Several unique artists bring new exhibits to Davis
By ELIZABETH BUNT — arts@theaggie.org
The John Natsoulas Gallery, with its iconic cat statue over the front door, is a staple of the Davis art scene. The gallery always has new exhibits in rotation, hosts weekly poetry readings and artist talks and participates annually in the California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art. All of these features make the Natsoulas an incredibly valuable addition to downtown Davis. Students, in particular, should make a habit of stopping by the gallery at least once a quarter to see new artwork or study in the lounge upstairs while looking out over the sculptures on the first floor.
Currently, the Natsoulas Gallery is hosting three exhibits. These shows are only in Davis from Nov. 6 – 30, so the window to see them is short and sweet.
Michelle Gregor: “Self-Titled”
Michelle Gregor is an American sculptor and painter based out of San Francisco. Her exhibit at the Natsoulas is a collection of her recent sculptural work, which takes the form of abstracted female bodies. For this collection, she has worked primarily in ceramics to give an abstract expressionist take on the human figure. What makes Gregor’s work unique is the coloring and texturing added to the ceramic forms. In these sculptures, she has added layer upon layer of watercolor paint to the clay’s surface to create a sense of time worn liveliness. In much of this collection, the forms and colors of the women are recognizable as features of the natural world. Several of the pieces are named after varieties of trees, many others have names that reference mythology, adding another layer to Gregor’s already multi-faceted work.
Philippe Gandiol: “Time and Place”
Philippe Gandiol’s exhibit “Time and Place” showcases his latest oil paintings which depict cityscapes from San Francisco to Paris and beyond. Gandiol is an award-winning painter born in France and is currently based in Northern California. This collection offers glimpses of recognizable city views, like the Golden Gate bridge peeking through San Francisco streets, captured by Gandiol’s unique style. They are familiar scenes but subdued somehow by Gandiol’s brush. The harshness of city life is hidden in his work; instead there is a subtle sense of nostalgia and longing that infuses his paintings and causes the viewer to imagine themselves walking the streets of Gandiol’s world.
Ted Fontaine: “Chance Encounters in Other Worlds”
Ted Fontaine is no stranger to the Natsoulas Gallery. Over the past few years, the Natsoulas has hosted many exhibitions of his work, making Fontaine a consistent feature in the Davis art scene. Fontaine’s current exhibit, “Chance Encounters in Other Worlds,” is a collection of oil figure paintings. His most interesting work in this collection is his series of collage paintings. Some of these, like his 2024 work “Blindfold,” feature as many as 30 figures interspersed across the canvas but tied together by a common theme. It is in these collage pieces that Fontaine’s imagination shines through the canvas. The sheer scope and detail of each painting takes a long time to unpack; it’s entirely possible for viewers to stare at his paintings for an hour and still not catch every nuance of the greater portrait, but that is the beauty of it.
These three exhibits complement each other well and offer visitors a wide variety of artistic styles to browse through. Anyone stopping by the Natsoulas in the next two weeks is sure to find something that strikes their fancy whether their taste lies in abstract figure sculptures, colorful surrealist paintings or charming snapshots of life in the big city.
Written by Elizabeth Bunt — arts@theaggie.org
