The art of humor in the visual language has been a part of creativity since the dawn of time.
Reaching across religion and politics, humor has been a way for artists to communicate with the masses, entertain themselves, other artists and the public at large.  Puns, irony, sardonic narratives, dark humor, exaggerated personas, unusual materials and more all share a witty intellectual cord.
On display for the Spring of 2013 in the VTAG will be an invitational show curated by staff and curatorial committee members. Featured Artists include: Clayton Bailey, Marsha Bailan, Phillip Glashoff , Kate Savage, Michael Cutlip, Paul Madonna, Keith Schnieder, Lush Newton, Karen Stanton, Tom Miller, Wes Horn, Maestro Gaxiola, Charolotte Kruk, and Ya Ya Chou.
Opening reception will be March 8th from 5-8pm. 

Young @ Art: March 21, 3:30 PM–5:00 PM
Budding artists will view the current gallery exhibit, What’s So Funny?,  learn about contemporary art practices in a relaxed and kid-friendly environment.  We will make our own art project based on the robot dogs of Clayton Bailey. Create fun and original dog sculpture using recycled materials. Registration required and subject to cancellation. Please visit www.danvillerecguide.com and search barcode: 28301

Cultural Currents

January 11 – February 22, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday January 11 5-8pm
Artist Talk, 7-8pm

In the San Francisco Bay Area, artists are inspired and
influenced profoundly by the cultural diversity of our
Pacific Rim region. What are the "Cultural Currents" in
the art produced in this culturally diverse environment?
Artists Andres Cisneros-Galindo, Tomoko Murakami,
Raymond Haywood and Larry Stefl all explore deeply, a
personal imagery in their art practice as working artists
for many decades.
These artists are "carriers and transformers" of the
culture in which they live and work as Art Educators in
colleges, public schools and non-profits. They all share
an independent spirit that convey a boldness of
expression and an intimate dialogue of transcendence.
Their artistry and resilience enriches the cultural landscape
we call the San Francisco Bay Area.

Curator Larry Stefl

The Town of Danville is pleased to have this opportunity to support art education.  The Village Theatre Art Gallery is proudly showcasing the art from the students and their educators who attend some of our local schools in the San Ramon Valley.  Thank you to our educators and students who have creatively embraced the theme,  Who Am I, and artistically reveal the creative process that continues to develop from elementary, middle to high school.

Tricia Grame, Ph.D., teaches art for both the SRVUSD and the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco in the MFA, Creative Inquiry, Interdisciplinary Arts Dept. and MA & Ph.D., Women’s Studies Dept. 
June Krug, a retired educator/administrator in the SRVUSD and Walnut Creek School District.  Art teacher and practicing artist.   Presently on the board of Youth Homes, Inc., Bedford Gallery Guild, Civic Arts League, and a member of the Danville Art Curatorial Committee.

Back in the 1970's, in the aftermath of political, civil and sexual revoltuion all over the world, James Fortune plied his trade in the backstages and VIP sections of some of the nation's biggest rock musical events.

 James spent more than a decade photographing rock 'n' roll icons like Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Jim Morrison, Elton John and countless others. His catalog of some 15,000 images contains shots of everything from hippie riots in Hollywood to Gene Simmons and Cher sharing an eclair.

 With the social revolution of the '60's and '70's behind him, Fortune found himself working in the midst of a new revolution, one that continues today - the digital revolution. When Linda McCartney died, James was recognized for his one-of-a-kind image of the McCartney family, and has since generated high-resolution scans of over 2,700 images now available to publishers and collectors around the world.

 With both on and off stage images, Fortune's catalog offers some of the most unique rock photos from the classic '70's and '80's genre.

 View more of James Fortune's photos here: www.jamesfortunephotography.com

The Village Theatre Art Gallery’s Second Juried Exhibition closed its call for entries on June 1. Artwork that was considered for this exhibition depicted either a real, invented or a psychological space or place to fit within the theme, Spaces and Places. Accepted media includes fiber arts, painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics and mixed media.

The juror for this exhibition, DeWitt Cheng, a San Francisco-based art critic and writer for various art publications and web media, selected 48 pieces of artwork from 41 artists. The artists featured in this exhibition are primarily local and regional with a few artists located out-of-state. The artwork in this upcoming, juried exhibition promises to offer the community yet another dynamic and engaging exhibition June 29 through August 10.

