Taking it all in

A new exhibition of paintings by Lia Bonagura-Transue, a series she calls “Can’t Take It With You,” opens at The Alley Gallery with a 7 p.m. reception on Friday, July 18. “Over the past few years, I have witnessed my husband’s family navigate the fallout of a relative who passed after a lifetime of what one might lovingly refer to as ‘collecting,’” the artist explained. “This ‘collecting’ fueled the dialogue of many lively family discussions laced with irony, humor, a fair amount of anxiety, a tremendous amount of sarcasm and absolute disbelief.”

The experience inspired the new works for “Can’t Take It With You,” which Bonagura-Transue describes as a sentimental, light hearted, humorous, mildly sarcastic, somewhat surreal look at “life filled with want, consumption and unbridled attachment to ‘stuff.” The exhibit will be on display July 19 and 20, and July 25-27, from noon to 5 p.m. The gallery is located at 148 E. Napa St. in Sonoma.