Be Inspired, Create, Learn — Palo Alto Art Center

The focus of the new show at the Palo Alto Art Center is the pencil, and the amazing art that can be created:

The exhibition explores the creative potential and artistic possibilities of graphite and showcases new applications of graphite as a material of drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation. There are two artists included who work primarily in graphite: Chris Sicat (San Jose), who covers tree branches and stumps completely with graphite, and Kevin Chen (San Francisco), who creates pencil drawings so small that a magnifying glass is required to view their intricate details.

The other artists in the show combine graphite with other media; they are: Libby Black, Judith Braun, Dalton Ghetti, Francesca Pastine, Hilary Sanders, and Valerie Wilcox.

Below is a mosaic of some photos I took at the exhibition.

(Slide show: Click any image in the mosaic below to start a slide show; Exit the slide show by clicking the white X in the upper left corner of the screen.)

Pencils Down at the Palo Alto Art Center

X, Graphite on Modesto Ash, 192″ x 120″ x 48″; Chris Sicat, 2012

Steel Bench, Palo Alto Art Center

Pink Roses, Purple Pansies, Orange Poppy, Dandy, Red Tulip; Graphite and gouache on paper; Libby Black, 2012

Invisible Woman (series), Graphite on newspaper; Francesca Pastine

Hilary Sanders (Scrubby, 2012)

Hilary Sanders (Scrubby, 2012)

Broken Tag a Log, Graphite on Redwood, 36″ x 96″ x 24”; Chris Sicat, 2010

Migratory Marks #7: The Bus Stops here; Graphite, Clay, mixed media; Valerie Wilcox, 2014

The art will be on view through April 13. There is free parking.

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