A Press Democrat Blog

Arts

Dan Taylor on the fine arts scene.

Sonoma County Museum opens ‘Mail Call’ exhibit

Wednesday, at 12:00 by

For generations of soldiers serving overseas, the next best thing to going home was getting mail from home. “Mail Call,” a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., celebrates the history of this of treasured correspondence. The show opens upstairs at the Sonoma County Museum with a reception from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, and runs through April 21. The exhibit also is augmented with items from the Sonoma County Museum collection and… Read More »

New ‘Peanuts’ graphic novel release party at Schulz Museum

Tuesday, at 7:00 by

The “Peanuts” comic strip characters always have had a large and loyal fan base in Japan. Tourists from Japan are often among the visitors at Santa Rosa’s Charles Schulz Museum, dedicated to the life and work of the late creator of the strip. Now Charlie Brown and the gang return the favor in the new graphic novel, “It’s Tokyo, Charlie Brown!” The story follows Charlie Brown and Snoopy and their beleaguered baseball team as they represent the United States in… Read More »

Landscape paintings at Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley museums

Tuesday, at 7:00 by

Sonoma County art lovers who favor scenic vistas have two choices this month, with exhibits of landscape paintings on display at two local museums: (1) Sonoma County Museum’s two exhibits of work by 19th-century American master Thomas Cole — “Thomas Cole: Peace at Sunset” and “Wild Land: Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Landscape Painting” — continue through Jan. 13 in Santa Rosa. “The California Landscape: Conservation & Collections at the Sonoma County Museum” is also running in conjunction… Read More »

Robert Chavez art exhibit comes to Santa Rosa

Tuesday, at 7:00 by

Los Angeles artist Roberto Chavez has worked for decades as both a painter and a teacher. Now, at age 80, he is recognized as a major force in California art. The Santa Rosa Junior College will display 60 of his paintings and drawings, including several very large pieces, Nov. 15 through Dec. 13 in the Agrella Art Gallery in the Doyle Library on campus, 1501 Mendocino Ave. The exhibit, “Roberto Chavez, Paintings and Drawings,” opens with a reception from 4… Read More »

Sebastopol Center for the Arts moving to new site

Tuesday, at 8:42 by

The Sebastopol Center for the Arts is on the move, and that is not meant metaphorically. The center, housed for years at 6790 Depot Street, is moving to the Sebastopol Veterans Memorial Building, 282 High St., next to Ives Park. “We agreed to a 30-year lease on the building,” said Linda Galletta, executive director of the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. “We have a remodeling budget of $800,000. We are remodeling the auditorium to create a gallery space in the… Read More »

Sonoma County Museum is both subject and site of coming art show

Wednesday, at 7:00 by

You’ve heard of NIMBYs. Those are the folks who show up at public hearings to say they don’t oppose the construction of the latest big facility of some sort, as long as it’s “not in my backyard.” Now it’s time for the “IMBYs.” “In My Back Yard” is a concept promoted by Sonoma County artist and curator Pat Lenz. What it means is that art photographers take pictures of arts display spaces, such as galleries and museums, from all angles,… Read More »

Sonoma County Museum closed this week for renovation

Monday, at 9:29 by

The Sonoma County Museum will be closed from Tuesday,  Sept. 11, until Friday, Sept. 14, for renovation of the floors in the main gallery. The museum will reopen again from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday. The museum is at 425 Seventh St., Santa Rosa. Normal museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Information: (707) 579-1500; sonomacountymuseum.org.

Sonoma Valley Museum shows ‘Ferlinghetti’ film

Thursday, at 7:00 by

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art will screen the documentary film “Ferlinghetti” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, in conjunction with its current exhibit, “Cross Pollination.” The exhibit features the writings, paintings and graphic works of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 93, Beat era poet and co-founder of San Francisco’s City Lights book store and publishing company. The 82-minute film “Ferlinghetti,” 2009, directed by Christopher Felver, includes archival photographs and historical footage, and appearances by Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Dennis Hopper, Dave Eggers and… Read More »

Painter Chester Arnold speaks at Sonoma County Museum

Wednesday, at 12:16 by

  Internationally known Sonoma painter Chester Arnold will speak about his work, as well as art and the world in general, at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 12, at the Sonoma County Museum. A longtime art professor at the College of Marin, and well-known for his own work, Arnold won additonal attention six years ago, when he and his students painted, from photographs, portraits of some 2,000 U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraq War. Admission to the 90-minute talk costs $8.… Read More »

Petaluma Historical Museum displays vintage wedding gowns

Wednesday, at 7:00 by

The romance of yesteryear lives on, in the new Petaluma Historical Museum, “I Do!” — opening Sunday, July 15. The new exhibit features antique wedding clothes — gowns, veils, gloves and more — from the museum’s textile collection. Aided by a grant from Community Foundation of Sonoma County, the museum’s textile curator, Teresa Fröschl, created and assembled 20 original mannequins to fit the antique clothes. “I Do!” runs through Sept. 30 at the museum, 20 Fourth St., Petaluma. A public… Read More »