Jan Hillcourt Carrell Rétrospective

Gualala Arts invites the community to a special retrospective honoring the life and work of Jan Hillcourt Carrell, presented by her daughter Noel Olson. Opening Friday, January 9, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Jacob Foyer and continuing through February 8, the exhibit celebrates Carrell’s lifelong devotion to artistic exploration. Born in San Francisco in 1933, Jan began painting in the early 1950s and quickly became immersed in the city’s vibrant arts scene. She exhibited widely, served on the Board of Directors of the Artists’ Cooperative on Union Street, and co-founded The Scene Gallery on Upper Grant Avenue. Her work—rooted in Expressionism and Abstraction—was featured in festivals, galleries, and prestigious institutions including the DeYoung Museum and the Legion of Honor, and entered private collections such as the Kaiser Collection.
Throughout the sixties and seventies, Jan balanced family life with creative pursuits in stained glass, clay, and tapestry, later returning to painting and formal study. Her education included San Francisco City College, California College of Arts and Crafts, and John F. Kennedy University’s Masters Program in Arts and Consciousness. She earned both BFA and MFA degrees in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. Eventually, Jan found her artistic sanctuary in Mendonoma, where the rhythms of the sea and the spirit of the community deeply inspired her work. “Oil paint is my medium,” she once wrote. “Abstraction and expressionism are the foundations on which I explore the process of seeing.” This retrospective offers a glimpse into that vision and invites viewers to connect with the legacy of a remarkable local artist.