“My Valuables—What Really Matters?" An Interactive Community Exhibit at Gualala Arts
Gualala Arts Center reopens in October with a new exhibit and a unique opportunity for visitors. The exhibit, opening October 2 in the Elaine Jacob Foyer and Burnett Gallery, is titled “My Valuables—What Really Matters?.” It’s a new, personal and interactive exhibit curated by Holly Stiel. This show will combine a variety of art forms and take visitors on an inspiring journey through the artists’ ideas of what is valuable, via these disparate mediums, personal collections and recollections.
Stepping inside Gualala Arts Center, visitors will come face to face with the interactive exhibit planned for the Elaine Jacob Foyer. Everyone is encouraged to bring their own memories to share during this exhibit, and sharing is simple. Bring an image and a description (or short personal story) on a half-sheet of paper or (preferably) on a 5”x7” card. These personal memories will be tacked to the walls of the Jacob Foyer, to be shared with everyone who comes through the exhibit. After posting your memory and enjoying the posted memories of others, take time to explore the sculptures, photography and paintings in the Burnett Gallery.
“My Valuables” brings art inspired by the devastating, destructive and distressing aftermaths of fires, floods and various catastrophes. The artists take a deep look at what matters, and what is ultimately valuable. The show explores the meaning we attach to our “stuff” through the memories and stories we have attached to those things.
Peg Videtta’s sculptures are inspired by the figure. Her spatial awareness and love of form stem from decades of ballet, modern dance and the study of physics. In this exhibit Videtta has taken loss and given it new meaning and new life. Like a phoenix rising she has transformed what was burnt into something new sparking hope and contemplation.
The sculptures, like a phoenix literally rising from the ashes, bring new life to what was lost. The goal of the exhibit is for each person to embark on their own personal journey, imagining their own unique valuables, and it is an opportunity to reflect on what is important in these times of ever-present climate-caused adversities.
Bill Apton has been taking photographs most of his life. Over the years he has amassed a very large body of work covering subjects from Americana to coastal California to nature, still life, portraits, and travel (both in the United States and around the world). The curiosity that drives Apton is evident in much of his work, as is his devotion to capturing strong, vibrant images in a style that his wife, Holly Stiel, describes as “masterful: graphic, humorous and bold.”
Adding an even more personal touch, a video with music has been created by artist, writer, poet and curator Holly Stiel, along with composer Jana Stanfield.
Holly Stiel, a Gualala resident, is a Poet, Performance Artist, Author, Speaker and entrepreneur. She brings a love of words, storytelling, and a deep heartfelt connection to relationships on all levels that has allowed this show to come to fruition.
The exhibit continues through Sunday, November 10.
