october 9th extended through January 23rd 2022

Despite being caught amidst indecipherable flows of information of our own making, we struggle and reach for meaning where sometimes there isn’t any pattern to latch on to. By consequence, we turn to shelter and protection in whichever personal form we may find it. Enclosed in our images, we seek our own patterns to transfix us, and the solidarity to strive for new paths through the noise. 

Languisher is a selection of digital collages presented as printed artifacts. Collected and generated over the course of the pandemic, these images represent the artist’s compounding reactions and emotional state during these strange times, rendered down into a more subtle and abstracted view of the world.

West Coast: Recent Gifts to the HAC

NOVEMBER 6th 2021 through JANUARY 2ND 2022

Highlighting a selection of gifts to the HAC through the John Natsoulas Center for the Arts, this exhibition presents a survey of prominent West Coast Artists that have influenced California’s artistic landscape from the sixties to now. View works by Robert Arneson, Roy De Forest, Stephen Kaltenbach as well as work by the countless artists that continue to create and have ties to the period
where West Coast Art put California on the map. Established over three decades ago, the John Natsoulas Center for the Arts, in Davis, CA has earned numerous honors, supported emerging artists, and advanced fine art with its dynamic and forward-thinking concern.

Portraiture & Process

OCTOBER 16th through DECEMBER 26TH

Throughout the course of art history, portraiture has remained a tried and true practice among artists. Transcending technique and style, portrayals are prevalent in every major movement, from the inspired Italian Renaissance to the Post Modern and Contemporary period. View selections from the HAC Permanent Collection that couple artist portraits with the artist’s art. Viewers will get a visual sense of the person that created the art that accompanies it and will explore the diversity of mediums in both the artwork and the portraiture. Artists included in the exhibition are: Sally Arnot, Floyd Bettiga, Lanore Cady, Morris Graves, Victor Jacoby, Tom Knight, Lynn Pauley, William Thonson and George Van Hook.

Re-Emergent

AUGUST 7th through OCTOBER 24TH

The Humboldt Arts Council, through the generous support of an anonymous donor, invited Humboldt County Visual Artists to apply for support in the creation of new work as we begin the process of re-emerging into society following a year of living with the COVID-19 pandemic. 16 Artists were selected to receive a $800 grant for the creation of new work reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic and our individual process of re-emerging into a different world. Participating artists are: Dana Ballard, Susan Bloch, Julia Heatherwick, Tamara Hubbard, Yvonne Kern, Suzanne Lamar, Julie McNiel, Anna Oneglia, Paige Rinehart, Ashley Rose, Michelle Rosete, Michael B. Rude, Meredith Smith, Shannon Sullivan, Monica Topping and Bernadette Vielbig

Emily Reinhart: Perfect Blend

May 8th through July 3rd

Through the blend of the daily grind and habit of coffee, my Love and I found each other in a world where our concentric social circles would never converge. That one cup of coffee brought an awakening to our lives and enabled us both to become ourselves again. His encouragement and support have empowered my focus and devotion to my art. Our shared habit of sipping coffees in cafes brought many spoken and unspoken conversations, occurring in various areas of Humboldt. Career baristas would frequently praise our warmth and the genuine calm we bring to their tables, as most of their patrons are publicly isolated by the technology wedged between their fingers and faces. The charisma of our conversations frequently seen with coffee mugs in hand, has often brought smiles to others at similar tables, True companionship is difficult to find, and he, the woodworker merged paths with I, the charcoal painter: we blended our coffee habits, while sipping local roaster’s blends, we blended our lives, and through the inspiration of our experiences in various cafes, I blended our mediums, hoping to share what so many believe no longer exists.

E-MOTION: Stabiles and mobiles by Julie Frith and paintings by Kathryn Stotler

June 5 TO august 1

Julie Frith is best known for her kinetic art mobile (sculpture). An artist born of two artist parents, Julie, the youngest of 4 grew up in a very artistic world. Raised in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, Julie was (still plays today) a violinist from the age of 7 playing in orchestra and private lessons until the age of 18. Very studious, she also was gifted with artistic skills.

She was taught by her parents art structure basics and design, that took her to college for art and music. Then into many professional design jobs, teaching, and visual management positions after moving to Eureka California. Seeing and learning about art in museums around the world and viewing art books as a child, modern abstract art was a big influence on her that intrigued her in making handmade art all the time as a kid. In 1998 Julie started selling her own line of art earrings, graphics and mobiles.

Her mobiles caught on quickly as the yearning for modern art styled mobiles were being sought after. Mid Century Modern was the big thing, with retro mobiles making a come back in home decor. Julie makes most of her mobiles out of polished colored plastics and stainless steel, adding wood, and brushed metals to the selection of materials. Julie noticed the need for more modern art baby mobiles. Her promotional idea and approach for this style of art was creating "Modern Art for Babies" and "Art from Baby to College", something that would last a lifetime for that child. Julie created the first ever custom coloring of a mobile or stabile directly online for buyers to match their nursery room decor.

Kathryn Stotler moved to the far northern California coast thirty years ago with her husband and young son and her horizons wide open. It was here that she began to paint and has never looked back.

She began painting plein air seascapes with a close friend and mentor and eventually realized that she loved to experiment and push the scenes in freer and looser ways than traditional plein air dictates. She enjoys pushing paint around on the paper or canvas and mixing her own colors.

Muddy coastal colors are her favorites. She loves the shapes and lines of grasses, rocks, and sand and wants to capture the essence of the shoreline and its unique components. The journey toward abstraction began as she painted to capture the influence of air, erosion, the power and elusiveness of the ocean.

An essential part of her process is to draw into her paintings before, during and after the painting process itself. She likens it to writing notes. Using pencils, pastels, paint sticks and pointy objects, she records her experience of each place.

Louis Marak : Visual Riddles

july 10th through october 3rd

“Zen masters use koans, paradoxical anecdotes or riddles without solutions, in the training of monks to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning in the pursuit of enlightenment. The objects that I make are similar to koans in that they present illogical, nonsensical visual riddles without reasonable conclusions.

Paradox has always been a fundamental aspect of my work. Things inconsistent or contradictory to common experience fascinate me. I find the juxtaposition of images, objects, and words in unusual or unexpected ways intriguing. Containers, containment, and the incorporation of everyday objects are also recurring themes.

My work is three-dimensional in form and attempts to sculpturally integrate real and illusionary space through illusionism and distortion. It is intended to modify reality and encourage viewers to make connections between illogical or unrelated components. The work should be contemplated and experienced rather than read and interpreted. It is intended to pose questions rather than provide answers and to prompt visual and intellectual interaction as well as stimulate the imagination.”

Victor Jacoby: A Weavers Life 1944-1997

Through october 8th

View Victor Jacoby’s weavings from the HAC Permanent Collection alongside original studies, sketches, quotes and ephemera relating to his life as an artist.

Exhibition Sponsored by John & Sally Biggin.