Contra Costa Artists Featured In Exhibition At Sonoma State University Gallery

Press release from Sonoma State University:

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The University Art Gallery opened the school year with “Reflections: Portraits and Self-Portraits from NIAD Art Center,” on view through Oct. 20.

Since 1982, NIAD has worked with artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and care providers in Richmond and in Contra Costa and Alameda counties to amplify inclusion in the contemporary art world.

An opening reception was held Thursday in the University Gallery.

“This is the first time we have partnered with NIAD to feature their artists, and we are honored to have this opportunity to highlight the remarkable and ground-breaking work of this organization and its artists,” said Claudia Molloy, University Art Gallery director of operations.

"Reflections" is curated by NIAD Executive Director Amanda Eicher and NIAD Board Member Jay Youngdahl. Eicher said each piece of NIAD art tells an individual story from the perspective of an artist with disabilities.

“These stories include decades-long contemporary art practices — works shown in exhibitions from museums and galleries in the Bay Area to major institutions nationwide and internationally, and life experiences that include some of the defining moments in disability history,” Eicher said. “The work of NIAD’s artists truly redefines contemporary art by centering disability voices and engaging curators like Jay and myself to present these stories in new ways.”

Artist Felicia Griffin is now in her 39th year at NIAD and her painting, “The Moon," exemplifies a motif she has woven into her practice throughout her tenure.

“The circle is inside of me, a square, too. I see it in the world, too,” Griffin said.

Julio Del Rio began making art at NIAD at 19 years old—encouraged by Luis Estrada, his neighbor, close friend, and fellow NIAD artist. Estrada is a wrestling fan who frequently draws and sculpts his favorite wrestlers, John Cena and Nicky Bella. Del Rio’s subject matter tends more toward abstraction, pre-Columbian sculptures and the natural world. He said what he enjoys most about NIAD is the earthy smell of clay in the ceramics studio.

An artist/curator talk is set for 4 p.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3. The exhibition and the upcoming event are free and open to the public.

This press release was produced by Sonoma State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.