Participating Artists

EXHIBITING ARTISTS:
PAINTING / MIXED MEDIA
Joseph Abbati – painting
Doug Andelin – painting and sculpture
Adam Caldwell – painting
Stanley Goldstein – painting
Nina Katz – painting
Susan R. Kirshenbaum – mixed media
Stephen Namara– mixed media
Diane Olivier – mixed media
Sharon Paster – painting (oil sticks)
Randall Sexton – painting
May Shei – mixed media
Julianne Wallace Sterling – painting
Sandra Yagi – painting

SCULPTORS:
Konrad Dunton – ceramic sculpture
Sandy Frank – ceramic sculpture
Tebby George – ceramic sculpture
John Goodman – wax sculpted heads
Catherine Merrill – ceramic sculpture

Art Life

Art Life, the fifth annual figurative art exhibition, celebrates the intersection of artistic practice and lived experience. It brings together some of the Bay Area’s most accomplished artists exploring the human experience through contemporary figurative art, highlighting the personal, social, and emotional narratives that define our times.

Each invited artist presents a curated selection of five recent works, creating a distinctive “show within a show” throughout the Center’s gallery. Featuring sculpture, painting, and mixed media works, Art Life explores the enduring relevance of the human figure through a diverse range of styles, techniques, and contemporary perspectives. Works in the exhibition will express elements of human nature, tell individual stories, and invite visitors to consider how art helps us navigate, interpret, and respond to the world around us.

Rooted in the legacy of the Bay Area Figurative Movement, the exhibition reflects how artists engage with the human form today. Many of the featured artists paint, draw, or sculpt from life, portraying friends, family members, professional models, and even imagined or reinterpreted strangers. Together, their work offers a deeply personal and collective examination of what it means to be human.

"As curator, I am seeking work that illuminates what artists are currently experiencing and what they believe matters most," said Susan R. Kirshenbaum, artist and curator of the exhibition. "In a time of rapid change and increasing uncertainty, art remains a powerful means of expressing our hopes, dreams, concerns, and resilience. Art Life offers a timely and compelling glimpse into the ideas shaping contemporary figurative art today."

Exhibition Dates:
Jan 8-Feb 6, 2027
Wed - Sun
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Opening Reception:
Sat, Jan 9, 2027
3:00 PM -6:00 PM
Free event: RSVP