Stone Gallery

The J. Ralph and Lois Stone Gallery features a long-term exhibition showcasing Pomo baskety masterpieces woven between 1860-2003. The baskets come from the collections of the Grace Hudson Museum, other private institutions with significant ethnographic holdings, and private collections. Informative text panels explain the steps taken in cultivating, harvesting, and processing materials for basketmaking. Panels also discuss the history of Pomo basketweaving, and the forms and functions of various basket types.

Person Gallery

The Norma and Evert Person Gallery features a permanent exhibit of informative text panels, photographs, textiles, and objects that interpret the history, and celebrate the legacy, of the memorable Carpenter-Hudson family. Organized by generations, each section of the gallery introduces the viewer to members of Grace Carpenter Hudson’s illustrious family through descriptions of their lives, and displays of their belongings. Grace’s own section expands upon her personal life, while her professional career is highlighted in the Ivan B. and Elvira Hart Gallery.

The Hart Gallery

The Ivan B. and Elvira Hart Gallery houses a permanent exhibition dedicated to the artistic career of Grace Carpenter Hudson. Accompanied by text and photo panels giving extensive information about each phase and aspect of Grace’s professional development, the gallery features numerous oils, watercolors, pen and ink drawings, charcoal, conte crayon, and graphite drawings, and mixed media works. Hudson’s personal life is documented further in the Norma & Evert Person Gallery.

MODERN TWIST: CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE BAMBOO ART

May 30–August 30, 2015

An exciting international exhibition, Modern Twist: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art featured the work of professional bamboo artists living in Japan, whose evocative, sensual, and sculptural pieces explore innovations in bamboo art since the mid-twentieth century. The artworks were chosen by Dr. Andreas Marks, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, from the collections of the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture in Hanford, California. It was traveled by International Arts and Artists, Washington, D.C.

To more closely tie Modern Twist to our collections and mission, at the Grace Hudson Museum we added 12 Pomo baskets to accompany the 38 Japanese art pieces on display. Taken from our own holdings, and those of other lenders, the Pomo baskets provide interesting similarities and contrasts to their Japanese counterparts. Both basketry traditions are world famous, and mastering them requires decades of meticulous practice in harvesting and preparing native plant materials, and in constructing finished pieces. Modern Twist featured examples of both Japanese and Pomo pieces by master weavers that together span over one hundred years of textile arts.

Bamboo is a quintessential part of Japanese life, and its emergence as a sculptural art form has religious and cultural roots. The Japanese have used this extraordinarily strong and flexible grass for centuries–for everything from functional objects to ceremonial baskets, and for the vases, tea scoops, ladles and whisks that serve an important place in the Japanese traditions of flower arranging (ikebana) and tea gatherings (chanoyu and senchadō). It is a challenging medium, with less than 100 professional bamboo artists in Japan today.

Modern Twist brings 17 of these artists to North American audiences, including two men deemed “Living National Treasures” by the Japanese government in recognition of the excellence of their work. These National Treasures–Katsushiro Sōhō and Fujinuma Noboru–are joined by visionary artists Matsumoto Hafū, Honma Hideaki, Ueno Masao, Uematsu Chikuyū, Nagakura Ken’ichi, Tanabe Chikuunsai III, Tanabe Yōta, Tanabe Shōchiku III, Tanioka Shigeo, Tanioka Aiko, Honda Shōryū, Mimura Chikuhō, Nakatomi Hajime, Sugiura Noriyoshi, and Yonezawa Jirō.

It was a rare opportunity at the Grace Hudson Museum to experience groundbreaking levels of conceptual, technical, and artistic ingenuity both in bamboo art, and in the striking examples of our own local Pomo basketry.

The exhibition was generously supported by the E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Nomura Foundation, Japan Foundation,
Los Angeles, and the Snider Family Fund.

IGNITE!: THE ART OF SUSTAINABILITY

March 21 through May 17, 2015

A dynamic exploration of California’s ecological issues by leading contemporary artists from six regions throughout the state, this exhibit examined natural and human forces that have shaped California’s current landscape. Artists included: Kim Abeles, Charles Bello, Robert Dawson, Sant Khalsa, Judith Lowry, Linda MacDonald, Ann Savageau, Kim Stringfellow, Penelope Gottlieb, Newton Harrison & Helen Mayer Harrison, Gyongy Laky, Luke Matjas, and Daniel McCormick. Ignite! was a traveling exhibition from Exhibit Envoy, in conjunction with the California Association of Museums’ Green Museums Initiative and funded by The James Irvine Foundation. Support for its Ukiah venue was provided by the Sun House Guild.

Penelope Gottlieb, Cirsium vulgare,
Courtesy of the Artist

IGNITE! The Art of Sustainability,
in the Main Gallery