“Duane Wakeham: Sharing a Way of Seeing”, our summer exhibition, opens with a reception on Sunday, July 8, from 1 to 4 p.m.
This exhibition opening will be meaningful to Bay Area art lovers on several levels: most important, it acknowledges and celebrates a remarkable artist and teacher. In addition, it will mark the final exhibition planned by the Peninsula Museum of Art for its “starter home” in Belmont’s Twin Pines Park. (Watch for a special announcement on this website re the Museum’s new home and grand opening.)
Bay Area curator DeWitt Cheng reminded us in his curatorial notes for the 2006 exhibition “Local Legends” that “Prophets are traditionally not honored in their own countries, and sometimes local talent goes, if not unsung, then certainly undersung, attaining greater recognition only elsewhere. “ It's one of the unfortunate ironies of human nature that we take for granted the familiar, the nearby, even when it is extraordinary, even when kingdoms have been created in unprepossessing suburban or rural studios and garages.”
Duane Wakeham inspired generations of painters through his teaching at Stanford University and the College of San Mateo. Cheng comments, “Nationally renowned for his deft, atmospheric oil and pastel landscapes, he has led many workshops, and has been featured in many magazine articles. “ Although his works appear to capture nature objectively, leading the casual viewer to the conclusion that the artist has simply been in the right place at the right time, the transcendental images are in fact products of sustained pictorial analysis and synthesis.
The exhibition continues through September 16. For further information or to schedule a Docent tour of the exhibition, please call 650-654-4068.