Nicole and Marc Katano, together for 33 years, have a connection not only in the close family life they share but also in the harmony of their artwork.
Through separate mediums, they share an interest in balance and tone, the use of space and a teasing of abstraction. “Nicole focuses on details, while Marc’s focus is on line and motion,” says curator Kate Eilertsen.
The synchronicity is revealed in the exhibition “Akin: The Art of Nicole and Marc Katano” now at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art.
Their individual works capture an intuitive elegance of a physical gesture, a shadow, a familiar object or a reflection. “Both artists encourage us to stop and take a moment to reflect on what we are observing and sensing,” says Eilertsen, who also the museum’s executive director.
Nicole Katano’s photographs record nature’s details, as when she captures shimmering shapes of light and color. With her mysterious fragments of time and space, Eilertsen says, “we can flee with her into a magical world filled with soft light and curious textures.”
Marc’s paintings and drawings are inspired not only by the human form but also Japanese calligraphy and the natural world. He says, “My visual vocabulary is made up of the simplest, most natural movements of the hand and arm, reflecting the physical activity of mark making.”
The result, Eilertsen says, “is a line that is fresh and yet has a profound sense of restraint and balance.”
Nicole received a BFA in Film from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and her Master’s degree in Ceramics from San Francisco State University. She has worked as a professional photographer for over 30 years in advertising, corporate and editorial clients including Dreamworks, Paramount Pictures, American Girl and Nokia. Since 2004, when she began to pursue a more personal expression, she has had exhibitions in Los Angeles, Nashville, Scottsdale, Santa Fe, Healdsburg, San Diego and Atlanta.
Marc Katano was born in Tokyo, and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction from California College of the Arts in 1975. Since then he has had some 40 solo exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (winner of the prestigious SECA Award in 1981), the Palace of the Legion of Honor, the Skirball Museum, San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, Oakland Museum, San Jose Museum of Modern Art and the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University. He has won numerous awards and his work is in public and private collections including the San Francisco International Airport.
Nicole Katano also works with the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance to photograph mentors with their mentees. Alongside the exhibition of the Katano’s artwork, will be an exhibition of these poignant photographs.
The Sonoma Valley Museum of Art is located at 551 Broadway in Sonoma. The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $5. Students 18 and under are free. The museum is free for all visitors on Wednesdays. Svma.org.
