GATHERING ART FROM THE HEART AUCTION

Patrons study art available for silent auction during the 42nd anniversary benefit fundraiser, Art from the Heart, held April 4 at University Art Gallery at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park. Photos by Darryl Bush — For The Press Democrat

Tess Hernandez, artist and SSU student, smiles during the benefit auction April 4 at University Art Gallery at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park.

Catherine Daley of Windsor, left, and Loretta Esparza of Santa Rosa, talk about artist Dawn Brown’s archival photo of Nantes, France, at the Art from the Heart auction April 4.

Claudia Molloy, art gallery operations director, stands with artist Jiovanny Soto of Santa Rosa, during the benefit auction.

Patrons study artist Christine Renaudin’s mixed media “Falling Star” next to artist Jiovanny Soto-Sanchez’s untitled oil, during the 42nd annual Art from the Heart auction.

Jim Reichardt of Petaluma signs a silent auction bidding form for artist Cynthia Hipkiss’ ceramic “Chef,” as artist David Lewin of Penngrove looks on.

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By Dan Taylor

dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com

The 42nd annual Art from the Heart auction, founded in 1984, drew 350 people on April 4 to the University Art Gallery on the Sonoma State University campus in Rohnert Park.

The event raised $22,000 to support exhibition costs and programs at the University Art Gallery, including artist talks, other educational programming and catalog production.

The artists featured in the event included current and former Sonoma State professors, as well as gallery professionals with past and present ties to the University Art Gallery. A total of 113 of the more than 130 works contributed by 129 artists were sold. The event included food, wine and live music by the Sonoma County Latin band Batacha.

An overwhelming majority of the contributing artists were alumni with connections to the SSU art department. This year, seven of the works came from current Sonoma State student artists.

“Every year this event affirms the strength and vibrancy of the art community at Sonoma State University,” said Claudia Molloy, the University Art Gallery’s director of operations and collections manager. “Many of the artists who contributed their work to this event have contributed repeatedly over the more than 40 years we have hosted Art from the Heart.”

Participating artists included Inez Storer, whose work is currently on view at the Petaluma Arts Center and the IceHouse Gallery.

Others included Joe Ferriso, Joel Bennett, Wyatt Amend, Cynthia Hipkiss, Caroline Hipkiss, Lynda and Bob Nugent, Mark Perlman, Mineko Grimmer, Jennifer Shada, Bambi Waterman, Catherine Daley and Marguerite Brennan.

In a special tribute, the family of the late Bay Area artist Sandra Shannonhouse donated a sculptural work in her honor. Shannonhouse was born in Petaluma, and her work is held in the permanent collections of the Oakland Museum of California, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa, among others. She taught briefly at Sonoma State, and her work was featured in the University Art Gallery’s 1984 exhibition “Works in Bronze: A Modern Survey.”