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Art from the ashes

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Sonoma Valley Sun
Luba Zygarewicz’s installation is part of a group show at the Sonoma Community Center, which, along with a companion exhibition at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, is a post-fire survey of creative inspiration and resilience.
Luba Zygarewicz’s installation is part of a group show at the Sonoma Community Center, which, along with a companion exhibition at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, is a post-fire survey of creative inspiration and resilience.

Catharsis through art — through its making and through its viewing — is the experiential theme of two exhibitions in October. “From Fire, Love Rises” at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, and its companion show “RE-COLLECT: Recalling Sonoma One Year Later,” at the Sonoma Community Center, each feature works born of last year’s fires.

Many artists impacted by the disaster have relied on their artistic practice to recover from loss and help restore the community around them. The SVMA show features 14 artists and 19 writers who work in bronze, photography, ceramics, printmaking, new media, poetry, and prose to express their feelings of loss, gratitude, and resiliency they have grappled with over the last 12 months.

One artist sifts through the rubble of her home for bits and pieces to photograph with her cell phone—her only camera that remains, another artist throws pots of clay mixed with ash brought to him by fire victims, one painter who paints his memories and hopes for the future as a form of therapy after losing his home.

The collection was co-curated by Margie Maynard and Tanya Gayer, who note, “Our interest in featuring artists and writers who were impacted by the fires was to highlight the restoration of emotional resolve, the ability to find beauty among the wreckage, and the knowledge that, in this community, it’s love that burns brightest.”

The Sonoma Community Center marks the fire anniversary with it’s “RE-COLLECT” show, with artists Mike Acker, Barbara White Perry, and Luba Zygarewicz showcasing photo collages, hand-drawn prints, and three-dimensional structures.

“I appreciate the idea of reclaiming what is true or important as a response to any loss,” said Eric Jackson, SCC creative programs director

Mike Acker, the Center’s resident fiber studio, presents sewn photo collage works that present Sonoma locales in fragmented and nostalgic ways. (He has solo gallery exhibit at the end of October.) Local illustrator Barbara White Perry has made ink drawings of a local barn lost to fire, And Luba Zygarewicz’s fashioned the installation  “Risorgere: to rise again” from hundreds of burned items salvaged from the fires.

“I collect moments,” Luba said describing her large hanging art piece. “This installation as a way of connecting moments to create a tapestry of lives.”

 

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, 551 Broadway. Svma.org.

Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St. Sonomacommunitycenter.org.

 




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