Our first Second Sunday Studio Visit starts off with our very own PRS Board President Barry Beach!

Join us Sunday, August 11th to visit the studio of Barry Beach. He uses an array of reclaimed woods and materials that transform into topographic displays that are metaphors for his personal transformation.

"I document time and transformation by collecting, repurposing, and recombining materials. I explore the intrinsic qualities of materials and combine them to create new ways of looking. Hybrids of reclaimed wood and synthetics like foam and tapes are transformed from patined flat to undulating surfaces, creating new landscapes. My work is influenced by topography, geology, process, and chance. "

-Barry Beach

For more information about Barry and his work visit his website: https://www.barrybeach.com/ 

or his Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/barrybeachartwork/

Date/Time: Sunday, August 11th, 2-4pm

Location: 900 C St, San Rafael, CA 94901

Register for event here

For parking- street parking is free on Sundays. Also, one block away the nearest parking garage is also free- (3rd and C Parking Garage)

**This is an in-person studio visit. Space is limited and you must register to attend. Sign up here **

Studio view of works by Barry Beach

If you are interested in hosting a studio visit, in-studio demo, and/or and artist talk about your work, please email events@pacificrimsculptors.org for more information and to sign up. 

Join us for the Artist Talk with PRS Board member and sculpture artist Marguerite Elliot about her solo exhibition The Concordance of Nature at Dominican University moderated by Curator Sandi Chin and PRS Board President Barry Beach.

Event Info:

Date & Time- Thursday, August 15th at 5-7pm

Artist Talk starts at 5:30pm

Location - Dominican University- Barbara Goodman Gallery Art Gallery in the Alemany Library | 185 Palm Avenue, San Rafael, CA

Register for event here

About the exhibition The Concordance of Nature: An Elegy for the Wild a solo exhibition of works by Marguerite Elliot-

The Concordance of Nature exhibition showcases the intricate harmony between natural elements and human creativity. Featuring a diverse array of artwork, the exhibition invites viewers to explore the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the delicate balance that sustains life. Through various media, Elliot highlights both the beauty and fragility of nature, urging a deeper appreciation and commitment to environmental stewardship. 

In a specially designed installation, An Elegy to the Sequoia, Elliot collaborates with sound artist and musician Liz Baxmeyer to tell the story of a lone Sequoia tree transported to France in the 1800’s and is finally returned home to its ancestral roots. The bark of the beautiful tree is surrounded by endangered trees steel sculptures highlighting the fact that one in six trees in the United States are endangered. 

Also on display are twenty handmade papers from local plants Elliot foraged while at the artist residency, Domaine de Boisbuchet located in Lessac, France in 2023. Wild Iris, Fescue and Hairy Sedge are combined with roots and dried grasses to create these sculptural pieces. While at the residency Elliot met noted British author, Annabel Abbs who wrote ten poems about Boisbuchet on these handmade papers and viewers can hear her read them via a QR code included in the installation. 

Exhibition Info:

Dates- June 6 - September 4, 2024

Location- Dominican University- Barbara Goodman Gallery Art Gallery in the Alemany Library | 185 Palm Avenue, San Rafael, CA

Gallery Hours- Monday-Friday 9:00am – 7:00pm

Two of Charles' bronze sculptures, "Yogi in Ganda Bherundasana" (see image) and "Ife Buddha", were selected to be in the International Sculpture Center's exhibition Slant: Perspectives on Sculpture, curated by Robinson Holloway, Dominic Sansone, & Julian Voss-Andreae. The exhibition is at Gallery 14C located in Jersey City's Powerhouse Arts District, NJ. The show opened with a reception on July 11, and continues through September 13, 2024.

For more information: https://sculpture.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1868492&group=

Exhibition Dates: July 11- Sept 13, 2024

Location: Gallery 14C, 150 Bay St, Jersey City, New Jersey

Barry was selected to be a part of a juried group exhibition entitled Identities that opens, Friday August 9, 5-8pm at Artworks Downtown in San Rafael, CA. Juried by Jonathan Carver Moore, director of Johathan Carver Moore Gallery, he states:

"From cultural roots to personal journey, we encourage artists to delve into the facets that shape who you are—or who we are—and contribute perspectives about self-discovery, belonging, and transformation."

For more information: https://www.artworksdowntown.org/upcoming

Be sure to catch this show while it is up! 

Location: Artworks Downtown, 1337 4th Ave, San Rafael, CA

Exhibition Dates: August 2–September 14

San Rafael Art Walk: Friday, September 13, 5-8pm

Barry Beach, From the Accumulations series [hoodoo], Reclaimed materials

including wood and foam, 65” tall x 22” x 12”, 2023

Additionally, Barry is in a solo exhibition Accumulations at Smith Ranch Homes with a reception on August 19th 5-7pm.

Location: Smith Ranch homes, 500 Deer Valley Rd, San Rafael, CA

Exhibition dates- July 10 - August 28

Reception: Monday, August 19, 5-7pm 

**To attend the reception, please call or email Monica Thomas | 415-492-4938 or mthomas@smithranchhomes.org

Discover the captivating synergy of art and nature with Photographer Allen Birnbach & Ceramic Sculptor Emil Yanos. Embracing Earth, curated by Vickie Marchand, will immerse you in an unforgettable journey through the lens of two remarkable artists, each offering a unique perspective on the beauty of our planet. 

