Cornelia Wattley
Current Exhibitions
6th Annual Wabi-Sabi Expostion
at O’Hanlon Center for the Arts
June 2 - June 30, 2009
On Tuesday, June 2, from 6 to 8 p.m., O’Hanlon Center for the Arts will present an Open House and Reception for June’s show “6th Annual Wabi-Sabi Exposition,” a mixed-media group show. The show runs through June 30, 2008 and will be juried by Mill Valley-based architect Dart Cherk and singer/ bon vivant Esther Cherk.
Also on June 2 from 4 to 6 p.m., the Center will host a Roundtable for the Arts dialogue, where artists whose work is in the Wabi-Sabi show will discuss issues relating to their creative processes. The Roundtable, a monthly event sponsored by the Center, is facilitated by painter and O’Hanlon Center member Peller Marion.
What is “Wabi –Sabi?” Wabi-Sabi is based on a Japanese aesthetic and is the beauty of things impermanent, imperfect, and incomplete. It honors the simple, the rustic, the unpretentious, the modest, and even the decayed. A quote from Leonard Cohen’s song “Anthem” describes the feel of the subject:
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There's a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
This group show will be the 6th year O’Hanlon Center has explored the Wabi -Sabi theme and the Center will host related programs during the month of June.
The opening show on June 2 is part of the Mill Valley Art Commission’s monthly Gallery Walk, First Tuesday. The event is free of charge and open to all ages. Artwork on display is available for purchase.
Also on Exhibit: “Cups, Bowls and Baskets”
by J. Ruth Gendler
The O’Hanlon Center for the Arts’ Loft Gallery will present “Cups, Bowls and Baskets” by published author, painter, and creativity catalyst J. Ruth Gendler.
Ruth says of her work, "l love the bowl because it is so utterly real and also metaphoric. It reminds me that we are vessels, filled with varying qualities, elements, and energies, the bowl of soul. The bowl is so many other things, as well: boat, and dome, small cup, and mountain valley. Although the bowl has been a part of my writing and art for a long time, I am gathering paintings, drawings, and monoprints of bowls together for the first time in this show at the Loft."
Ruth will also offer an artist's reflections on beauty. In her lively and lyrical talk she describes how beauty provides meaning, purpose and delight to our lives. She makes a plea for our fast-paced, progress-driven society to slow down, to reflect and to engage the senses and the soul, so we can begin to appreciate, cultivate, and nurture the beauty within and around us. We will explore what beauty means to each of us and consider how and where we find and make beauty. Discussion is Thursday, June 11 at 7 p.m. Entry is $10 for the general public and $8 for O’Hanlon Center members. RSVP by Wednesday, June 10 to save your seat. The Loft Gallery is adjacent to the O’Hanlon Center Gallery on the Center grounds.
O’Hanlon Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.