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.
Please check with the venues for current status of health protocols, hours, events and exhibitions.
Arts Guild of Sonoma
August 4 through October 4, AGS Member Show
*** Opening reception August 7, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Twenty-three AGS Member Artists exhibit their work.
707-996-3115
www.artsguildofsonoma.org
Backstreet Gallery
August 7 through August 29, Recognition: Rethinking Art and Life
*** Opening reception Saturday, August 7, from 5 to 8 p.m.
For the past four years Kristen Throop has been working on a single project. At the center of the project is Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’ famous 1853 portrait of the Princesse de Broglie, which hangs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Each of the 34 pieces in the exhibition relate to a different aspect of Ingres’s portrait, fitting together like a puzzle which then reveals a larger narrative. Sunday Talks: Each Sunday at 1 p.m., throughout August, Throop will be giving a talk on a different aspect of the show.
SOFA Arts District
Art Alley, South A Street, Santa Rosa
inquiries@kristenthroop.com
Café Frida Gallery
Through August 29, Elementals – Suzanne Edminster
On view are recent paintings by Suzanne Edminster.
300 South A Street, #4, Santa Rosa
www.cafefridagallery.com
Calabi Gallery
Extended through August 30, Extraction: Art on the Edge of the Abyss
A group show of artists whose work addresses issues of resource consumption through a broad array of artistic mediums. Featured artists include Douglas Ballou, Mima Cataldo, Catherine Daley, Robin A. Dintiman, Holly Downing, Molly Eckler, Art Hazelwood, Iva Hladis, Tyler James Hoare, Bernadette Howard, Evri Kwong, Emmanuel Catarino Montoya, Bob Nugent, Bambi Waterman, Penny Wolin, and others. Special programs and events will take place during the exhibition. This exhibition is part of a Nation-wide, multi-venue project that seeks to provoke societal change by exposing and interrogating the social and environmental consequences of industrialized natural resource extraction.
456 Tenth St., Santa Rosa
707-781-7070
www.calabigallery.com
Charles M. Schulz Museum
Through January 16, 2022, Adults by Schulz
The new exhibition unveils unpublished comic strip featuring adults. Sometime in the mid-1950s, Schulz developed a concept for a workplace humor strip featuring adults. He titled it Hagemeyer after his close friend from the Army. The strip was proposed to United Feature Syndicate as a new strip by Charles Schulz. Until now, all seven strips have never been seen together in one place.
2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa
707-579-4452
www.schulzmuseum.org
Cloverdale Arts Alliance Gallery
204 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale
707-894-4410
www.cloverdaleartsalliance.org
Cloverdale Sculpture Trail
Through April 27, 2022, Cloverdale Sculpture Trail
Ten new sculptures have been installed along the Cloverdale Sculpture Trail in downtown Cloverdale after a 3 month delay due to COVID-19. Cloverdale Boulevard between Citrus Fair Drive and 3rd Street is lined with an array of playful and provocative sculptures. What better way to spark our Imagination than with this impressive exhibit of public art? The current Trail will be available for viewing until April, 2022. For sculpture locations, download a map of the walkable Sculpture Trail.
https://cloverdalesculpturetrail.org/
Corricks Art Trails Gallery/ My Daughter the Framer
August 6 through September 25, Art Trails Open Studios Preview Show
*** First Friday Reception! Friday, August 6, from 5 to 7 p.m.
With the return of Art Trails Open Studios to Sonoma County this Fall, we’re so excited to announce the return of Corrick’s First Friday art receptions! And we’re starting it off by featuring dozens of Art Trails’ artists – our primary collaborators in the Gallery!
637 Fourth Street, Santa Rosa
707-546-2424
www.corricks.com
Erickson Fine Art Gallery
324 Healdsburg Ave. Healdsburg
707-431-7073
https://www.ericksonfineartgallery.com/
Fulton Crossing Gallery
Currently on display in the Gallery, Petals + Fur
Paintings by Mylette Welch.
Sonoma County Art Trails Preview Exhibition
*** Opening Reception Saturday August 28, from 4 to 7 p.m.
1200 River Road, Fulton
707-536-3305
www.fultoncrossing.com/
Gallery 300
Through August 12, Through Her Eyes
Gallery presents a multicultural Women’s Figurative show exploring depictions of women from solitary images to those that interact with other figures. Curated by artist and Gallery owner Jennifer Hirshfield, and artist Maria De Los Angeles. Featuring over 20 artists, including, Linda Vallejo, Maria de Los Angeles, Maria Cañas, and Martha Wade.
6780 McKinley St., Suite 130, The Barlow
707-332-1212
www.gallery-300.com
Graton Gallery
Through August 22, Colors of the Earth
Featuring works by gallery partners Mylette Welch and Tim Haworth, with Guest Artists: Judith Corning, Adrienne Momi, and Patricia Oberg. Also on view are works by artists from the Sebastopol Center of the Arts open studios events.
9048 Graton Road, Graton
707-829-8912
www.gratongallery.net
Healdsburg Center for the Arts
130 Plaza Street, Healdsburg
707-431-1970
https://healdsburgcenterforthearts.org
IceHouse Gallery
August 7 through August 14, Theory Forward
*** Opening reception Saturday, August 7, from 5 to 8 p.m.
An exhibition of new images and objects by Jeffrey Ventrella and Jim Vogel.
405 East D St, Petaluma
707-778-2238
www.digitalgrange.com
Laguna Foundation, Heron Hall
Through August 31, Salute to the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation
*** Closing Reception Saturday, August 28, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Watercolors and Pyrography by Julianne Sooley. Meet the artist and get a deeper look into A Salute to the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation.
