Sofie Contemporary Arts in Calistoga, CA is pleased to announce the gallery’s first exhibition of 2022, The Persistence of Beauty. The invitational exhibition features a gathering of very diverse works by 12 accomplished Bay Area artists that have exhibited previously at the gallery, most from Napa County and the surrounding North Bay counties. The exhibition continues through June 12, 2022. An Artists’ Reception is tentatively planned for the afternoon of Sunday, April 10, from 2:00 – 4:30.

Inspired by the way artists and others have responded to the challenges of repeated fires, evacuations, closures, political upheaval, isolation and the stubborn march of Covid, gallery director and curator Jan Sofie set out to assemble an exhibition that expressed the abiding presence of tenderness, tranquility and simple beauty in the world, in spite of difficult circumstances. The work selected has a wide span of media and approach, yet all portray a shared joyful and resilient spirit. There are lush colors, both exuberant and quiet swaths of paint, antiquated objects reimagined, photographs of real sights from nature that appear unreal, text as image with hidden messaging, quilt-like constructions of cardboard, paint and linen thread, and natural materials like Madrone bark used in a dense collage

“In some ways I feel like we and the gallery are just coming back to life,” gallery director Jan Sofie said. “The exhibition repeatedly reveals what remains true and what we still cherish and celebrate. I’ve thought a lot lately about this concept of unstoppable beauty, and am grateful for the imagery and fierce attitude of hope and recognition these artists bring, often in the face of personal loss and in spite of all that has happened. I’ve been lifted by this, and want it to be shared.”

The exhibition includes artists Will Ashford, Don Bishop, Beka Brayer, Monica Bryant, Arminee Chahbazian, Terry Holleman, Anne Pentland, Todd Pickering, Susan Proehl, Inez Storer, Susan Stover and Jonah Ward. Each continued to focus on particular ideas and subjects that were their ongoing interests, but with a determined goal to keep working. Many said that it had sometimes been difficult to carry on in the past months, but when motivation or energy lagged, they tried turning to new types of studies, working more intuitively or in other, different ways than their usual patterns. Interestingly, The Persistence of Beauty also demonstrates how the realities of illness and isolation can be simultaneously experienced along with the unlikely companions of wellness and connection. “Art can powerfully express and validate this paradox,” said Sofie. “Artists constantly work with transformation, and this show is a strong example of that practice. It’s like a well, and can replenish us as we drink from it.”

Jonah Ward will have 5 works on display during this show, three large pieces from his glass burned panel series and two restored works made from madrone bark (48" x 48") that were once displayed at the Restaurant at Meadowood before it burned down in the Glass fire in 2020.

"Once Jan announced the name and idea behind this show I instantly knew which pieces I wanted to submit," Jonah stated. After announcing a renovation of The Restaurant at Meadowood in mid 2020, Jonah's work was returned to him. On September 28, 2020 the Restaurant burned to the ground along with everything in it. "This truly sad but serendipitous series of events really struck me as starkly personifying the Persistence of Beauty."

Sofie Contemporary Arts is located at 1407 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga, and open Wednesday through Sunday, from 12:00 to 6:00 pm or by arrangement. For more information, please call 707.942.4231 or email gallery manager Scott Sofie (scott@sofiegallery.com) or gallery director Jan Sofie (jan@sofiegallery.com). Visit sofiecontemporaryarts on Facebook.