Luther Burbank Center Reopens Outdoor Sculpture Garden Following Wildfires

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts (LBC) announced today that it will reopen its outdoor Sculpture Garden Thursday, September 13, 2018 with Harmonies, an exhibition featuring works by Bay Area artists Kati Casida, Catherine Daley, and Jann Nunn. This is the first exhibition to be held in the public garden since the October 2017 wildfires, when the entire garden's landscaping was destroyed as well as many of the monumental old-growth redwood sculptures on display by renowned local artist Bruce Johnson.

Three Bay Area sculptors were selected by curators Kate Eilertsen and Anita Wiglesworth to bring a new lyrical experience to the Sculpture Garden evoking a sense of nature, movement and light. The works on display will represent an eclectic fusion of ideas, materials and images. Kati Casida, Catherine Daley and Jann Nunn bring an inspired harmony to the garden, thoughtfully restored following the 2017 firestorms and designed to reflect the local Sonoma County landscape. While each artists' work is their own distinctive expression, the exhibit as a whole conveys a collaboration of their individual connection with nature.

"The original outdoor Sculpture Garden was created as a gift for the Santa Rosa community to enjoy," said Rick Nowlin, Executive Director of the Luther Burbank Center. "We are thrilled to once again be able to provide a communal space to gather and reflect as our resilient community moves forward."

Harmonies features four sculptures from each of the three artists. Casida's work implies motion and a continuous passage through space, inviting visitors to view natural elements inside, outside and through her work. Daley's art is inspired by the environment, by people and by concepts, and her artworks usually come to her in fragmented dreams. Nunn's work resides in conjoining idea and aesthetic, and embodies a strong physical presence with carefully considered and often laborious craft.

"Building sculptures that can endure the challenges of outdoor art has traditionally been a field dominated by men," said Eilertsen. "With Harmonies, we are presenting three women, all Bay Area based artists, who are not only exceptional artists, but also will provide the LBC community with a source of inspiration and meditation."

Experienced as a combined exhibit, the sculptures create curtains of light and colorful dancing shapes as well as emotional space for reflection and immersion. There is a sense of the three artists interacting and "playing together" through their individual pieces, which create ribbons of light and color throughout the garden space. As both a tribute to the loss of the fires and a symbol of resilience after tragedy, the new exhibition will be a dramatic and stirring departure from the previous exhibit and encourages visitors to reshape their own personal landscapes and think differently about the surrounding world.

Work at LBC has been ongoing this spring refurbishing the Sculpture Garden which was a popular destination for patrons and is a significant aspect of the Center's visual arts program. The new sculptures for Harmonies exhibition will be installed in mid-August and will be on display for the public to enjoy through September 20, 2020.

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