Ren Riley & Erika Kohr Island: “Show Me” Show

A collaborative exhibit, “Show Me,” by Mendocino Coast artists, and storytellers, Ren Riley and Erika Kohr Island is in the Mendocino Art Center’s Main Gallery. Ren’s fabric wall pieces are abstract juxtapositions of shapes and colors placed along side each other to form conversations unto themselves. She also creates knitted and crocheted narrative chairs, of which she says, “I’m hoping to rouse a response from the viewer that comes out of their own experience. Some have nostalgia in them of a place or idea that I think most people have experienced. Many of the chairs are about the times that we live in, and how I perceive the culture responding to them.”

Erika’s work in sculpted glass and hand carved wood is both narrative and metaphorical. “My introverted tendencies have often left me feeling clumsy and less equipped to fully express myself with words,” Erika explains. “In glass and wood I have found that I can process and express my thoughts and feelings with the work of my hands. I see my artwork as a visual story; as a way to tell a story that I may not have the words to tell.” Erika’s work explores intimacy, emotion and one’s interconnectedness to nature.

Second Saturday Gallery Reception:
August 11 & September 8, 5pm-8pm
Free admission

Mendocino Art Center hosts a free Second Saturday Artists Reception each month. Enjoy snacks and wine, and meet the exhibiting artists.