Art in Sonoma County

by Satri Pencak

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.
Please check with the venues for current status of health protocols, hours, events and exhibitions.

*** Designates an Opening Reception.


Arts Guild of Sonoma
Through February 24, February Exhibition 2025
*** Opening Reception, February 6, from 5 to 7 p.m.
On view is work by 20 new and established Arts Guild members.
140 E. Napa St., Sonoma
707-996-3115
www.artsguildofsonoma.org

Calabi Gallery
Through February 8, Gruppo Di Quattro
Showing the work of Elio Benvenuto, Lydia Macchiarini Benvenuto, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Sam Provenzano. Pivotal figures of their time, these artists all played an important part in the foundation and blossoming of the arts in Post War San Francisco. The exhibition features paintings, prints, works on paper, sculptures and textile craft by these influential artists.
456 Tenth St., Santa Rosa
707-781-7070
www.calabigallery.com

Charles M. Schulz Museum
Through March 12, Here Come the Beagle Scouts!
Downstairs Changing Gallery
Fifty years ago, Snoopy and his loyal Beagle Scouts first embarked on their wild adventures in Peanuts, and together, they have climbed mountains, crossed lakes, navigated forests, and marched straight into the hearts of Peanuts fans around the world. A new exhibition at the Charles M. Schulz Museum celebrates the Beagle Scouts’s golden anniversary with a nostalgic journey through original Peanuts comic strip art, vintage products, animation clips, and more. Here Come the Beagle Scouts! features photo ops and surprises around each corner—no compass required!
2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa
707-579-4452
www.schulzmuseum.org

Cloverdale Arts Alliance Gallery
Through March 21, Friends
The guest artist for this exhibit is Tali Marotz, Painting. Community Annex Artists are Will McCoy and Xalvador Andrade. Resident artists are Laura Paine Carr, Trudi Folsom, Jane Gardner, Pamela Heck, Terry Holleman, Jason Taylor Morgan, and Jennifer Weiss. Jane Gardner is the featured resident.
204 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale
707-894-4410
www.cloverdaleartsalliance.org

Corricks Art Trails Gallery/ My Daughter the Framer
637 Fourth Street, Santa Rosa
707-546-2424
www.corricks.com

Fulton Crossing Art Gallery
Through February, Catherine Cruz
Catherine’s work reflects her French-American background where the juxtaposition of old and new architecture creates a beautiful tension. She creates multi-layered surfaces using hand-drawn marks, paint drips and collage elements.
1200 River Rd., Fulton
www.fultoncrossing.com/exhibitions

Graton Gallery
Through February 9, Just Us
Exhibition of work by Partners of the Graton Gallery; Sally Baker, Harry Frank, Bruce Hopkins, Rik Olson, Heather Mylerm, Sandra Rubin, Tamra Sanchez, and Mylette Welch, with guest artists Ceylan Crow, and Aaron Frank.

February 13 through March 23, Anything Goes 2025
*** Artists Reception Saturday, February 15, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Annual juried Show.
9048 Graton Road, Graton
707-829-8912
www.gratongallery.net

Hammerfriar Gallery
February 1 through April 30, The Edge Knows. The Rock is.
*** Artist Reception Saturday, February 1, from 4 to 7 p.m.
The exhibition features mixed-media works by longtime collaborators, Brooke Holve and Catherine Richardson. The two artists, within their unique practices and mediums, use their work to, “draw attention to processes of making. Through experimentation, selection of tools, physical and intuitive engagement, each emphasizes formation as process rather than immutable form. “There is something that is captivating about the earth’s ancient, primal forces. Geological phenomena, with all of its unexpected upheavals, serve as a gateway to a deeper connection and engagement with the earth.”
132 Mill St, Healdsburg
707-473-9600
www.hammerfriar.com

Healdsburg Center for the Arts
Through February 23, Landscapes Real or Imagined
Work by HCA Member Artists.

February 26 through March 30, Emerging Artists 2025
*** Opening Reception March 1.
334 Center Street, Healdsburg
707-431-1970
healdsburgcenterforthearts.org

IceHouse Gallery / Digital Grange
Through February 20, A Closer Look
Work by Jennifer Mygatt Tatum and Tony Plaut.
405 East D St., Petaluma
707-778-2238
www.digitalgrange.com

Laguna Foundation, Heron Hall
Through April 25, Sonoma Impressions, Paintings by Lenona Winter
This exhibition of oil paintings celebrates the breathtaking landscapes of Sonoma County. Featuring scenes of majestic coastlines, golden summer hills, vibrant autumn vineyards, and serene natural vistas.
900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa
707-527-9277
www.lagunafoundation.org

Museum of Sonoma County
Art
February 15 through June 8, UNRULY: North Bay Artists from the San Francisco Art Institute
*** Opening Reception Saturday, February 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. Artist performances during the reception.
The exhibition honors the legacy of the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), the oldest and most influential fine arts school on the West Coast, which shut its doors in 2022 after 150 years of dynamic art making. The UNRULY exhibition specifically focuses on the impact and influence of SFAI in the North Bay. The show features the work of 18 regional artists, spanning multiple generations, who either studied or taught at the Art Institute. Collectively, they embody the spirit of boundary-pushing and experimentation that the school so famously fostered, affirmed, and supported.

History
Through February 23, Tattooed and Tenacious: Inked Women in California’s History
From the upper-class women who started the tattoo craze to the working-class Tattooed Ladies who performed in circus sideshows, this exhibit puts the foremothers of modern tattooing in the spotlight. Through photographs and personal histories, this exhibit uncovers the fascinating and largely unknown story of women and tattoos before WWII. A show-stopping mannequin, hand-drawn by current Bay Area female tattoo artists and specially commissioned for this show, highlights how far women and tattooing have come.

