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.

 

Art at the Source Open Studios 2016
Two weekends; June 4, 5, and June 11, 12
Throughout western Sonoma County, studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Showing the work of 137 artists in 87 studios from West Santa Rosa to Bodega Bay, and Valley Ford to Guerneville. Visit and pick up a catalog at the primary preview exhibition at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, www.sebarts.org/, or see www.artatthesource.org/ for maps, schedules and more information.

 

 

Calabi Gallery
Through July 2, James Ford Grant
On view are mixed media sculptures, acrylic paintings with mixed media materials on canvas and panels, digital monoprints, and photographs by James Ford Grant.
456 Tenth St., Santa Rosa
707-781-7070
www.calabigallery.com/

Charles M. Schulz Museum
Through December 4, Mr. Schulz Goes to Washington
Peanuts and politics brushed elbows many times! Pig Pen ran for class president, and Lucy eyed the White House. “Snoopy for President” regalia became popular during elections of the 1960s and 70s, and Schulz himself received multiple White House invitations.
2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa
707-579-4452
www.schulzmuseum.org/

Christie Marks Fine Art Gallery
Through June 18, Barbara Elliott: Selected Works
Elliott creates photographs with Polaroid image transfers, as well as other alternative processes including cyanotype, Van Dyke Printing, and the platinum/palladium process. Her subject is always the human form, whether alive or inanimate, and one senses a haunting humor while recognizing an understated elegance.
312 South A Street, Suite #7, Santa Rosa
707-695-1011
christiemarksfineart.com

Chroma Gallery
June 2 through July 24, The Art of Music
*** Artist reception Friday, June 3, from 5 to 8 p.m.
This exhibition features Sonoma County and Bay Area artists exploring the intersection between art and music in paintings, sculptures, textiles, and handmade musical instruments. This show includes current interpretations, as well as artistic representations of musicians both naturalistic and symbolic. In connection with The Art of Music, Chroma presents a series of live music events at the gallery, check their website for details.
312 South A Street, Santa Rosa
707-293-6051
www.chromagallery.net/

Cloverdale Arts Alliance Gallery
Through July 14, Novel
Featuring the work of Resident Artists; Laura Paine Carr, Pamela Heck, Sharon Kozel, Terry Holleman, Paul Maurer, and Hanya Popova Parker; with Guest Artists, Jane Gardner, sculpture, and Shane Gidcumb, photography.
204 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale
707-894-4410
www.cloverdaleartsalliance.org/

Cloverdale and Geyserville
Through May 2017, SculptureTrail
*** Opening reception, Saturday June 4, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center, 209 N. Cloverdale Blvd.
The Trail is an exhibit of sculptures on the main streets of Geyserville and Cloverdale in the Sonoma County Wine Country. The Sculpture Trail is a year-round exhibit with sculptures changing every 12 months. You can download a map for your visit at www.101sculpturetrail.com/

Corrick’s Art Gallery
Through July 31, Warren Arnold and Marsha Connell
*** First Friday art opening, June 3, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Showing artwork by sculptor Warren Arnold, and painter Marsha Connell.
637 Fourth Street, Santa Rosa
707-546-2424
www.corricks.com

Fulton Crossing Gallery
Through June 12, Art at the Source Showcase Exhibition
Showcasing work by Art at the Source Open Studios artist participants.
1200 River Road, Fulton
707-536-3305
www.fultoncrossing.com/

Gallery at First
June 19 through September 19, Photographer’s Choice “Through the Eyes of the Lens”
*** Opening Reception, Sunday, June 26, from 11:30 to 1 p.m.
This exhibit features juried photography of the members and friends of First Presbyterian Church.
First Presbyterian Church
1550 Pacific Ave, Santa Rosa
707-542-0205
www.fpcsantarosa.org

Gallery One
Through June 12, Art at the Source Showcase Exhibition
Showcasing work by Art at the Source Open Studio participants.
209 Western Ave., Petaluma
www.petalumagalleryone.com/

Graton Gallery
Through July 3, Marylu Downing & Ken Berman: Curves & Angles
With Guest Artists; Char Banach, Don Sumner, Ron Sumner, and Kate Williams.
9048 Graton Road, Graton
707-829-8912
www.gratongallery.net/

 

 

 

Hammerfriar Gallery
Through June 25, “Grace”, photographs by Elisabeth Sunday
For 26 years Elisabeth Sunday has traveled alone and lived among various original peoples of Africa. Sunday’s photographs reveal an interplay of invisible forces that connect her subjects with the world of nature. Utilizing a flexible mirror of her own design, she photographs reflections that blend and dissolve the boundaries between her figures and their environment.
132 Mill Street, Ste.101, Healdsburg
707-473-9600
www.hammerfriar.com/

Healdsburg Center for the Arts
Through July 17, Annual Clay & Glass
The fifth annual Clay and Glass exhibition features 13 artists showcasing diverse media and techniques. Blurring the lines between craft and fine art, this show demonstrates the endless possibilities of clay and glass as creative media.
9130 Plaza Street, Healdsburg
707-431-1970
www.healdsburgcenterforthearts.com/

 

 

 

Kitty Hawk Gallery
June 4 through July 26, North Bay Letterpress Art Show
*** Opening reception, Friday, June 10, 5 to 8 p.m.
Group show of work by NBLP members.
125 N. Main St., Sebastopol
707-861-3904
www.kittyhawkgallery.com/

Laguna Foundation, Heron Hall
Through September 13, Russian River Watershed in Fabric
The Pointless Sisters Art Quilt Group presents an exhibition of art quilts reflecting the diversity of the Russian River Watershed.
900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa
707-527-9277
www.lagunafoundation.org/

