsfargocenterarts.org/
http://formandenergy.com/new/root101/

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