Exhibits

Group Exhibition curated by Donna Seager
June 5 to August 4, 2025

Reception: Saturday, June 7, 4 to 6 pm

Curator Talk: 5 pm with DeWitt Cheng and Donna Seager

Location: Nancy Toomey Fine Art, 1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco

“Turning the Page” examines the book as a primary medium for creating art.  The goal is to explore as many approaches as possible. It begins with the belief that the physical qualities of books - the pages, papers, inks, covers and bindings provide artists with a source material that is difficult to surpass, rich in associations and textures to be mined and repurposed in satisfying and meaningful ways. The seven artists represented each approach the book in a unique way.  Weaving materiality and meaning, these artists inspire us to consider books not just for their content, but their intrinsic tactile and visual qualities.

Living in Marin County and then in Sonoma, Kristen Garneau is no stranger to beautiful landscapes.  The Pacific beachfronts, the rolling hills of west Marin and the majesty of Mount Tamalpais have provided enough beauty to attract painters like William Keith since the great American migration west.  Garneau, however, does not fit the genre of plein air or landscape painter. Her concern is not with describing specific places in paint, but to render the image down to its pure essence to convey her personal experience of it. She is fascinated with the shifting light and weather – magical moments when the sun filters through mist and clouds at sunrise, sunset, dusk and dawn – flashes of mystery and grace.

Come celebrate the inaugural exhibition of Donna Seager Fine Arts & Artists' Books at the San Francisco Art Fair

Our focus in the fair will be on Artists and their Materials. 

Celebrated artists Robert Brady and Tim Craighead come together for the first time in “Making their Mark,” a fascinating new exhibition of paintings and sculpture.

It was during a studio visit with Brady that the gallery owners were struck by how his sculptures resonated with Craighead’s paintings. They both make their own distinctive marks in their work, to be sure, but the similarities in their use of bold color, inventive shapes, even subtle humor, are uncanny. It’s as if, unbeknownst to each other, they were traveling parallel paths, relying on their well-honed instincts and trust in their individual processes. The result is work that is sophisticated and fresh while retaining a raw immediacy and sense of surprise.

“My practice is not terribly complicated,” Craighead says. “It’s based on the idea that through process eventually you arrive at a painting that feels authentic. I wake up in the morning and figuratively put on my painting hat and make my way to the studio, armed with my coffee and my credentials and my history of success and failure. I enter a world where I am at once at home and lost. As I begin to paint, I’m unclear what will happen. It’s exhilarating and scary not knowing where one is going.”

Like Craighead, Brady believes in getting out of his own way, beginning with an idea without being restricted by it.

“I am wary of works which can be completely explained,” he offers. “When I work, I always start with an idea but respect the importance of a ‘conversation’ with the material, the moment and the unfolding. For me, the suspension of ego almost always allows and leads me to an awareness of a better, more complex way of reaching my goal.”

The similarities carry over into their career paths. Both worked in clay early on. They have master’s degrees and have held teaching positions. After experiencing early success, they have maintained enviable careers with work in prestigious collections.

It all amounts to an extraordinary pairing of artists who speak their own visual language, but with a common understanding and sensibility that comes from a mastery of materials and years of artistic practice and experience. It’s a kinship that is rare and striking, a pairing that makes this show a double delight.