Permanent Exhibition & Oral History Project, Sonoma County Stories is a permanent Sonoma County history exhibition that allows visitors to engage with the past through the power of storytelling. The exhibition captures Sonoma County’s rich history, defined by a confluence of cultures and people, and a powerful connection to the land. Featuring stories representing the many diverse histories and cultures of the county, this ambitious and innovative permanent exhibition has at its core the Oral Histories of Gaye LeBaron.
425 Seventh Street, Santa Rosa
707-579-1500
www.museumsc.org

Occidental Center for the Arts
Through February 15, Black History: Get Up, Stand Up
*** Artists’ reception Sunday, February 2, from 2 to 4 p.m.
This special exhibit features works by Sonoma County Artists as well as historical artifacts from the private collection of Raynetta James.

February 22 through March 29, A Body of Work
Figure Drawing show.
3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental
707-874-9392
www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org

Paul Mahder Gallery
222 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg
707-473-9150
paulmahdergallery.com/

Pepperwood Gallery
2130 Pepperwood Preserve Road, Santa Rosa
www.pepperwoodpreserve.org

Petaluma Arts Center
Through February 22, Forest Unseen
Forests are vital to life on Earth, supporting all living beings. This timely and immersive exhibition of paintings, drawings, and photographs honors and celebrates California’s renowned biodiversity, while also addressing the critical challenges faced by these ecosystems. Participating artists; Adrienne Defendi, Christel Dillbohner, Charlie Levin, Rainey Straus, Jennifer Tatum, Stefan Thuilot.
230 Lakeville Street, Petaluma
707-762-5600
www.petalumaartscenter.org

Ren Brown Collection Gallery
Now on view, Winged Creatures, Both Large and Small
Providing lessons in printmaking, the subject of the exhibition highlights work done in intaglio, relief, and planographic mediums. These three modes of printmaking describe how ink is transferred to the paper. Intaglio means “cut into” in Italian, and covers mediums where ink is held below the plate surface. Relief printing is the opposite—ink is applied to the raised surface only. Planographic prints are without a raised or recessed surface, such as silkscreen, stencil or lithograph. 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

Santa Rosa Arts Center
February 7 through March 30, Black and White
*** Artists Reception Friday, February 7 from 5 to 8 p.m.
An exhibit of paintings, photography and fine art printmaking using only blacks, whites and grays by Sonoma County artists. Without the complexities of working in color, artists are free to experiment with form, texture and even symbolic meaning.
SOFA Arts District
312 South A Street, Santa Rosa
707-526-0135
santarosaartscenter.org/

Santa Rosa Junior College, Robert F. Agrella Art Gallery
1501 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa
707-527-4298
art-gallery.santarosa.edu/current-exhibits

Sculpturesite Gallery, Glen Ellen
View over 30 outdoor sculptures by 15 artists throughout the beautiful grounds at Jack London Village, offering a selection of abstract and figurative sculptures, including wind activated kinetic works.
14301 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen
707-933-1300
www.sculpturesite.com

Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Through February 2, Impressions In Ink
In collaboration with the California Society of Printmakers, celebrating printmaking in all forms.

February 8 through March 16, Driven to Abstraction
*** Opening Reception Saturday, February 8, from 2 to 4 p.m.
This show features 83 works of art exploring various styles of Abstraction.
282 South High St., Sebastopol
707-829-4797
www.sebarts.org

Sebastopol Gallery
February 4 through March 29, Nature of Love
*** Valentine’s jewelry trunk show, February 8, from 2 to 6 p.m.
New work by Michelle Hoting and other jewelers.
150 N. Main St, Sebastopol
707-829-7200
www.sebastopolgallery.com

Sebastopol Library, Forum Room
Through March 10, Colorful Dialogue
*** Reception with the Artists March 2, from 3 to 5 p.m.
An exhibit of collage and paintings by Amie Hill and Marilyn Sommer.
7140 Bodega Ave, Sebastopol
707-823-7691

Sonoma State University, University Art Gallery
February 6 through March 15, Land, Sky, and Sea: A Tapestry of Perspectives
*** Opening Reception Thursday, February 6 from 4 to 6 p.m.
This group exhibition features the work of three Sonoma County artists, Catherine Daley, Adrian Mendoza, and Bambi Waterman. The show explores the natural world through terrestrial, aerial, and underwater lenses.
Artist Talk on February 27 from 12:05 to 1 p.m.
1801 East Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park
707-664-2295
artgallery.sonoma.edu

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
Through April 27, Book Becoming Art
This exhibition introduces audiences to the art of bookmaking, presenting an exquisite collection of approximately 40 contemporary hand-crafted artist books. All of the artwork is inspired by Japanese aesthetics with the majority of pieces coming from Japan. The exhibition highlights how Japanese artistry combines traditional elements such as paper and calligraphy with modern themes and techniques, particularly in bookmaking and print. These limited-edition and one-of-a-kind works celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Japan and its influence on artistic expression, showcasing a blend of sophistication and creativity.
551 Broadway, Sonoma
707-939-7862
www.svma.org

Upstairs Art Gallery
Through February 23, My Furry Valentine
*** Open House Saturday, February 1, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In collaboration with the Humane Society of Sonoma County, the show spotlights animal inspired art, jewelry and crafts, and offers pet portraits by commission, with a percentage of sales going to help Humane Society. Events will include two pet portrait demos by Gallery artists and the ever-popular puppy kissing booth.

The Stairway Showcase presents Beverly Bird’s French Connection, a collection of paintings that capture scenes and vignettes from her recent trip to France.
306 Center Street, Healdsburg
707-431-4214
www.Upstairsartgallery.net

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