For more information: https://ny2cagallery.com/event/embracing-earth-allen-birnbach-emil-yanos/

Location: NY2CA Gallery, 617 First Street, Benicia, CA, 94510

Exhibition Dates: June 27, 2024 – August 11, 2024 

Gallery Hours: Thursday – Sunday 12 – 5pm

One of the more prestigious art exhibitions in Marin County resides at the Marin County Fair, which includes a juried show of Fine Art. Under the Fine Arts- Ceramics category, Chriphoster Dworin's sculpture  “Twilight of the Gods - Athena” won an Honorable Mention. This sculpture is the third in a planned series of four retired Greek Gods, drinking, smoking, and playing poker. 

Location: Exhibit Hall at Marin County Fairgrounds | 10 Ave of the Flags, San Rafael, CA.

Christopher Dworin, Twilight of the Gods - Athena, Clay sculpture

"One of four retired Greek gods, hanging out in Florida, playing poker, smoking, and drinking."

The community of the Pacific Rim Sculptors goes far beyond our immediate member base, and it is with heavy hearts that we announce that there have been a couple deaths in our extended community this year. 

Bella Feldman

Obituary from SculptureSite:

"A prolific artist, a long time professor at California College of the Arts in Oakland, and a pioneer among women sculptors, Feldman established her position in the California art scene with courage and conviction. Feldman's works remind us that nothing is invincible, and life, like her sculptures, can be seemingly tough and witty, but delicate and meaningful. Her work is a constant reminder of the absurdity of our times.

“ Art, or at least my art, is part intellect, part problem-solving, and part the expression of my subconscious. I do know my work is driven by my angst about the state of the world as well as the love-hate relationship I have with machines. It includes an edgy sense of the world being out of whack. Though the forms and materials I use have often changed, the above-mentioned aspects can be found throughout. I produce anxious objects, yet humor laces through my work because, like my ghetto forebears, I need to laugh at the dark.""

Left: Bella Feldman standing next to her sculpture Jacob's Ladder, 2011

Right: Bella Feldman, Meridian, 1997

MAJ-Britt Hilstrom

07/15/1932- 05/04/2024

MAJ-Britt Hilstrom

Obituary from Legacy.com:

"San Francisco Bay Area artist Maj-Britt Hilstrom passed away peacefully, at her home in the early hours of May 4, 2024.
Maj-Britt was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1932, to Swedish immigrant parents, Dagny (nee Asen) and Roland Hilstrom. She established herself early in life as a multitalented individual, and this would remain the case into adulthood. She performed water ballet professionally, received a scholarship to the Art Institute of Chicago, sewed her own stylish clothes using Vogue patterns, and took part in music recitals as a classically trained mezzo-soprano.

Maj-Britt attended Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, and graduated with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Zoology. It was on a cross-country bus tour with the Augustana College Choir that she first visited California and was so enchanted by the Bay Area that she vowed to make it her home one day.

True to her wish, Maj-Britt moved to the Bay Area in 1963, and eventually settled in El Cerrito. While raising three children, she attended night law school classes at Golden Gate University and received her J.D. in 1968. She also became an avid tennis player, skier, sailor, and gourmet cook while continuing her artistic journey.

In the late 70s, Maj-Britt devoted herself to her art practice full time. She worked in several media including; watercolor, printmaking, ceramics, marble sculpture and bronze casting. In 1982, she founded the Blue Bay Press, a group of printmakers based at her home studio where they created their art and participated in many exhibitions around the Bay Area. Maj-Britt journeyed to Italy to train at the Marble and Art Institute in Pietrasanta. She travelled to Japan to study wood-block printing techniques at the Yoshida Hanga Academy in Tokyo. Maj-Britt was a long-time member of the California Society of Printmakers, Pacific Rim Sculptors Group as well as the Nordic 5 Arts, an international organization of professional artists of Scandinavian descent. She exhibited with these groups nationally and internationally throughout the year. Her works are included in private and corporate collections around the world, including the Library of Congress. She was recognized as a Distinguished Alumna Emerita of Augustana College and was extremely proud of her Swedish heritage.

Curious, creative and adventurous, Maj-Britt sought and expressed beauty in all her endeavors, from her art, to her personal style (which many friends and family described as glamorous), to her exquisite table settings. She enjoyed attending opera and symphony performances and was also a long-time member of a choir group, hosting many gatherings at her home where she loved to sing and play piano. All who knew Maj-Britt were buoyed by her exuberance and warmth.

Maj-Britt was affectionately known as "Mor-Mor" ("grandmother" or "mother's mother" in Swedish) to her family. She is survived by her children Marta (Linda), Britta (Daniel) and Stig (Katy); brother, Bruce; nieces Laura and Lisa; five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. She adored and was adored by her family."

Left: MAJ-Britt Hilstrom, Timmerbrate, carved Italian carrara marble

Right: MAJ-Britt Hilstrom, Caught, Japanese wood block print

Thank you Bella and MAJ-Britt for your contributions to the art and sculpture world. You both were an inspiration and you will be missed by many. Rest in Paradise