Public sculpture exhibition open in Sonoma Plaza

As the safety restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic begin to ease, people are gradually venturing out more often to public gatherings, even if some or most are still wearing masks and socially distancing.

So naturally, it seems like a good idea to give those people something to gather around. That’s exactly what the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art aims to do with “A Delicate Balance,” its new outdoor sculpture exhibition.

“People seem to be excited about it, as they’re starting to come out of isolation,” said Linda Keaton, the museum’s executive director. “This is something positive. It’s representative of our rejoining humankind.”

The show, installed Tuesday and continuing through mid-October, features eight large-scale pieces by four sculptors: three by Peter Hassen, two each by Bruce Beasely and Jun Kaneko and one by Catherine Daley.

Hassen is a conceptual artist working in sculpture, painting, printmaking, photography and video. He has exhibited work in national galleries and on public lands for more than two decades. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hassen studied art at the University of Colorado in Boulder and now lives and works in Sonoma.

Beasley is an abstract expressionist sculptor born in Los Angeles and now living and working in Oakland. He studied sculpture at UC Berkeley under the instruction of Peter Voulkos, who was well-known for his large slab-construction sculpture and other artistic innovations. Beasley also helped found the Garbanzo Works foundry in west Berkeley where he, Voulkos and others created cast metal sculpture.

Kaneko was born in Nagoya, Japan, and came to the United States in 1963 to study at UC Berkeley, Chouinard Art Institute (CalArts) and Scripps College. Known for his large-scale, glazed ceramics, Kaneko also works in bronze, glass, textiles and print.

Based in Omaha since 1986, Kaneko has shown his artwork in international and national solo and group exhibitions, and his pieces are included in more than 70 museum collections.

Daley teaches art at Sonoma Academy and serves on the board of Pacific Rim Sculptors. Her sculptural works range from large installations to small and delicate pieces in bronze, aluminum, Plexiglas, wood, steel and granite.

Daley’s work has been exhibited throughout California at Sonoma State University, Marin MoCA, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Paradise Ridge Winery, Pepperwood Preserve and Oakwilde Ranch. She lives in Windsor.

“SVMA is pleased to partner with the city of Sonoma to bring the art of such diverse and stellar artists” to Sonoma Plaza, Keaton said.

“A Delicate Balance,” applies in several ways to the exhibition, she explained.

“There is a balance of different media: ceramic, granite, iron, steel and Plexiglas,” she said. “A diverse group of artists are represented in one exhibit, drawing inspiration from both nature and science. It symbolizes how we have learned to live in balance over the past year.”

This is the museum’s first outdoor exhibition since 2018. Indoor exhibits at the Sonoma Valley Museum, located at 551 Broadway in Sonoma, resumed on a limited basis in mid-March, with COVID-19 protocols observed.

The current indoor show at the museum is “Travel Log,” an exhibition of books, prints and photographs by artist Ed Ruscha, continuing through May 30.

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On Twitter @danarts.