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 ambiance, 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
April 5 through May 1, Fundraiser for Pets Lifeline
*** Opening Reception Friday, April 7, from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Guild provided 50 canvases to students at Presentation School in Sonoma, and asked them to draw, paint, or collage a picture of their special pet, or a cat or dog at the shelter. All proceeds from sales of children’s art will go to Pets Lifeline.
140 East Napa Street, Sonoma
(707) 996-3115
www.artsguildofsonoma.org
Calabi Gallery
Through April 15, We Shall Overcome
*** Closing reception Thursday, April 6 from 5 to 8 p.m.
Art of Defiance and Resistance to Illicit Governance and Corporate Malfeasance. This exhibition features works of art in all media which refer to power-gone-wrong and other social maladies, spanning a period from 1853 to 2017.
April 22 through May 28 Robert P. McChesney: Bay Area Master of Abstraction
*** Opening reception Saturday, April 22 from 4 to 8 p.m.
The exhibition features a 60-Year retrospective of work by Robert McChesney, Bay Area Master of Abstraction.
456 Tenth St., Santa Rosa
707-781-7070
www.calabigallery.com
Charles M. Schulz Museum
Through September 10, It Was A Dark And Stormy Night
Charles Schulz brought his love of literature to his art, especially with his depiction of Snoopy as the “World Famous Author” sitting atop his doghouse using a typewriter. This exhibition explores Schulz’s love of literature, and highlights many Peanuts comic strips where books and writing appear in the lives of his characters.
2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa
707-579-4452
www.schulzmuseum.org
Chroma Gallery
April 6 through May 27, Nature Unbound
*** Artist reception, April 7, from 5 to 8 p.m.
This juried exhibition features artwork which interprets and reacts to the awesome powers of nature; the effects of weather and the elements, wildfire, glaciers, roots breaking rocks, erosion, and entropy. The exhibit includes paintings, sculpture, and photography from Sonoma County and greater Bay Area artists.
312 South A Street, Santa Rosa
707-293-6051
www.chromagallery.net
Cloverdale Arts Alliance Gallery
Through May 19, Marinate
For this exhibit guest artist, Gwen Rosewater, joins resident artists Jane Gardner, Pamela Heck, Terry Holleman, Sharon Kozel, Paul Maurer, and Hanya Popova Parker, with featured resident artist, Laura Paine Carr.
204 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale
707-894-4410
www.cloverdaleartsalliance.org
Cloverdale and Geyserville
Through May 2017, SculptureTrail
The Trail is an exhibit of sculptures on the main streets in 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.
Corricks Art Trails Gallery
April 5 through May 31, The Birds & the Bees
*** First Friday Opening April 7, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Showcasing work by Art Trails artists, focusing on the birds, the bees, and much more! Each artist is bringing his or her own approach to the subject.
637 Fourth Street, Santa Rosa
707-546-2424
www.corricks.com
Graton Gallery
Through April 16, Spaces Retraced
Work by Susan Ball and Tim Haworth, with guest artists Lily Bobek, Carol Leif, Sasha Pepper, and Sandra Spiedel.
April 18 through May 28, Transparency – It’s All About Glass
*** Artist Reception Saturday, April 22, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Featuring work by Sally Baker and six Glass Artists: Valerie Adams, Branka Harris, Mark Freed, Laurence, Gandolfo-Salatino, and Carla Sarvis. With Guest Artists, Robert Ingram, Karren Reyburn, Helen Mehl, and Luann Udell.
9048 Graton Road, Graton
707-829-8912
www.gratongallery.net
Hammerfriar Gallery
132 Mill Street, Ste.101, Healdsburg
707-473-9600
www.hammerfriar.com
Healdsburg Center for the Arts
9130 Plaza Street, Healdsburg
707-431-1970
www.healdsburgcenterforthearts.com
IceHouse Gallery
Through April 22, Body Language – Five Artists Interpret the Figure
The artists included in the exhibition are Michele Gregor, Mark Galt, John Goodman, Edmund Grant, and Susannah Israel. They work in lyrical modes evoking emotional responses with color and texture.
405 East D St. Petaluma
707-778-2238
www.icehousegallery.org
Laguna Foundation, Heron Hall
Through April 27, Birds of the Laguna; Paintings by Diana Majumdar
This exhibit features local artist Diana Majumdar’s mixed media and encaustic paintings of birds and landscapes of the Laguna de Santa Rosa. She combines various media into the finished painting, including watercolor, ink, graphite, collage, and chine collé.
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
http://formandenergy.com/new/root101/
Museums of Sonoma County
Art Museum
Through April 30, Outside Voice: Tarp Paintings by Marc Katano
Featuring Marc Katano’s most recent series of abstractions on 9 x 12 foot canvas tarps, and works on handmade Nepalese paper. Katano’s paintings are about mark-making and may remind the viewer of the visual language of Japanese kanji, based on Chinese characters.
History Museum
April 15 through July 9, Fighting the Great War at Home and Abroad
*** Opening reception Friday, April 14 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Marking the 100th anniversary of US entry into the “Great War,” the History Museum of Sonoma County presents an exhibition exploring how WWI touched so many lives, both at home and abroad.
