Biophilia:
Our Longing for Nature

April 11 – June 4, 2025
Reception: April 11, 6-9 PM

Artists for millennia have reflected upon nature as the inspiration and subject of their work. Our affiliation with animals, plants, and the wild spaces of our world is defined as ‘biophilia,’ or love for living things. Twentieth century naturalist E.O. Wilson offered the theory that humans are ‘hard-wired’ to build a complex relationship with the natural world in his book Biophilia (1984). In our Twenty-first century world, the question is how do we build relationships with a natural world that is under threat from climate change, habitat destruction, and other forces?

Participating artists in Biophilia look to scenes both intimate and overarching for an understanding of the elemental forces beyond man’s knowledge. They point to the power of the earth’s resources, and our need to comprehend their use and power. Other artists in Biophilia turn to animals for their symbolic and cultural resonance. The simple practice of painting en plein air, directly in natural environments, offers a continuing record of our need to capture the ephemeral beauty of landscapes that skirt our largely urban existence.

2025 Participating Artists: Elaine Bowers, Patrick Cosgrove, Mark Goudy, William Ishmael, Carol Jenkins, Linda Clark Johnson, Qinqin Liu, Liza Riddle, and Marsha Schindler.

The exhibit is sponsored by Tom Doyle & Kathy Joseph.

Davis Art Studio Tour:
Preview Exhibit

March11 – April 20, 2025
Reception: March 14, 6-9 PM

The annual Davis Art Studio Tour (DAST) returns for a fresh, springtime opening the weekend of April 12-13th, from 10 AM – 5 PM. This free tour is open to all, and includes 45 participating visual artists, in media ranging from woodworking, ceramics, and jewelry, to painting, photography, and sculpture. Enjoy a preview exhibit of their work at our annual display at the Pence, and plan your trip! Free maps of the studios are availale at the Pence as well. Please visit www.davisopenstudios.com for more information.

2025 Participating Artists: Deladier Almeida, Steve Barbaria, Jonathan Barker, Gayle BonDurant, Marie-Therésè Brown, Pinar Brummer, Amanda Cadelago, Roshelle Carlson, Tim Carpenter, Judy Catambay, Nancy Chadwick, Schorré Chevalier-Oldham, Patrick Cosgrove, Magdalene Crivelli, Jerry DeCamp, Marieke deWaard, Mark Ellsberry, Paul Erhartic, Karen Fess, Phillip Gross, Maru Hoeber, Wes Horn, Kitty Hudson-Cawley, Cathie James-Robinson, Nikhil Joshi, David Kalb, Kristina Kernytska, Chris Kidd, Joanna Kidd, Robin Kozlo , Marc Lancet, Marlene Lee, Donna Lemongello, Dori Marshall, Louise McGowan Bezark, Jord Nelsen, Natalie Nelson, Mary Neri King, Michael Radin, Lisa Sanders, Adele Louise Shaw, Amy Teutemacher, Stasia Tikkanen, Adrienne Van Veen, and Thelma Weatherford.

The preview exhibit is sponsored by Tandem Properties.

Please be aware that this exhibit is located in our upstairs gallery. Access may be slightly limited due to occasional events and classes that occur in this space. To ensure that your visit and enjoyment of this exhibit is not interrupted, please refer to our Programs page.

Frankie Hansbearry
& Marsha Elam:
Flights of Fancy

March 7 – April 27, 2025
Reception: March 14, 6-9 PM

Marsha Elam and Frankie Hansbearry share a love of ceramic art. They have been working in clay for many years. Frankie works out of her home studio in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento
and Marsha out of Clay ArtStudio 814 in midtown Sacramento. Their goal is to make art that is engaging through the use of unusual characters and interesting finishes. They find this journey
challenging yet captivating, and ultimately very much worth the effort.

This exhibit is sponsored by Jim & Sue Smith.

Watercolor Paintings by Joanne Andresen’s Class

March 7 – April 30, 2025
Reception: March 14, 6-9 PM

The artists featured in this display are all students in Joanne Andresen’s Intermediate Watercolor Class at the Pence Gallery. Some of the paintings illustrate scenes of local life and regional landscapes, such as a bright, sunny day on Capay Farm, picturing an artist painting amid a rainbow-colored field of flowers. Other works capture a variety of animals, including a sunbathing cat, whose black fur gleams in the sunlight streaming through a window. The watercolor paintings, while different in subject matter and style, all reveal experimentation with composition, color, and brushwork. 

Participating artists include Eva Bayón, Tracey Long, Megan Lowry, Kimberly Ohlson, Maria Rea, Barbara Smithson, Pamela Spycher, and Barbara Toupadakis.