MAIN GALLERY

Michelle Yi Martin & Johanna St. Clair: Curious Gestures

April 5 - July 6

Photography Gallery

Terri Loewenthal: Mt. Tam

April 5 - July 6

Coastal Marin Gallery

Van Waring: Fool's Puzzle

April 5 - July 6

GALLERY HOURS

Friday, 1 – 5 PM, Saturday – Sunday, 12 – 5 PM, and by appointment.
Admission is always free.

Stay Connected

Join our mailing list

Stay up to date about upcoming exhibitions at the museum and beyond, public programs, events, special offers, and more!

Follow Bolinas Museum on Instagram

Artist Spotlight: Johanna St. Clair @little_sketch

Artist Spotlight: Johanna St. Clair @little_sketchy

“Michelle Yi Martin and Johanna St. Clair: Curious Gestures” is on view in the Main Gallery through July 6.

Johanna St. Clair is an artist based in San Francisco with a practice of painting outdoors to develop an intuitive visual language. She is represented by Gallery 16 @gallery16

Q: When or how did art come into your life?

A: After becoming a mother and starting a business (Mollusk Surf Shop) within a few months of each other, I let my art practice fall away for several years. Long enough to feel like it was behind me. But one day the printer Nat Swope left a box of blank business cards at the shop and for some reason, I put them in my car before driving downtown. While I sat at a stop light, I picked one up and drew the driver of the car next to me. Wow. Drawing. How fun! I did more stoplight sketches, cafe sketches, and travel sketches, all on tiny business cards. I felt like myself again. From there I started making drawings with sumi ink and brush. I took classes in Japanese Calligraphy at the Konko Church to better understand the medium. I didn’t have a studio so I went out early in the morning and worked plein air. I now work both plein air and in the studio. I rarely work on business cards these days but I really did enjoy my pocket-sized art practice. It’s just fun to make stuff! The challenge of starting something and seeing it through until it works is magic, no matter the scale.

Q: What inspires your creative practice?

A: I’m inspired by weedy overgrown areas where urban spaces give way to wild places. I have a few favorite spots in Golden Gate Park and the Presidio. I love them because the gardeners never visit, invasive species reign, and nobody clears the dead bits away. I have a travel studio that I set up for working within 200 feet of my car. And I have a hiking set-up for medium-large scale works so I can work from high up on trails. I like dense subjects that I need deep focus to find my way around in. And I like the urgency of working in a challenging environment. Cold, wind, bugs,… I like it when my subject has a mind of its own.

Captions in the comments.

Artist Spotlight: Michelle Yi Martin @m_yimartin

Artist Spotlight: Michelle Yi Martin @m_yimartin

“Michelle Yi Martin and Johanna St. Clair: Curious Gestures” is on view in the Main Gallery through July 6.

Michelle Yi Martin is a multi-disciplinary artist based in San Francisco. Her practice is rooted in the progressive traditions of the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College. Her work as an educator is rooted in this spirit as she weaves together history, literature, and the arts with her students.

Q. How does the Bay Area influence you as an artist?

A. I am moved by the people, skies, cityscapes, smells, trees, and animals of the Bay Area. I call this place my home, but even more importantly, my constant studio. If I look hard enough and with intention, there is art unfolding everywhere. I am just trying to articulate it in my practice.

Q. What impact do you hope your artwork will have on viewers?

A. I hope that my work cultivates further curiosity into the intelligence of materials. Whether it be cotton thread, monofilament, wool, or horsehair, there lies a history of its use and connection to humans. Whatever form my woven materials take, they take them because of our collaboration.

Michelle Yi Martin will also exhibit at @shoshanawayne in Los Angeles later this year.

Captions in the comments.

#Weaving #WeavingArt #MultidisciplinaryArt #BolinasMuseum #MichelleYiMartin

Thank you JUDY MOLYNEUX! We Will Miss You We were

Thank you JUDY MOLYNEUX! We Will Miss You

We were sad to hear about Judy Molyneux’s sudden passing in March. She has been a creative force in our community for over fifty years. Even after a debilitating stroke in January 2024, she remained engaged with art and the community. A celebrated and prolific artist, her paintings evolved through many styles over the decades. She also promoted and benefited hundreds of other artists, particularly through her Bolinas Gallery.

Judy earned a BFA and MFA from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her art has been shown in galleries and museums from New York to California, and held in museum collections. Judy moved to Bolinas in 1970 at a time of grassroots activism committed to preserving the natural environment from development and urbanization. It was also a time of immense creativity in the arts. Judy’s paintings of that era portrayed the people and landscapes around her. In 1980, she opened Bolinas Gallery in the space that is now the main room of the Bolinas Museum. Later she started The Bolinas Cooperative upstairs. Judy organized major exhibitions in San Francisco, including “The Bay Area Seen” featuring 100 artists. In 1988, she moved Bolinas Gallery to its present site in the historic barn. There, she exhibited her work and also rented the gallery to other artists to curate and present their own exhibitions. Judy also held fundraisers for locals in need, or to support international humanitarian causes. Over time, Judy’s art changed, growing more impressionistic as she captured Bolinas gatherings, with dancing figures on large canvases in saturated color. Gradually, her art became more abstract; scenes emerge from thickly textured paint full of motion, inviting audiences to discover new details with each viewing.

Dear Judy, we are grateful to have known you as an artist and friend. Thank you for your dedication to making and sharing art, and the support you gave to creatives. Our community sends love and appreciation to Judy’s life partner, Dale Polissar, and to the members of her family.

– Elia Haworth, Director of History and Permanent Collection

#judymolyneux #bolinasgallery

Image captions in the comments.

Please join us as we celebrate the opening of our

Please join us as we celebrate the opening of our upcoming exhibitions!

MAIN GALLERY
Michelle Yi Martin and Johanna St. Clair: Curious Gestures
Curated by Louisa Gloger and Noelle Hiam

COASTAL MARIN ARTISTS GALLERY
Van Waring: Fool’s Puzzle
Curated by Noelle Hiam

PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY
Terri Loewnthal: Mt. Tam
Curated by Noelle Hiam

Image Captions:

2. JOHANNA ST. CLAIR, Lattice, 2024, oil on Canvas, 40 x 30 inches, courtesy of Gallery 16.

3. JOHANNA ST. CLAIR, Nest, 2024, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches, courtesy of Gallery 16.

4. MICHELLE YI MARTIN, Closed Wings, 2024, metallic thread, monofilament, silk, wool, 54 x 23
inches, courtesy of the artist.

5. MICHELLE YI MARTIN, Two Adders, 2024, monofilament, paper, wool, 53 x 34 inches, courtesy of
the artist.

6. TERRI LOEWENTHAL, Steep Ravine Beach (Coast Miwok land), 2025, archival pigment print, 42 x
56 inches, courtesy of Alexandra Urman.

7. TERRI LOEWENTHAL, Marin Seashore (Coast Miwok land), 2025, archival pigment print, 40 x 30
inches, courtesy of the artist.

8. VAN WARING, Inside Seams, 2006, watercolor on fabric, 25 x 24 inches, courtesy of the artist.

9. VAN WARING, Patchworking, 2025, embroidery on cotton, 17 x 19 inches, courtesy of the artist.

Load More Follow on Instagram

Admission is always free