John Natsoulas Gallery

Exhibition: August 27th to September 27th
Opening Reception: September 6th, 7:00 to 10:00 PM

Boyd Gavin is well known as one of the most accomplished realist painters in the Sacramento Valley. Since his 1975 solo debut at the age of 16 at the Crocker Art Museum, he has enjoyed continued success. He has been in numerous exhibitions including the San Jose Museum of Art, Winfield Gallery in Carmel, the Memorial Union Gallery at UC Davis, and the Artists Contemporary Gallery in Sacramento. He received his B.A. from UC Santa Cruz, and his M.A. at CSU Sacramento. Working with minimal brushstrokes in his oil paintings, Gavin is able to capture the essential elements of complex scenes with remarkable accuracy. Of his approach to a subject, Gavin says, "the sheer physical beauty of paint becomes as central to the work as the chosen subject."" A focus concretely ingrained in the very roots of modern art theory.

D.A. Bishop addresses the issues of identity, psychology, and the landscape. D.A. Bishop was born in rural Virginia and has lived in many places along the Eastern Seaboard before settling in Sonoma County, California. Bishop is primarily self-taught. Thus began various careers as a billboard painter, a graphic artist for a theatre company, and an itinerant limner. Bishop has traveled extensively, visiting museums worldwide and has always worked from the live model. He says "I like simple, strong, shapes whether rendering architecture, landscape or the human form."

Keith Schneider is an Associate Professor of Art at Humboldt State. He is a ceramicist whose style of work and expertise varies from low temperature sculpture to high-fired traditional work, which offers students a unique, complete overview of contemporary ceramics. Keith has been a strong supporter of the arts on the North Coast and is very knowledgeable about the techniques local artists are using to create their work. Of his own work, it is clear that Keith has a strong instinct for aesthetics that challenge the viewer. His subjects are raw and deeply toned, often walking the line between the thoughtful and the subversive. Keith says of his ceramic pieces, "Often, as I am working, these pieces take on a life of their own and it is interesting to me that some of my characters seem anxious and overwhelmed, some worried and perplexed, some quizzical and amused. As I live with these characters, I believe that they speak to me about myself."