On March 15, the Morris Graves Museum of Art opened the once perennial exhibition Images of Water following a pandemic-induced hiatus. This return marks the 28th year of the juried exhibition — a tradition older than the museum itself, which opened on Jan. 1, 2000, with the turn of the millennium. This year, Images of […]
Art Beat
Artists, galleries, museums, arts nights and shows around the county.
Posted inArts + Scene
Burn, Baby, Burn
When Mavis Muller found herself in Arcata last year, she knew she had landed somewhere special. A renowned basket weaver, storyteller and installation artist — as well as a self-described “migratory artist” — Muller leaves her Alaskan nest during the fall and travels south for several months. While on the road, she exhibits her work […]
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Edging the Precipice
San Francisco-based artist Tamera Avery’s larger-than-life paintings on view at the Morris Graves Museum of Art through March 9 feature an idiosyncratic cast of characters, with every piece offering figurative representations that range between the whimsical, absurd, nihilistic and fantastic. The exhibition statement cites Avery’s optimistic appreciation for young folks as emerging champions of change, […]
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Behind the Curtain
From woodworkers to landscape painters, our county boasts countless artists along with a large community of people who support the arts. One standout event showcasing a community within that community is the annual Faculty and Staff Exhibition at the College of the Redwoods. Running now through Feb. 13 at the college’s light and airy new […]
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Between Thoughts and Concepts
Like many of the best abstract painters, southern Humboldt County artist Jerry Pruce talks about his practice — almost in riddles — as a kind of search for something he cannot quite define. The paintings and drawings document the search, rather than the elusive object, and 50 years of that work have been on display […]
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Sasha Lyth’s Place-based Cyanotypes
There is a beautiful Welsh word that resonates with me,” says Sasha Lyth, “Hiraeth means a longing or grief for a place, akin to homesickness, perhaps even for a place that was never your home to begin with.” The Humboldt-based mixed media artist says much of her art revolves around the connection to place and […]
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Lily Haas’ Muse is Nature
“I’ve been making art since as far back as I can remember,” says sculptress Lily Haas. “I still remember my … ceramics class in second grade.” From the beginning, she says she has used art feel grounded. Her relationship with clay offered her a vehicle for self-investigation and expression, and a place where she felt […]
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Ted Hsu: From Science Geek to Tarot Artist
Ted Hsu is not your typical occult artist. While he has dabbled in art his entire life, when it came to choosing a career, he took on a “real” profession: neuroscience. As happens in life, though, we don’t always stay on the path we set out on. The study of tarot can teach us a […]
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Packed with Color
It all started with two 4-by-4-by-4-foot boxes of wood wool — great piles of curly, hay-like wood shavings — marked “FREE” outside Miller Farms Garden Center. Artist Becky Evans saw the boxes and thought her friend and fellow artist Lori Goodman might want to use the material in her paper-making practice. Eventually, they transformed the […]
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Establishing Secure Connection
An Iranian cartoonist, a French gallerist and an American art writer walk into Old Town, Eureka. OK, so not exactly, but kind of. Within a few minutes of stepping into Epitome Gallery to see the provocative and emotional pen and ink drawings by Kian Rad Pouyan, I was talking with him, face to digitized face […]
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Nancy Tobin’s CRy-Baby Installation at CR
Some artists are world-describers, tirelessly reconfiguring surfaces, objects and spaces to resonate on a particular frequency. That’s how it is with Nancy Tobin, whose installation CRy-Baby is on view through March 1 at College of the Redwoods. Subtitled “A comedic installation exploring the connections between space, past and future selves,” the work delivers. “We’re very […]
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The Reluctantly Famous Shoshoni Hostler
When Yurok Native Shoshoni Hostler began beading as a hobby years ago, she never dreamed it would lead to museum exhibits and Hollywood actresses wearing her designs. She works as suicide program manager and associate marriage and family therapist for the Yurok tribe, but her artistic career has continued to grow — albeit somewhat accidentally. […]