UKIAH, CA., 6/22/25 — “The Art of Wonder,” an exhibit of 15 Mendocino County artists currently on display at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, pushes the boundaries of mediums to create surprising perceptions.
“Artists in this exhibition are trying to answer questions—’Who am I? What is this life?'” exhibit curator Alyssa Boge said. The artworks range from the overtly religious, as with icon paintings by Father Damian, Abbot of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Redwood Valley, to Antoinette von Grone’s playful depictions of animals dressed in pre-20th century European aristocratic attire.
A 40-inch-wide, 7-foot-tall ceramic sculpture of a blade of grass, created by the late Sonya Popow, is prominently featured. Denver Tuttle creates illusionary sculptures made of pliable reflective material, which he then photographs from inside. Four of these photographs appear in the show along with one of his wall-mounted sculptures. Red Wolf uses layers of epoxy, acrylic paint, and special effects films on treated metal substrate that create illusions of depth and in some cases a hologram effect.
What unites all the artworks is, in Boge’s words, “deep investigation of the everyday, along with a connection with something beyond the everyday,” whether it is a Ukrainian Catholic saint, a polar bear that appears to be posing for its portrait, or a landscape bombarded by cosmic rays.
Micah Sanger, proprietor of the Visionary Arts Gallery in Mendocino, paints forces all around us. “By the Bay” portrays a group of people socializing and relaxing, their figures flooded with brilliant washes of light and representations of energy and matter. “I’m just painting what my eyes are seeing,” he said. “First things I paint are the trees, the sunlight, the earth.” After that he paints “the whole field” that he feels emanating from the trees and the ground.
Painter and collagist Jazzminh Moore crafts images that mediate between dream and reality, layering fields of color and geometric shapes over self-portraits, natural landscapes, and abandoned buildings. Moore was poised to start showing in museums when she decided to step off the fast track: “I needed less cement and more trees.” Moore now lives in Willits, and is a part-time faculty member and gallery director at Mendocino College.
Several events are taking place to complement the exhibit, including an Assemblage Play Day taught by Spencer Brewer and Esther Siegel on June 28; a pop-up exhibit of Linda MacDonald’s nature paintings running Aug. 1-17; a talk on painting icons by Father Damian on Aug. 23; a virtual panel discussion with several artists featured in the exhibit on Sept. 11; and a collage workshop led by Rose Easterbrook on Sept. 27.
“The Art of Wonder” runs now through Oct. 19, at the Grace Hudson Museum, 431 S. Main St. in Ukiah. For more information call (707) 467-2836 or visit www.gracehudsonmuseum.org
Roberta Werdinger writes on behalf of the Grace Hudson Museum.