Gualala Salon
& Salon des Refusés

Opening Reception: Friday, October 4 at 5:00 p.m.
Exhibit remains through October 27, 2013
Burnett Gallery & Elaine Jacob Foyer
Gualala Arts Center

The Gualala Salon is made possible by the generous contributions
of Jack Chladek, of Jack's Gualala Pharmacy, and others.

The Gualala Salon exhibit will be a juried and judged fine art show. The purpose of this exhibit is to showcase outstanding visual art and artists without regard to the type of media. Three prizes for artwork in the Gualala Salon will be awarded by the judge as follows: First Place $1,000, Second Place $750, Third Place $500.

Artists will deliver their work to the Gualala Art Center on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. All work submitted will be juried by the judge into the Gualala Salon (accepted work) or the Salon des Refusés (rejected work). Accepted work will be exhibited in the Burnett Gallery and will be eligible for the First, Second and Third Place awards. Rejected work will be exhibited in the Elaine Jacob Foyer and elsewhere throughout the Gualala Arts Center, and will be eligible for the People's Choice Awards of $100, $75, and $50. Every visitor to the exhibition will be asked to vote for three favorite pieces in the Salon des Refusés.

In this way, all art submitted and all artists will be represented in the exhibit, either in the Gualala Salon proper or in the Salon des Refusés.

About the Judge

Noted California artist Ira Yeager has graciously accepted our invitation to be the judge for the Gualala Salon. We feel privileged to have an artist of his international stature as the judge for the first year of this event.

The son of a hunting and fishing guide, Ira Yeager was born and raised in Bellingham, Washington, an area he describes as "kind of culturally deprived." He started painting at the age of eight and enjoyed decorating little plaster figures of Marie Antoinette, a hobby that later fueled much of the imagery in his work as well as his remarkable collection of 18th century European furniture and decorative art objects.

As a student at the California College of Arts and Crafts and later at the S.F. Art Institute, Yeager studied under Richard Diebenkorn and Elmer Bischoff and was a part of the Bay Area Figurative Art movement that emerged out of Abstract Expressionism. Although his work explores a number of themes - many inspired by his travels and passion for history - his technique demonstrates a deep understanding and commitment to paint.

After completing his schooling in San Francisco, Yeager traveled to Europe in the early 1960s, where he lived and worked. Visiting Italy, Spain and France he met the likes of Jean Cocteau and Jean Dubuffet. It wasn't until the early 1980s, after a decade of living in Greece, that Yeager permanently settled in Northern California.

Throughout Ira's prolific career he has produced work in series, ranging from landscapes and abstractions to Native Americans and 18th century subjects. A permanent collection of his famed Wine Vendor Series hangs at Swanson Vineyards and Winery in Oakville, California.

Ira Yeager is well collected throughout the United States and Europe.

Some historical background on Salons and the Salon des Refusés:

Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe, by Édouard Manet

The original Salon des Refusés - Salon of the Rejected - started in Paris in 1863, following protests by many artists that the hanging committee of the French Academy had been too restrictive in its selection of work for the annual Salon. In that year the Academy rejected 2,800 paintings submitted for the exhibition. Artists, including Manet, Pissarro, Courbet and Whistler, were rejected from the 'official' exhibition because their works were considered by the committee too subversive and some even thought that these artists posed a danger to society.

In those days exhibiting in the Salon was one of the only means artists had of marketing their work therefore exclusion from its annual selling exhibition threatened their reputation and livelihood. Works rejected by the Academy in 1863 included Manet's Déjeuner sur l'Herbe, a painting now considered a masterpiece. Eventually to quell the furor the emperor Napoleon III came to view the rejected works and then asked the committee to reconsider its selection. When they refused, he decreed that the public be given the opportunity to view them in a rival exhibition and a tradition was born.

Ironically those artists included in the officially sanctioned 1863 Salon have completely disappeared and their work remains in obscurity. It is from these origins that the Salon des Refusés came into being. Following the tradition of the 19th century Parisian Salon des Refusés, when Napoleon III let rejected works be exhibited alongside those accepted ones, the Gualala Salon will incorporate a similar Salon de Refusés. The Gualala Salon des Refusés will exhibit the works rejected by the Gualala Salon judge.

We respect the Gualala Salon judge's decisions and understand that being selected to exhibit in the Gualala Salon Exhibition is a great honor and privilege, and we also understand that the Burnett Gallery space is limited and a lot of good artwork has to be rejected. We want those works to still be on show throughout Gualala Arts Center as part of the Salon de Refusés. We hope this rather novel approach will appeal to the judge, the artists and to the audience!