Luther Burbank 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
lutherburbankcenter.org
formandenergy.com/new/root101/

Museums of Sonoma County
Art Museum
Through July 24, Tom Holland: Five Decades of Art
This is the first major retrospective of Holland’s work, featuring paintings from his student days in the 1950s to large-scale pieces done this year. Check the website for related events.
511 B Street, Santa Rosa

History Museum
Through September 4, Medieval To Metal: The Art & Evolution of The Guitar
On display are approximately 40 instruments ranging from the rare and antique to the wildly popular and innovative. Organized by the National Guitar Museum, this exhibition explores its history as an instrument of popular culture over the past four hundred years to modern efforts to reinvent the guitar with different materials, shapes, and design.
425 Seventh Street, Santa Rosa
707-579-1500
www.museumsc.org/

Occidental Center for the Arts
Through July 10, Songs From the Sea
Juried by artist Max DuBois, the show celebrates the magnificence of the sea with visual expressions in all mediums including photographs and sculpture.
3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental
707-874-9392
www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org/

 

Paul Mahder Gallery
Through June 4, Transition
Showing glass sculpture and pastel drawings by Ann Wolff; and new paintings by Gurpran Rau.
222 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg
707-473-9150
www.paulmahdergallery.com

Paradise Ridge Winery Sculpture
June 19 through April 2017, Geometric Reflections: Celebrating Ten Years of Voigt Family Sculpture
*** Opening Reception Sunday, June 19, from 1 to 4 p.m.
This exhibition celebrates ten of the highly regarded artists who have been an important part of the Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation. The sculptors in this exhibition are Roger Berry, Dee Briggs, Riis Burwell, Robert Ellison, Peter Forakis, Charles Ginnever, Edwin Hamilton, Ned Kahn, Jann Nunn, and Doug Unkrey, with guest curator, Kate Eilertsen.
4545 Thomas Lake Harris Drive, Santa Rosa
707-528-9463
www.prwinery.com/

Petaluma Arts Center
Through July 10, Zeitgeist–Capturing the Moment through Art
Juried exhibition featuring artwork from Northern California and Hawaii.
230 Lakeville Street, Petaluma
707-762-5600
www.petalumaartscenter.org/

Pie Eyed Open Studio
June 11 and 12, Richard Stangl and Ruth Gendler
Featuring work by photographer Richard Stangl, and painter, printmaker Ruth Gendler, two artists who engage unique perspectives and many different mediums to explore the world around them. On view Saturday & Sunday June 11 & 12, from 12 to 4 p.m. daily. Pie Eyed Open Studio serves up exciting art, scintillating conversation and don’t forget those fresh pies!
2371 Gravenstein Hwy South, Sebastopol
Look for the ART + PIE sign and turn at the Giant Yellow Duck!
Lauri Luck, 707-477-9442

 

Pigment + Paste
June 23 through July 7, Cat Kaufman, Mixed Messages
*** Opening Reception Thursday, June 23, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
6780 Depot Street Ste. 100, in The Barlow, Sebastopol
707-480-6825
pigmentandpaste.com

 

 

 

Ren Brown Collection Gallery
Through July 4, The Magic of Fire
Showcasing the work of 15 northern California wood-fired ceramic artists. The beauty these artists have created ranges from large sculptural and wall-hung to small functional pieces. A single firing may last as long as ten days, and often requires the joint efforts of a team of potters to keep the fire going.
1781 Coast Highway One, Bodega Bay
707-875-2922
www.renbrown.com/

Riverfront Art Gallery
Through July 3, Late Spring Show
*** Art Walk Reception, Saturday, June 11, 5 to 9 p.m.
Photographs by Stephanie Hamilton-Orovetz, and Grant Kreinberg.
132 Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma
707-775-4278
www.riverfrontartgallery.com/

 

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

Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Through June 12, Art at the Source Open Studio Preview Exhibition
Each of the 137 participating artists has one original artwork on view.

June 17 through July 24, Art of the Book
*** Opening reception, Friday, June 17, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Exhibition of handmade books, traditional, unconventional, and/or altered. Juried by Betsy Davids. Also showing, in Gallery III, My Linocut Prints, by Robert Cormack.
282 High Street, in the Veterans’ Memorial Bldg., Sebastopol
707-829-4797
www.sebarts.org/

Sebastopol Gallery
Through June 12, TREEN
Small handmade functional household objects made of wood by Sebastopol wood-turner, Kalia Kliban.
150 N. Main St., Sebastopol
707-829-7200
www.sebastopol-gallery.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

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
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.

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 July 31, Sherry Parker—Collage
*** Opening Reception Monday, June 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Collage artist Sherry Parker draws on the unconscious and serendipity to create her unique images. She uses unexpected and nonsensical imagery, 1950s iconography, deconstruction and humanization of machines, and anthropomorphic hybrids to conjure up surreal worlds.
8235 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati
707-795-9753
http://ctalcroft.wix.com/artwallatshige/

 

 

Upstairs Art Gallery
Through June 26, Pastels and Monotypes by Daniele Todaro
*** Opening Reception Saturday, June 11, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Daniele Todaro’s pastel landscapes and monotypes are guaranteed to make you smile. The joy she feels while creating her art and her love of Sonoma County’s landscape can be seen in her use of expressive colors and complex texture.
306 Center St., Healdsburg
www.upstairsartgallery.net/

If you would like to receive these posts in your e-mail each month, please sign up to follow my blog. This post also appears on my Facebook page; Satri’s Best Bets in the Visual Arts.