A Press Democrat Blog

Arts

Dan Taylor on the fine arts scene.

‘Out of Order’ one-night art show May 25 in downtown Santa Rosa

Wednesday, at 11:08 by

A vacant, two-story warehouse on a side street in downtown Santa Rosa will become an art gallery for just one night this weekend. “Out of Order,” a free exhibition of work by more than 40 artists from Sonoma County to the United Kingdom, will run from 4:30 p.m. to midnight Saturday (May 25) at the former site of the Santa Rosa Printing Co., 575 Ross St. The show is the brainchild of Roman D’Argenzio, 26, who staged the monthly “Kaleidoscope”… Read More »

Healdsburg Museum exhibits memorabilia from actor Fred MacMurray’s nearby ranch

Tuesday, at 7:00 by

Fred MacMurray is remembered as a successful screen actor, from his dark portrayal of a desperate man in the 1944 crime drama “Double Indemnity” to the title role of Disney’s “Absent-Minded Professor” in 1961. Above all, he was the ultimate father figure, whether he was playing the exasperated dad in the original “Shaggy Dog” film in 1959, or the wiser, calmer patriarch in 12 seasons of TV’s “My Three Sons,” from 1960 to 1972. In the Healdsburg area, MacMurray and… Read More »

Sebastopol artist Ned Kahn proposes $2 million sculpture at Denver airport

Monday, at 12:00 by

Internationally recognized Sebastopol sculptor Ned Kahn’s proposal for a $2 million public art installation at the Denver International Airport is moving through the approval process. “Earlier this year, the airport had a big competition and got it down to a couple of proposals, and they picked mine. The project still has to jump through a couple of approval hopes,” Kahn said. “They need to get their local city council to approve it.” The piece Kahn plans will be a kinetic… Read More »

Former Sonoma County artist hosts Australian TV series

Friday, at 10:50 by

Followers of local fine arts may remember an Australian painter named Graeme Stevenson, who lived and worked in Sonoma County for a decade, from 1991 to 2001, before returning to his homeland. He was back in Santa Rosa recently, talking about his Australian reality television series, “Put Some Color In Your Life.” A husky 54-year-old, with piercing blue eyes and reddish and white hair and beard, Stevenson doesn’t look much like the art critic type you might expect to host… Read More »

Paintings by Grace Slick to be shown in Healdsburg

Tuesday, at 12:19 by

Based on her tempestuous rock-star career as lead singer for Jefferson Airplane in the 1960s, no one would expect Grace Slick to be shy or demure, even at age 73. And sure enough, she isn’t. “I’ve lived a good life,” she said by phone from her Malibu home. “Now I’m an old broad.” In her second career as an artist, Slick produces paintings just as colorful and provocative as her songs. She’ll appear Saturday, May 18, at the Norcal Modern… Read More »

Santa Rosa Junior College displays its permanent art collection

Wednesday, at 7:00 by

Santa Rosa Junior College is putting its permanent art collection, featuring almost 80 works created by 52 artists who have worked at the college over the past six decades, on display at its Doyle Library. The Doyle Collection, assembled over the past two years by college library technician Scott Lipanovich, will be shown on the third and fourth floors of the library. “The works — several quite large — are spread over about 1.5 acres of floor space” at the… Read More »

Art by painter, teacher Maury Lapp shown in Santa Rosa

Thursday, at 8:58 by

“Local living treasure” is probably one of those  phrases that has lost much of its meaning through overuse, and should be retired. But before we ban that cliche, let’s use it just one more time to describe a man who really deserves it. Maurice Lapp, 87, known to everyone as Maury, started teaching art at Santa Rosa Junior College in 1956. He still teaches part-time there, and paints nearly every day at his Santa Rosa home studio. His painting career… Read More »

Tom Everhart’s Snoopy paintings on display in Healdsburg

Monday, at 1:35 by

The characters from Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strips have appeared in many media, from animated films to plush dolls. Among the most interesting  “Peanuts”-inspired projects are the paintings and silkscreen prints of Southern California artist Tom Everhart. The new Norcal Modern gallery at 115 Plaza St. in Healdsburg is showing some of Everhart’s fanciful depictions of Snoopy and his friends, featuring 11 new silkscreen editions and six original paintings, through the month of April. After meeting Schulz in 1980, Everhart… Read More »

Santa Rosa inventor wins Game of the Year award

Monday, at 12:26 by

Perplexus, the three-dimensional, labyrinthine puzzle invented by Santa Rosa Junior College art teacher Michael McGinnis, was named Game of the Year on Saturday, Feb. 9, by the Toy Industry Association in New York. Worldwide balloting for the honor began last November, with association members, consumers, retailers and journalists voting online. “It is wonderful to be recognized with this award,” McGinnis said. “But this was never made to win awards. It was made to serve as a skill-building tool, and to… Read More »

New photo exhibit at Sonoma County Museum draws a crowd

Tuesday, at 7:00 by

The Sonoma County Museum’s “IMBY” exhibit is a hit. More than 400 people attended the opening reception last Friday, Jan. 25. A lecture about the show on Sunday, Jan. 27, also was well-attended, said Pat Lenz, one of the exhibit’s organizers. The exhibit’s title is new take on the old idea of “NIMBYs,” the folks who show up at public hearings to say they really don’t oppose the construction of the latest big facility of some sort, as long as… Read More »