Gualala Salon
& Salon des Refusés

October, 2013
Gualala Arts Center

The Gualala Salon and Salon des Refusés opening reception at the Gualala Arts Center was attended by over 100 artists and visitors. They viewed the "accepted" Salon works in the Burnett Gallery and judge Ira Yeager presented the awards to the Salon winners. The crowd was given the opportunity to vote for their choices for first, second and third place for the works "rejected" by Yeager and displayed as the Salon des Refusés in the Jacob Foyer and Coleman Auditorium.

"The number of entries and their variety and quality exceeded our expectations," said exhibit curator Jane Head. "Having Ira as the jurist and judge was very special, and he brought more to the event than just his artistic eye. He generously funded three additional awards - the Judge's Award, the Brian Fuller Award and the George Hellyer Award - and arranged at the last minute for Chris Doering and Love Sutra Lama to perform on guitar and flutes during the reception. The incredible layout of food prepared by Black Oak Catering's Tanya Radtkey could have been another entry in the Salon, it was so artfully presented and delicious. Ira's manager, Brian Fuller, laid out the Salon exhibit in the Burnett Gallery and the hanging committee did a masterful job both there and in the foyer. Thanks to Wendy Bailey, Jim Grenwelge, Ling-Yen Jones and Sharon Nickodem for their hanging expertise and overall support of the Salon. I look forward to this becoming an annual exhibit that gets better every year!"

After Jane expressed her thanks to the judge, the participating artists and the reception crowd, Ira then announced the winners of the 12 awards among the 32 works that were selected for the Salon. He gave overviews of the first, second and third place and special awards works, the artists who created them and why he chose them for each award. He was so taken with the third place winner, Deborah Threlkel's Abalone Queen Necklace, that he purchased it prior to the show.

The exhibit remains on display through October 27, and the public is invited to vote on their choice of first, second and third place for the works "rejected" by Ira and displayed as the Salon des Refusés through Oct. 13. The winners of the "People's Choice" voting will be announced on Monday, October 14 and will receive $100 for first place, $75 for second place and $50 for third place. The overall $2,775 in prize money was donated by Jack Chladek, of Jack's Gualala Pharmacy, Ira Yeager and other generous donors.

Complete list of the winners

• First Place ($1,000) - #9 Mendonoma Memorabilia by Allan Adams
• Second Place ($750) - #49 Inflaton Field by Suzan Friedland
• Third Place ($500) - # 153 Abalone Queen Necklace by Deborah Threlkel
• Judge's Award ($100) - #13 Stewart's Point School, "Sweet Memories" by Violet Arana
• Brian Fuller Award ($100) - #21 Turbulence, Stornetta Public Lands by Ron Bolander
• George Hellyer Award ($100) - #80 Gnarly Pitcher by Doric Jemison-Ball

Honorable Mentions

• #8 Hank & Mary by Allan Adams
• #65 Shape Shifting Stargazer by L.Lee Harper
• #80 Gnarly Pitcher by Doric Jemison-Ball
• #91 Paternal Ignorance by Henrik Liisberg
• #96 Poppyville by Fawad Malik
• #112 Annunciation by Sharon Nickodem

People's Choice Awards

• First Place ($100) - "Ant Colony" by Jerrold Baker
• Second Place ($75) - "The Madonna of the Wood" by Peter Dobbins
• Third Place ($50) - "Falling Woman" by Manjula Dean

Gualala Salon first place winner Allan Adams (left) and judge Ira Yeager (right)
with Adams' winning piece, 'Mendonoma Memorabilia'



Gualala Salon second place winner Suzan Friedland (right) and judge Ira Yeager (left)
with Friedland's winning piece 'Inflaton Field'



Gualala Salon third place winner Deborah Threlkel with her winning piece 'Abalone Queen Necklace'



Gualala Salon honorable mention winner L. Lee Harper (right) and judge Ira Yeager (left)
with Harper's winning piece 'Shapeshifting Stargazer'



Gualala Salon des Refusés People's Choice First Place award winner "Ant Colony" by Jerrold Baker



Gualala Salon des Refusés artists Jerrold Baker (left) and Iris Baker (center)
receive their People's Choice First Place award from Gualala Salon judge Ira Yeager (right)



Gualala Salon des Refusés People's Choice Second Place award winner 'The Madonna of the Wood' by Peter Dobbins



Gualala Salon des Refusés artist Peter Dobbins (left)
receives his People's Choice Second Place award from Gualala Salon judge Ira Yeager (right)



Gualala Salon des Refusés People's Choice Third Place award winner 'Falling Woman' by Manjula Dean



Gualala Salon opening reception: attendees listen as the award winners are announced



Chris Doering (left) and Love Sutra Lama (right) entertain at the Gualala Salon opening reception

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.