Sonoma Valley Museum of Art shows ‘funk art’ exhibit

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, economic stress and political and social unrest, where can we find relief with a gentle, whimsical touch?

One answer is the new exhibit “Out of Our Minds,” featuring playful sculptures by Tony Natsoulas and the late Clayton Bailey, at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art in downtown Sonoma.

The museum is able to open the show as scheduled on Saturday, despite Sonoma County’s new order Wednesday urging residents to shelter in place for 30 days and banning indoor gatherings of more than 50 people.

“We are opening on Saturday,” said Linda Keaton, the museum’s executive director. “The museum rarely has more than 12 people in it at one time. Masks and social distancing are required. For larger events, we are rescheduling.”

That includes a previously scheduled appearance at the museum Jan. 22 by Sacramento artist Natsoulas, 62, known for his almost life-size ceramic sculptures which caricature famous people, from Pablo Picasso to singer Annie Lennox to the Marx Brothers.

A reception Feb. 26, with a newly rescheduled 2 p.m. artist talk by Natsoulas, and a March 5 appearance by Natsoulas remain on the schedule.

“SVMA is pleased to bring the work of Clayton Bailey and Tony Natsoulas to Sonoma,” Keaton said. “Clayton was a leader in the funk art movement (of the ’60s and ’70s), and Tony’s work derives from the movement. Funk art’s irreverent, unorthodox style will be a treat for our audiences and reminds us not to take art, and ourselves, too seriously.”

Bailey, who taught ceramics at UC Davis from 1968 to 1996 and died of a stroke at age 81 in 2020, had a humorous visual style. His work included robot-like figures made of metal and wood.

In 2013, Bailey opened the Bailey Museum in Crockett, which housed his life’s work and the work of his wife Betty.

“We met in 1977, when my teacher took us to his museum,” said Natsoulas, who holds a master of fine arts from UC Davis. A long friendship followed, which ultimately prompted the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art exhibit of work by the two artists.

“Clayton had had a stroke, and it was really sad. He was very depressed. I wanted to cheer him up, so I approached the museum (about the exhibit) and they said yes. When he died, it turned it to a tribute to him,” said Natsoulas, who has previously shown his work at the museum in Sonoma.

“The museum curated and borrowed all the (Clayton Bailey) pieces from private collections and museums around the area,” Natsoulas added. “It’s an honor to do this two-person show.”

Natsoulas created new sculptures specifically for the exhibit, including a caricature of Bailey titled “Dr. Gladstone Has Left the Building,” based on Bailey’s whimsical alter ego. Of the nine pieces featured, seven are new, Natsoulas said.

Many of the ceramic pieces are comic. For example, “How to Get Whipped Cream on a Pie” is Natsoulas’ tribute to cartoonist Rube Goldberg (1883-1970), famed for imagining ridiculously complicated gadgets for doing simple tasks.

Natsoulas’ upbeat outlook even tempers his feelings about the prolonged pandemic.

“COVID has given me an opportunity to really concentrate on my work,” he said, though he still teaches art classes on the side.

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