The following is a press release issued by the Mendocino Arts Center
The Mendocino Art Center presents a Tom Killion exhibit, “Northcoast Relief Prints,” opening June 3, and the continuing showing of “We Are Still Here,” an exhibit which allows for three artists from three different Pomo regions to honor the continued cultural landscape and lifeways of the Pomo people. Both exhibits run through June 26. Killion will also host an Artist Talk, June 5.
Killion has spent his life working with the Northern California coastal elements of sky, earth and sea. “The Interpenetration of these elements is what makes this region unique, particularly where the Pacific Ocean slips between the uplifted and fault-riven coastal hills and mountains, conjuring the mists and ever-present fog that is the signature feature of our local landscape,” says Killion. His Japanese-style woodcut prints are a response to this constantly changing world of multiple micro-climates: mysterious mornings and evenings unfolding into brilliantly expansive afternoon worlds of sun and distant horizons curving off the edge of the planet. Killion continues, “Most of the prints in this exhibit explore this landscape, along with a few others of the more distant Mountains that feed the rivers running into San Francisco Bay.”
In collaboration with the Mendocino Film Festival, Killion will give an Artist Talk, Sunday, June 5, 11:30 a.m., on the Mendocino Art Center’s Avery Deck. He will talk about his recent work on Trees of California and bring a complete set of woodblocks and progressive proofs to explicate his technique of making a multi-color woodblock print. The talk will be illustrated with original woodcut prints. Killion’s artistic process is featured in the Mendocino Film Festival’s screening of his documentary, “Journey to Hokusai,” at the Mendocino Theatre Company, June 3, 1:00 p.m., June 4, 10:00 a.m., and June 5, 1:00 p.m.
“We Are Still Here” features the artistry of Bonnie Lockhart (Northern Pomo/Kai Poma), Meyo Marrufo (Eastern Pomo), and Eric Wilder (Southwest Pomo/Kashaya). “As Native Americans, we need more venues to share our story, and for us, it is often through our artwork. Through our art, we show the community that we are still here,” said artists Lockhart, Marrufo and Wilder. “We are more than basket weavers,” continues Wilder. “As Native people, we have merged our traditional culture with contemporary art.”
There will be a free Second Saturday Gallery Reception, June 11, 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., with the opportunity to meet the exhibiting artists and attend an artist talk, “Exploring Our Culture Through Art,” with Lockhart, Marrufo and Wilder, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
In conjunction with the exhibit, the Mendocino Art Center and Mendocino Area Parks Association (MendoParks) are collaborating on a tile art project at the new Ford House restrooms in Mendocino, featuring original artwork by Lockhart, Marrufo and Wilder. The conceptualized themes celebrate the lifeways of Coastal Pomo people and began a truly collaborative art project with each artist painting different themes and sections of the murals. The restrooms are scheduled to open in June.
The following generous funders made the exhibit and restroom tile project possible: Bill Graham Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, Community Foundation of Mendocino County AD Abramson Endowment Fund for the Visual Arts, George and Ruth Bradford Foundation, Debra Lennox, Visit Mendocino County, Joan and Jeff Stanford of the Stanford Inn by the Sea’s Ravens Restaurant, and MendoParks.
Admission to the gallery exhibit is free. For more information please call 707-937-5818 or visit MendocinoArtCenter.org. The Mendocino Art Center is located at 45200 Little Lake Street (at Kasten Street) in Mendocino. The gallery is open daily, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sounds wonderful, will be there!