900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa
707-527-9277
www.lagunafoundation.org
Museum of Sonoma County
Art
Through October 31, 2021
35: Thirty-Five Artists for Thirty-Five Years
Curated by Jeff Nathanson, on the occasion of the Museum’s thirty-fifth anniversary, the exhibition presents a sampling of artworks from the Museums art collection. Over the years, the MSC collection has grown to include artworks ranging from works on paper, to photographs, paintings, sculpture, ceramics and crafts, spanning over a century of art-making, from the 19th to the 21st Century. With this in mind, the artworks selected for 35: Thirty-Five Artists for Thirty-Five Years explore a broad range of media and styles. Of particular interest are themes that are recurring in MSC’s collecting practices, such as landscape and the environment, social commentary, mixed media experimentation, and abstraction.
History
Ongoing, The Portal Service
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jessica Rasmussen, Anna Wiziarde, and Julian Billotte opened the first known Portal in Courthouse Square; a gilded mailbox, for letters to the past or future. A small sample of these letters is viewable in this exhibit. Towards the end of the project, the Portal Service was astonished to receive a cease and desist from the United States Postal Service. It was for infringement on USPS intellectual property, i.e. the similarity of the name and the shape of the iconic collection box.
Ongoing, Go Big or Go Home: Taking Measure of Sonoma County’s Past
Does size matter? When you are making history it does! From agriculture, to transportation, to architecture, big stuff has big things to say about history. From giant tools, to a massive winery door, to a long Russian River canoe, to a surrey with a fringe on top; take a journey through the world of BIG THINGS and the stories they have to tell about Sonoma County.
425 Seventh Street, Santa Rosa
707-579-1500
www.museumsc.org
Occidental Center for the Arts
3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental
707-874-9392
www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org
Paul Mahder Gallery
Through August 15, Words of Justice, New Paintings by Wosene Worke Kosrof
Wosene Worke Kosrof, a major Ethiopian/American artist, advocates for justice and human rights in color and abstract forms. Gallery is open limited hours and by appointment. Easy social distancing in the large gallery. Please wear a mask for entry.
222 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg
707-473-9150
https://paulmahdergallery.com/
Petaluma Arts Center
August 14 through September 18, By Hand: Makers Among Us
*** Opening reception Saturday, August 14, 5 to 7 p.m.
This exhibition looks at the work of Petaluma creatives. In an effort to expand our definition and perception of the arts, we shine a light on these makers from our local community who create beauty and function in their work; taking art off the wall and highlighting connections between art and life. In a juxtaposition of objects, images and text, a story of methods and materials unfolds, illuminating both product and process. Curated by Carin Jacobs.
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 September 5, Riverfront’s Summer Show
Featured Artist: Jerrie Jerné
132 Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma
707-775-4278
www.riverfrontartgallery.com
Santa Rosa Arts Center
Through August 28, Our Precious Planet
A gallery and on-line exhibition.
SOFA Arts District
312 South A Street, Santa Rosa
707-293-6051
https://santarosaartscenter.org/
Santa Rosa Junior College, Robert F. Agrella Art Gallery
1501 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa
707-527-4298
https://art-gallery.santarosa.edu
Sculpturesite, Glen Ellen
Current on-line exhibition, Josef Marek: Infinity Trapped, Glass Sculptures
Presenting an exclusive on-line exhibition featuring 22 exquisite glass sculptures by Czech artist Josef Marek. Our indoor space is now closed, but our outdoor SculptureWALK exhibition can still be viewed 7 days a week.
14301 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen
707-933-1300
www.sculpturesite.com
Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Through September 12, Fiber Arts X
The Exhibition is in collaboration with the Surface Design Association, and juried by Carol Beadle, fiber artist and teacher, Melissa Leviton, curator and specialist in textiles and costume, and Tom Grotto, photographer and gallery owner.
282 High Street, Sebastopol
707-829-4797
www.sebarts.org
Sebastopol Gallery
150 N. Main St, Sebastopol
707-829-7200
www.sebastopol-gallery.com/
Sonoma State University, University Art Gallery
1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park
707-664-2295
www.sonoma.edu/artgallery
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
Through September 5, Sacred Landscapes, The Art of Ynez Johnston
This retrospective exhibition features paintings, sculptures, and prints from more than seven decades by Ynez Johnston (1920-2019). Ynez’s creative life was marked by a fluid aesthetic that explored numerous personal topographies and exotic cultural influences gleaned from her many adventurous travels throughout the world.
Through September 5, Question Bridge: Black Males
Question Bridge is an innovative and widely exhibited video installation from artists Chris Johnson and Hank Willis Thomas in collaboration with Bayeté Ross Smith and Kamal Sinclair. The project explores challenging issues within the black male community through a transmedia conversation among black men across geographic, economic, generational, educational, and social strata of American society.
Through October 19, A Delicate Balance
Public Art Exhibition in Sonoma Plaza featuring sculptures by four outstanding artists from diverse backgrounds—Bruce Beasley, Catherine Daley, Peter Hassen, and Jun Kaneko. Comprised of abstract and representational sculptures in metal, granite, and Plexiglas, the work explores the balance between nature and technology, fragile and solid, humankind and science. Viewers are also reminded of the delicate balance of life, as we consider how our world has changed over the past year.
551 Broadway, Sonoma
707-939-7862
www.svma.org
Upstairs Art Gallery
Through August 29, People Who Need People
*** Opening Reception August 7, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Tosya Shore, presents People Who Need People, a collection of watercolor paintings that capture people with people, whether they are strangers passing on the street or couples relaxing together. Shore’s colorful renditions are vibrant images that bring life to the scenes. The Staircase Showcase features Victoria Kochergin’s Nature’s Magnificence, a collection of colored pencil botanicals, each capturing a moment in time in exquisite detail.
306 Center Street, Healdsburg
707-431-4214
www.Upstairsartgallery.net
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