Featured artists in this exhibition include: Kath Balamuth, Genea Barnes, Flora Baumann, Ron Craig, Valerie Daft, Patricia L. Dallacroce, Lama ElAgha, Louaine Collier Elke, Connie English, Sheryl Glass, Beth Gouldin, Bea Guttman, Nick Hemphill, Len Holmes, Bob Joyce, Jenna Kang, Peter LaTorre, Lorraine Lawson, Geraldine W. Lum, Barbara J. Mahan, Sharon Moore, Jane Neilson, Rita Noe, Ruth Pavlik, Cathy Pemberton, Mark Pemberton, Dora-Thea Porter, Robin Purcell, Carol Rienecker, George Robertson, Caroline Sanchez,  Jessica Schrom, Ida Shum, Sharon Tama, Joanne Lee VanBezey, Mira M. White, Tony Williams, Kathryn Wills, Peggy Wyman, Janet Yelner, and Roz Zinns

Colorscapes is an exhibit that celebrates paint, color and the landscape. Whether it is moody, mysterious, luminescent or complex, each painting pulsates with movement and light achieved by layers of color and form.  Each of these featured artists investigates a unique color structure that represents their own personal vision of landscapes.  From Jenn Shifflet’s waterworlds, Brian Rutenberg’s swamps in the Deep South, Mark Bowles’ desert skies or Benjamin Meyer’s twisting urban highways, each artist expresses his or her unique vision with paint on canvas, challenging the viewer to look deeper into the structure as the distinction between abstraction and representation blur.   

Branching Out

March 1 - April 13, 2012

The tree is an easily recognized subject matter in many forms of art.  Throughout the ages, the tree has shared a rich and varied symbolic relationship with humankind.   It can symbolize the meaning of life, a moment of enlightenment or spiritual growth, renewal and destruction, “going green,” a source of shelter, a rapidly depleting resource, an ancient monument, the seasons of life, and much more.
From poets, playwrights, painters and more, the tree is as inspiring to artists today as it has been since the beginning of time.  The poet, Marie Howe, said that “every poem holds the unsayable inside.” The same can hold true for a visual work of art; a certain depth, an ancient wisdom, an astounding beauty.  Whether you are trekking through the redwood forest or enjoying your own backyard, each tree has a story to tell or a song to sing.
In this exhibit, Branching Out refers to the creative push an artist makes while staying grounded to such a universally recognized and admired subject.   Artist, Eric Zener, refers to “nature as a metaphor for renewal and reprise.”  Similarly, artist, Elaine Coombs, discusses the feeling she gets when she enters the forest.  For Elaine, whenever she needs to “regroup, breathe and return to center, it is the forest that can do this” for her every time.  In this exhibition, imagery of branches, roots, pods, figures and more encourage the viewer to enter the work with nature as their guide and the renewal of spring as the backdrop. 

Branching Out is an invitational exhibition approved and selected by the Town of Danville’s Curatorial Committee.
Artists include: Melissa Bolger, Linda Colnett, Elaine Coombs, Arthur Scott King, Lisa Lee, Melanie Tormos, Pep Ventosa, and Eric Zener.   

Exhibition dates are March 1 – April 13, 2012.     

John Toki is a respected studio artist and adjunct professor at the California College of the Arts (CCA) in Oakland, Toki is also the president and owner of Leslie Ceramic Supply Company in Berkeley, which his parents founded fifty years ago, and the co- author of several notable books on ceramic sculpture. Toki’s large-scale sculptures in clay and porcelain possess a timeless quality, inspired from forms found in nature (mountains, water, snow, sky) and suggest archaeological elements, yet they have a unique freshness in their technical complexity and resulting visual appeal. His work has been shown in the US, the Netherlands and Japan. He has completed public commissions and installations in Richmond, Berkeley, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, and Cincinnati. 

Pamela Stefl Toki creates her unique prints from a wet clay slab technique called clay monoprinting. This process provides her with the time to work the clay surface for hours through which she can freely implement her ideas. Each print combines Stefl Toki's imagination with imagery and designs which occasionally include colors from previous prints as the layers build with each successive print.

Surfaces: Selections from the California Fiber Artists Group

Nov. 10 – Dec. 15, 2011
Closing Reception: Dec. 15   4-7pm 

California Fiber Artists is a group of independent fiber artists who have joined their collective works together forming exhibitions and diverse fiber art.  CFA artists describe their work as fusion art using fiber as well as other mediums to develop texture, shape, design and color.  Some layer and stitch, others stretch and paint, while others sculpt and collage to create two and three-dimensional sculptural elements to showcase

Offerings; Works of Text and Image 

Curated by Cindy Shearer
Sept. 10 – Oct. 29, 2011

 Four Corners and a Center 

 

May 20 - July 1, 2011

 

This exhibition was juried by Renee Bott of Paulson Bott Press located in Berkeley, California. The 34 works from 24 artists were selected from members of the California Society of Printmakers, encompassing a range of styles and approaches based in the print medium. The selected works addressed existential themes, graphic imagery, and social commentary with insight and humor.

Finding Balance: Glass Art in the Bay Area

March 18 - May 7, 2011

This invitational exhibition will delight a variety of guests with its diverse palette of color and light, rhythm and balance. Local and regional glass artists exhibit functional and sculptural objects that span decades of glassmaking in the Bay Area. From world renowned glass makers Michael Nourot and Randy Strong to up and coming protégés like ten year old Theoren Hanks, this show will highlight the variety of techniques found amongst the glass art world.

Telling Tales and Mixing Metaphors 

January 7 - February 25, 2011

Artist, curator & professor, Tanya Wilkinson along with Kirk Brooks, Tricia Grame and Priscilla Otani explore ways in which different cultures and  historical periods have used narrative art to build and express community and identity. The selected works address existential themes, graphic imagery, and social commentary with insight and humor.