Bio/Mass: Contemporary Meditations on Nature

April 17 - September 5, 2021

First Floor Main Gallery

Artists are observers and interpreters of what they see around them, whether it is a social concern, the natural world, the built environment or their own unique vision. Often artists work in series, exploring a particular topic as they deeply observe their subject over time. For artists, this repetition can serve both as a meditative practice and a means of learning and understanding.

In this exhibition, artists were chosen who create work in series, examining some aspect of nature. They may be examining patterns in nature or the same location over a long period of time. Some combine and recombine singular elements that accumulate into a fascinating and revealing artwork or body of work.

These artists have transformed their fascination with deep observations of their individual environments into works that help us to see the beauty in the details of our world, celebrating both quiet and dramatic moments in nature.

Bio/Mass: Summer Artist Talk Series

The Wildling's three-part series, Bio/Mass: Summer Artist Talks, will highlight six artists from the Wildling’s current exhibition, Bio/Mass: Contemporary Meditations on Nature, in conversation with one another – Karen Kitchel and Catherine Eaton Skinner, Scott Chatenever and Dorothy Churchill-Johnson, and Maria Rendón and Sommer Roman.

Register to attend online discussions with the artists on Tuesday, July 20; Tuesday, August 24; and Wednesday, September 1.

Art Through the Window: A Conversation with Holli Harmon & Nicole Strasburg

The Wildling is pleased to announce its March virtual program, Art Through the Window: A Conversation with Holli Harmon & Nicole Strasburg, taking place Wednesday, March 24, 2021, 4 – 5 p.m.

Artists Holli Harmon and Nicole Strasburg are the creative force behind the Wildling’s two new art installations. Both Holli Harmon: The Nature of Clouds and Wintering: A Fox Tale by Nicole Strasburg were designed specifically to be viewed from the outside-in during the Wildling’s mandated Covid-19 closure. In their upcoming presentation, the two will discuss their process and the work that went on behind-the-scenes while creating these site-specific installations.

Wintering: A Fox Tale | Window Installation by Nicole Strasburg

The Wildling Museum is thrilled to announce a window art installation, Wintering: A Fox Tale by artist Nicole Strasburg. The series of papercut fox silhouettes was specially designed by Strasburg to bring joy and wonder to passersby during the museum’s extended closure and bring art to the sidewalk for visitors to enjoy from the outside-in. The public is invited to enjoy the ongoing installation, which is illuminated at night.

Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangJanuary 27, 2021Nicole Strasburg, Papercut

Rose Compass Artists Panel Discuss The River's Journey

Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangJune 3, 2018Connie Connally, Nina Warner, Nicole Strasburg, Holli Harmon, Libby Smith, Pamela Zwhehl-Burke

The River's Journey

Six artists joined together, aligned around the lesser-known medium of gouache (an opaque watercolor pronounced "gwash"), to tell the story and challenges of the Santa Ynez River and Watershed. Locally, we have all been touched in some manner by the long-term and continuing drought in the Santa Barbara region. While somewhat relieved by the winter rains of 2016/2017, the drought likely will be continuing and as of January 2018 Lake Cachuma, which provides water for Santa Barbara and other communities, is already under 39% capacity and dropping.

Private Collections of the Santa Barbara Region

The Wildling Museum of Art & Nature presented its newest exhibition Private Collections of the Santa Barbara Region, comprised of artworks borrowed from the private collections of its members. Visitors were able to experience artworks that were not on public display, and they will got an inside look into how and why collectors choose their pieces.

Celebrating the National Parks of California

Celebrating the National Parks of California explored nine national parks located within the state of California through a juried exhibition: Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Redwood, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Lassen, Pinnacles, Death Valley and Channel Islands (there are a total of 27 monuments, parks, seashores and more administered and preserved by the National Park Service. The show celebrated and discussed wilderness, nature and preservation of the parks and provided an opportunity for artists to display and sell their work. Fifty-one artworks in a wide range of mediums and styles were included in the diverse show .

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