Having celebrated the peaks and weathered the troughs of the rollercoaster-like fine art industry for 75 years, Walnut Creek’s Valley Art Gallery is marking a significant milestone.
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A juried exhibit opening Sept. 29 will showcase 300 original fine art and craft pieces from more than 100 East Bay artists to celebrate the gallery’s 75th anniversary (valleyartgallery.org/events/celebrating-75-years-of-fine-art). Displaying a wide range of media, styles and aesthetics — the downtown venue’s distinguishing feature — the works include traditional, representational, contemporary and abstract paintings, monotype prints, woodwork, jewelry, ceramics, glasswork and art gift cards.
The gallery was founded in 1949 and held its first exhibit in conjunction with the Walnut Festival in Walnut Creek’s City Park (now Civic Park). Formed as a nonprofit enterprise from the start, volunteers run the operation. Some artist members volunteer in various capacities, but most of the volunteers — some serving for more than 30 years — are local enthusiastic arts supporters.
During its decades providing new and established contemporary artists with a venue to show and sell their work, the gallery has sought to educate and benefit the next generation of art lovers. Through the Gloria Marshall Award, the gallery has contributed and continues to contribute thousands of dollars each year to Contra Costa County elementary school arts programs.
In the past and in the presentation included in the anniversary event, civic and public recognition has and will come in the form of awards and commemorative declarations. Resolutions by the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors and presentations of tributary certificates from U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, and state Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, are expected Sept. 29 (the two will attend in-person, schedules permitting).
Notably and despite a tiny footprint, the gallery throughout its history has managed to pack considerable punch by way of its nonprofit infrastructure, unique interior design, an innovative “No Regrets Rental” program and hundreds of committed artists and patrons.
“I first became a member in 2015, when I was juried in and participated in one of their biannual shows that have both existing members and new artists introduced to the community,” says Geoffrey Meredith, 81, of Lafayette.
Meredith holds undergraduate and graduate degrees that demonstrate his eclectic career with degrees in art, archeology, business and advertising. Working for 25 years for advertising agencies such as Ogilvy and Mather, Hal Riney, Ketchum and others, Meredith is the author of two books, a published magazine writer, public speaker, entrepreneur, adversing consultant and, upon “retiring” from the business world, a full-time fine artist.
His work includes two styles, the first of which he refers to as “NorCal Representational Abstraction,” consisting primarily of abstract or representational landscapes. Other paintings are large “nonobjective” abstract works that express themselves through graphic archetypes independent of specific eras or cultures. For this proclivity to explore alternative styles and subjects, Meredith said he values the gallery’s equally open-minded outlook.
“I find that what most galleries want is somebody who does some paintings in one style that are liked and purchased,” Meredith said. “Then they know they have an audience in a style and want a whole bunch of the same kind of paintings. Valley Art allows me to have paintings of two or three different styles in the gallery at the same time. That’s a big benefit.”
At the show, Meredith will display four paintings, among them “Skyline from the Water Taxi,” a San Francisco cityscape.
“I was taking a water taxi from Chase Center up to Presidio Tunnel Tops park. It went right along the waterfront. The view just west of the Bay Bridge was geometrical, and I liked it. I did a quick sketch and took some photos.”
The painting, rendered in acrylic on canvas, measures 36 by 48 inches. Another work in the same size, “Motion One,” is an abstract piece he calls “nonobjective” and describes as “like an Alexander Calder mobile in 2D on a background field of tans and ochres.”
Meredith attributes Valley Art Gallery’s longevity in part to ingenious sliding walls that let a tremendous number of pieces be displayed. Artwork from diminutive to large-scale is easily accommodated and exchanged during the gallery’s biannual exhibits and regular weekly hours.
The travails of the art world — even before the COVID-19 pandemic drove everyone indoors and made the industry reliant on e-commerce for all but their most essential needs — have left the gallery with wounds but largely unharmed overall.
“The first thing that happened to me after being in two shows, they found out about my background and asked me to join the board to be the marketing and publishing director,” Meredith recalled. “I came in and revamped the website with Gerry Severson, a friend of mine and an artist at the gallery at the time. Our art sales went up 23% and have stayed up ever since.”
Among other initiatives, the rent-to-buy-art program is immensely successful. Participants interested in a painting but unsure of a purchase can rent and live with it on their walls for up to four three-month rental periods. Prices are determined on a sliding scale depending on the work’s price point.
If a painting is purchased, 70% of the rental fee is deducted from the purchase price. As a protective measure for artists, rented pieces may be recalled at the end of any rental period with two weeks’ notice, at which time the renter can return or purchase the art.
The gallery can arrange for purchases to be made entirely online, but most sales do not occur on the Internet.
“So many other galleries are becoming like big department stores and closing their brick-and-mortar operations because 25% of sales are now happening online,” Meredith said. “There’s no need to keep their buildings open because people are going on the Internet.
“I can’t imagine doing that with original art. Walnut Creek customers range from people looking for art who have little confidence and no idea of if a piece is of high quality. Others are quite knowledgeable and know exactly, for example, (that) they want a horizontal landscape of certain dimensions in bright colors.”
Ultimately, the formula for success is simple: strong price points, devoted members and customers and artwork being an equally eclectic and perfectly matched pair.
Lou Fancher is a freelance writer. Reach her at lou@johnsonandfancher.com.