425 Seventh Street, Santa Rosa
707-579-1500
www.museumsc.org
Occidental Center for the Arts
Through May 14, Spring Equinox: When Day and Night Are Equal
The exhibit honors the sacred significance of the Spring Equinox with artworks that express the power and beauty of new beginnings, of life springing forth from the dark and the cold into warmth and light.
3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental
707-874-9392
www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org
Paul Mahder Gallery
Through May 21, Barry Masteller, Natural Occurrence
Masteller’s work reflects a keen understanding of painting as a three-dimensional terrain, formed by sedimented layers of pigment binder and varnish, and built up, like geological formations, over the course of time.
222 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg
707-473-9150
www.paulmahdergallery.com
Paradise Ridge Winery Sculpture
Through April 2017, Geometric Reflections: Celebrating Ten Years of Voigt Family Sculpture
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.
4545 Thomas Lake Harris Drive, Santa Rosa
707-528-9463
www.prwinery.com
Petaluma Arts Center
April 4 through May 20, theNeuwPolitic: Artists Explore
*** Opening reception Saturday, April 1, from 5 to 7 p.m.
This juried exhibition explores the current political climate as each individual artist envisions it, and includes work by 80 Northern and Central California artists in a variety of media.
230 Lakeville Street, Petaluma
707-762-5600
www.petalumaartscenter.org
Ren Brown Collection Gallery
Through April 30, Remembering Robert DeVee
*** Reception Saturday April 1, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In celebrating the life of artist Robert DeVee, this retrospective exhibition features DeVee’s paintings, silkscreens and monotypes. 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 7, Showin’ on the River, Spring Show
Juried Photography Show.
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
https://art-gallery.santarosa.edu/robert-f-agrella-art-gallery
Sculpturesite Gallery
Jack London Village
14301 Arnold Dr. Suite 8, Glen Ellen
707-933-1300
www.sculpturesite.com
Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Through April 16, Main Gallery: Exhibition 60+
Creative expressions by artists 60 and over.
Through May 7, Gallery II; Peter Krohn; From Grief to Gratitude: Peter Krohn’s Personal Journey.
Gallery III; One Thing Leads to Another; Paintings and Sculptures by Lisa Beerntsen.
282 High Street, Sebastopol
707-829-4797
www.sebarts.org
Sebastopol Gallery
Through May 28, 10th Anniversary Windows Round Robin
To begin the celebration of Sebastopol Gallery’s 10th anniversary, they are featuring the work of one member artist in each window of the gallery during April and May. Artists showing during April are: Lucy Martin, Jeff Watts, Kalia Kliban, Paula Matzinger, Susan St. Thomas, Jim Cyb, and Teri Sloat.
150 N. Main St, Sebastopol
707-829-7200
www.sebastopol-gallery.com/
Sonoma State University, University Art Gallery
Through April 23, Juried Student Exhibition
SSU Art Gallery presents this year’s student show juried by Randy Colosky and Claudia Morales McCain.
1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park
707-664-2295
www.sonoma.edu/artgallery
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
April 15 through June 18, Memory & Resistance: The Work of Joseph DeLappe
DeLappe has been working in the field of new media and politically based art for over 25 years. This exhibition highlights several key works, ranging from “dead-in-Iraq”, wherein he entered an online network for a defense department-funded and very popular video game to type in the names of fallen US soldiers from the Iraq war to his most recent explorations of the cost and consequences of drone warfare, including the recent project “Killbox”, the critically acclaimed computer game. These and other works represent a history of projects that seek to engage issues of memory and political action, to critically question our complicity, reliance and embrace of new technologies.
551 Broadway, Sonoma
707-939-7862
www.svma.org
Spring Lake Village Exhibit Gallery
Through April 28, Natural Visions
Showcasing Mixed-Media art by Simmon Factor.
Spring Lake Village Exhibit Gallery
5555 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa
The Art Wall at Shige Sushi
Through April 30, Contemporary Bay Area Photography
A show of recent work by nine accomplished Bay Area photographers, Holly Anderson, Bill Baldewicz, Bob Cornelis, Barbara Elliott, Janis Crystal Lipzin, Maureen Lomasney, Michael Maggid, Austin Reynolds, and Colin Talcroft. Includes work using digital, analog, and alternative processes.
8235 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati
707-795-9753
http://ctalcroft.wix.com/artwallatshige/
The Spinster Sisters
April 4 through June 5, s+oryprobl=m :: alternate route
*** Artist reception Tuesday, April 4, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Work by C.K. Itamura. Individually, delicate teacups and bowls handmade out of paper are fragile vessels that can easily be crushed or dissolved; bound together, they are transformed into a beacon of encouragement to proceed, evolve and boldly persist over, around and through innumerable ostensible obstacles placed along the path.
401 South A Street, Santa Rosa
www.thespinstersisters.com
Upstairs Art Gallery
April 8 through April 30, Yellow – Paintings by Donna Schaffer
*** Artist’s Reception, Saturday, April 8 from 5 to 9 p.m.
In capturing colors on her canvases, Donna Schaffer strives to infuse her oil paintings with emotion and a certain level of magic found in the color “Yellow”. Schaffer carefully selects scenes and objects that elicit the bright, cheery feel of the color.
306 Center St., Healdsburg
707-431-4214
www.Upstairsartgallery.net
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Love your site and will follow blog and catch you on FB. Your knowledge on art is vast and we are lucky to have you share it with our county.
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Thanks for the kind words Linda, we have so many creative people in Sonoma County.
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