Three exhibitions featuring longtime coastal Marin residents, Pasty Krebs of Inverness and Sean Thackery and Harriet Kossman of Bolinas, open at the Bolinas Museum on April 7. Two of the exhibitions explore quiet nuances of color and light, while the third bursts with diverse textures and mediums. In the main gallery, “Focus: Patsy Krebs” presents the work of a serious artist who filters her intellectual curiosities and inspirations through the intense focus of her painting. Her abstract work, created with subtle gradations of color and masterful control, reflects a minimalist style. The paintings invite the viewer to enter the spaciousness within the form. Krebs, a Bay Area native, divides her time between Inverness with her husband and solitude in desert mountains of Colorado. She also teaches, and her art is in major museum collections, including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Denver Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Bolinas Museum.
A similar study of subtle light, texture and color can be seen in “Sean Thackrey / Venice: A Meditation.” These abstract close-ups of the surfaces of walls are presented in large-scale scroll-like form. Thackrey has been a photographer since age 15 and, like his taste palette when creating his famous wines, his artistic eye savors that which is richly nuanced and elusive. This exhibition results from his prolonged meditation on the mysteries of Venice, Italy. Trained in art history, Thackrey co-owned Thackrey & Robertson Gallery in San Francisco, a pioneering gallery devoted to fine art prints, for 25 years. Today he is known for his wide-ranging interests, from translating ancient manuscripts on winemaking to conversations about the philosophy of Heidegger.
A counterpoint to the two meditative exhibitions is the ebullient work in the Coastal Marin Artists Gallery, “Harriet Kossman: An Educator’s Art.” Kossman has had an illustrious career both impacting art education nationwide and teaching two generations of students at the Bolinas-Stinson School during her 40-year tenure there. Her life is deeply entwined with our communities. It is rare and exciting to see a solo exhibition of her work, from prints from the 1970s to current drawings, multi-media paintings, bead-encrusted cups and small, playful sculptures.
Kossman earned her master’s degree at the University of Miami, then found her way to Bolinas in the early ’70s along with a wave of idealistic and motivated counter-culture youth. In 1972, she co-founded the school’s now legendary Art Shops Program that has received prestigious national awards. Among her many accomplishments, she helped develop K-12 art education curriculum and standards that define excellence in school programs nationwide. But her first love still is involving local students and community members in creative projects.
Everyone is invited to the opening reception this Saturday, April 7. Always fascinating, the preview talks by the artists and curators begin at 2 p.m., with the reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Thackrey & Company are generously donating wine for the event. Admission to the museum galleries is always free.
Elia Haworth, a longtime Bolinas resident, is the curator of coastal Marin art and history at the Bolinas Museum.