Mendocino Art Center's Gallery Exhibitions November 19, 2009

During November, the Mendocino Art Center galleries highlight the artwork of photographer Peter Dobbins, pencil/pastel artist Charles Lobdell, and a Wine and Mushroom Art Exhibit coinciding with Mendocino County's popular Wine and Mushroom Festival. The exhibits will continue through December 5.Mendocino coast artist Peter Dobbins' Main Gallery photography exhibit, "North Coast Perspectives," reveals his intrigue with darkness. Peter is interested in the concept of "Light is Law" and its interplay with its opposite, dark, which is where Peter finds many of his subjects. His imagery is unusually diverse and much of it illustrates solitude, even loneliness. He expresses, "This may be in part cynicism, but the better part is Zen Buddhism."In the Nichols Gallery, well-known Mendocino coast painters Erin Dertner, Janis Porter and Maeve Croghan who each uniquely capture the grandeur of the county's wine country have joined with noted fiber artists Vicki Fraser and Nancy Denison to celebrate Mendocino County's distinctive wine and mushroom bounty with a showing of their artwork.Charles Lobdell's Abramson Gallery pencil/pastel showing, "Nature Abstracts," is an outgrowth of his involvement in a higher spiritual consciousness and his interest in spirit form elements in nature. In his work these forms are abstracted organic shapes that seem to coalesce out of the elements and they are translucent and semi-transparent in nature. "I see these 'visionary abstractions' as a depiction of the movement of 'theme forms' across space and time like 'musical color symphonies' of shape, form, color harmonics, texture, composition and positive-negative spaces," Lobdell explains."Art and Abalone," 2nd Saturday ReceptionThis month's special 2nd Saturday reception, "Art and Abalone," November 14, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., is presented as part of the Wine and Mushroom Festival. Hobnob with the artists and view the new exhibits while enjoying delicious abalone cakes prepared by Little River Inn chef Marc Dym and tasting fine wines poured by a selection of Mendocino County wineries, including Breggo Cellars, Chance Creek Vineyards, Handley Cellars, Naughty Boy Vineyards and Navarro Vineyards."Art and Abalone," presented in partnership with the Little River Inn, is a fundraiser for the Mendocino Art Center and is sponsored by the Mendocino Winegrape & Wine Commission.Admission to the gallery exhibits is free. For more information and "Art and Abalone" tasting tickets, please call 707-937-5818 or visit www.MendocinoArtCenter.org. The Mendocino Art Center is located at 45200 Little Lake Street (at Kasten Street) in Mendocino. The galleries are open daily, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.