Bedford Gallery, a program of the City of Walnut Creek, also receives substantial support from the Diablo Regional Arts Association.

past exhibitions

Objects of Virtue December 1, 2009 - January 31, 2010 Master potter and professor Julia Galloway jurored this national exhibition of contemporary pottery. Objects of Virtue explored the innovative ways in which artists use the sculptural and painterly qualities of clay to create varied and distinctive new vessels. As an amalgamation of surface, color, texture, and mass, clay in its fired state is potentially one of the richest art mediums. View video: Curator's overview
Full Deck: A Short History of Skate Art July 5 - September 13, 2009 Bedford Gallery culled together some of the most radical skateboard art, from hand-painted and carved decks to limited and 1st edition designer boards. Since the first graphic was drawn onto a board, the culture of skateboarding has grown hand in hand with the visual arts. The eye-cathing images on the bottom of skateboards are one of the purest forms of self-expression; highly personal and mostly created without artistic boundaries - just like skateboarding itself. Decks on view dated from 1960 to present, including rare boards from private collections. This exhibition is available for rental. For inquiries, please contact Carrie Lederer at 925/295-1415. View images: Exhibition Opening Reception Skate Day
Working In Wax: A National Juried Exhibition May 3 - June 21, 2009 Encaustic paint has luminous translucency, a succulent surface, and warms to the touch, like human skin. It offers a wide range of applications, such as using the pure encaustic with no color, adding pigments for rich color, creating texture, casting in molds, collaging with photographs, and making sculptures by combining it with wood, steel, and other materials. I believe this is why we love the wax; it gives us endless possibilities for expression. - Eileen P. Goldenberg, juror View images from the exhibition here.
PostSecret March 1 - April 19, 2009 The PostSecret exhibition featured more than 400 postcards that bring together the most powerful, poignant, and beautifully intimate secrets Frank Warren has received through his project at www.postsecret.com. The secrets are both provocative and profound, and the cards themselves are works of art. Carefully and creatively constructed by hand, the postcards are made from cardboard, old photographs, wedding invitations, and other personal items artfully decorated and have traveled to Warren from all over the world. View images from the opening reception with Frank Warren here.
Illuminated Sculpture January 11 - February 22, 2009 Guest curated by The Crucible’s Christian Schiess, this exhibition showcased sculptures using a variety of forms of illumination including gases, incandescent light and emerging mediums like laser, plasma, fiber optics, and light-emitting diodes (LED).
Civic Arts Education 45th Anniversary December 3 - December 21, 2008 Bedford Gallery honored the anniversary of Walnut Creek's Civic Arts Education program by celebrating the rich diversity of its faculty, whose distinct visions shape the program and its students. For 45 years the City of Walnut Creek’s Civic Arts Education program has been the regional center of arts learning - promoting new visions, supporting exploration, stimulating creative thought and encouraging personal self-expression. It brings high quality visual and performing arts instruction and educational experiences to participants of all ages.
Untold Stories: Early American Quilts from the Collection of Susan Brooks September 13 - November 23, 2008 The art of quilting has deep roots in America. No other form of needle art has been so thoroughly employed to narrate the birth and history of this country and the lives of its citizens. Untold Stories: Early American Quilts from the Collection of Susan Brooks, presented 35 quilts from the 18th and 19th century that were created during some of the most momentous and significant eras of U.S. history. Stitched by resilient and courageous women struggling to survive, the quilts chronicle the slave era and Underground Railroad, the Civil War, the Mormon and Oregon Trails, the Northeast whaling community, and Temperance Movement.
Local Voice 2008 June 29 - August 31, 2008 In an age when so many of us don’t know our neighbors, we may be surprised to learn the person next door, down the street, or in the next cubicle over is, in fact an artist. Local Voice 2008: Defining Community Through Art highlighted a small cross section of artists who live and work among us here in Contra Costa County. The exhibition was designed to open a dialogue between our local visual artists and our community, exploring what kind of art is being made in this area, by whom and why. Emerging artists, those who pursue art as a second career, and those who exhibit nationally and internationally all make their homes in Contra Costa County. Local Voice brought together the work of these diverse artists, exhibiting the best art being created locally in a variety of media, genres, and conceptual approaches.
The Art of Diorama March 26 - June 8, 2008 The Art of Diorama, presented twenty-one artists who transform an enclosed area—ranging in size from a matchbox to a small room—using sculpture, painting, video, and photography. The artists construct life-like environments or habitats blending real and imagined elements to capture a single and arrested moment in time. The Art of Diorama was a diverse show that encouraged people to interact with and in their surroundings, or simply peer into captivating miniature worlds.

BEDFORD gallery    1601 civic drive    walnut creek, ca 94596    925/295-1417     contact us