Embroidered Stories / Knitted Tales
September 24 – November 5, 2006

Embroidery, knitting and crocheting are probably the last thing you’d expect to see in an art gallery today.   However, contemporary artists have fully embraced Yarn Art creating artworks that collapse the presumption that these traditional practices are for conventional use only.  This medium-specific exhibition demonstrates the rich cross-fertilization between crafts (personal hobbies) and contemporary art. The sculpture— abstract, surreal, and conceptual—will focus on the multifaceted connotations of domesticity, handicraft, social statement and machine-produced art.

Pictured: Sara Christensen Blair. Front Left Torso, 2004. Cross-stitched Fibers. 15" x 18"

Anatomy of a Hot Rod
November 19, 2006 – February 11, 2007

Anatomy of a Hot Rod will present a selection of magnificent hot rods culled by Phil Linhares, Chief Curator at the Oakland Museum of California (and hot rod owner and enthusiast).  As in several past exhibitions, Bedford Gallery is exploring design and its intimate relationship with art. In every detail, from the shape of a headlight or fender to the contour of its body, each of these hot rods demonstrates a concern for both beauty and performance. These extraordinary machines—selected from numerous California collectors—put us in touch with our own past and the way our esthetic ideals have changed over time.

Pictured: David Perry, 40 Coupe at Takeoff, 1997. 
Pigment on Somerset.

Space is the Place March 4 - May 27, 2007 A national traveling exhibition from Independent Curators International (ICI), Space is the Place features an international group of artists working with the theme of space exploration—its infinite potential, as well as its historical successes and failures. Concepts and images of nostalgia, fantasy and technological naiveté run rampant in works by artists Lori Anderson, Julian LaVerdiere, and Katy Schimert, among others.   Pictured: Yinka Shonibare, Space Walk, 2002. Installation.   Paved Paradise: Perspectives on (Human) Nature by Contra Costa County Youth June 10 - July 22, 2007 Every three years, the Bedford Gallery hosts a juried exhibition for Contra Costa County high school students, showcasing the work of over 150 young artists. These extraordinarily popular exhibitions bolster the arts programs at local schools and provide an important link to arts curriculum. This year, artists will be asked to explore the relationship between human “progress” and the natural world.   Pictured: Marisa Pineda, Snapshot (detail), 2000. Acrylic on paper.