PRS NEWS -- September 2026
Leadership Spotlight: Dave KwinterThis month, we continue our Leadership Spotlight by recognizing Dave Kwinter for his service and celebrating the many ways he helps strengthen Pacific Rim Sculptors. Dave is an award-winning assemblage sculptor whose inventive works transform found objects into imaginative sculptures that invite viewers to see beauty and meaning in the unexpected. Born in Toronto and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, his work has been exhibited widely and featured in numerous juried exhibitions and publications. Dave brings a remarkable breadth of experience to both his artistic practice and his leadership. Before becoming a full-time artist, he practiced law, served in the Canadian military, worked in banking, and earned two degrees in psychology. His curiosity, analytical mind, and sense of humor are reflected in both his artwork and the thoughtful way he approaches collaboration, problem-solving, and community building. Dave serves Pacific Rim Sculptors as Chair of the Exhibitions Committee and assumed the role of Secretary in January 2026. As Secretary, he helps maintain the organization's official records, documents Board actions, and supports the continuity of good governance that keeps Pacific Rim Sculptors operating effectively. Combined with his leadership of the Exhibitions Committee, Dave's thoughtful approach strengthens both the creative and organizational foundation of our association while expanding meaningful exhibition opportunities for our members. I am especially grateful for Dave's generosity, dedication, and thoughtful leadership. Whether organizing exhibitions, strengthening our governance, or encouraging fellow artists, he approaches every challenge with intelligence, creativity, and kindness. His leadership reminds us that successful arts organizations are built not only through artistic excellence, but through collaboration, service, and a genuine commitment to helping others succeed. We are fortunate to have Dave's continued leadership on our Board and look forward to all he will help Pacific Rim Sculptors accomplish in the years ahead. With gratitude, Catherine Daley Board President Pacific Rim Sculptors
To learn more about Dave and his work, visit his website: https://www.davekwinter.com/ |
PRS COMMITTEE UPDATESMembership COMMITTEEThank you to all who applied to the PRS Mentorship Program! Awarded Mentees and Mentors will be notified and announced soon. We've had a slight delay but will be back on schedule shortly. Any additional questions, please email us at membership@pacificrimsculptors.org EXHIBITIONS COMMITTEE
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTSSeptember 2026 October 2026 R-Evolution: One Last Celebration, presented by Big Art Loop
|
|
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SCULPTURE CENTER 2026 International Sculpture ConferenceThe International Sculpture Center (ISC) has announced that this year’s International Sculpture Conference will take place in Minnesota’s Twin Cities (Minneapolis–Saint Paul) from October 22–25, 2026. This biennial gathering brings together sculptors, curators, educators, and arts professionals for talks, panels, networking, and creative exchange. Buy your tickets now!
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1988, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Image courtesy of Meet Minneapolis
|
MEMBER NEWSSusan ZimmermanSusan Zimmerman is included in Lines and Layers, a juried exhibition exploring the expressive possibilities of line and layer, and the dynamic relationship between the two, across drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, ceramics, fiber, and mixed media. The show is juried and curated by Susan Press, with Charlie Barboni serving as Juror of Awards. Exhibition Dates: September 11 - October 23, 2026
Susan Zimmerman, "Split Personality," 2026, willow branches, acrylic paint, waxed linen, 23" x 21" x 7". To learn more about Susan Zimmerman's work, follow her on Instagram: @susanfiberart
Susannah Israel Susannah Israel is included in the National Sculpture Society's 93rd Annual Awards Exhibition, the premier annual showcase of American figurative sculpture, returning once again to Brookgreen Gardens. The exhibition features the work of American masters alongside rising stars. Visitors will vote for their favorite to win the People's Choice Award, announced at the exhibition's close alongside seventeen additional National Sculpture Society awards. Fellow PRS member Paul Reiber is also included in the show. Israel notes the piece she submitted required her first large wooden shipping crate, a memorable learning experience. Exhibition Dates: August 8 - October 25, 2026
Susannah Israel, "Beekeeper," 2024, hand-printed terracotta, H 21" x 10" x 6" (detail of face) To learn more about Susannah Israel's work, visit "la casa de sí" or follow Brookgreen Gardens on Instagram: @brookgreen_gardens
Exhibition Dates: August 12 - September 26, 2026
Susannah Israel, "High Cotton," 2022, terracotta, slip, H 21" x 14" x 6" To learn more about "Procession," visit the gallery's press release or follow John Natsoulas Center for the Arts on Instagram: @natsoulasgallery
John SheridanJohn Sheridan is included in Working the Door Open, an exhibition pairing his sculpture with the work of two painters. Sheridan's pieces confront the human condition as shaped by unchecked competition, examining themes of racism, sexism, xenophobia, and violence, and the contradictions they create. He traces his sculptural practice to a single vivid image that came to him in 2018, in a moment of grief following a mass shooting, and he has been creating from that same instinctive, associative process ever since, combining found objects and materials built from decades of studying art. Sheridan notes that fellow PRS members may want to consider this gallery for their own future exhibitions. Exhibition Dates: September 12 - October 3, 2026
John Sheridan, "Ask the Amerikan (Chakras Rot From the Inside)," 2025, inked wood To learn more about John Sheridan's work, follow him on Instagram: @johnsheridan
Kathleen KingKathleen King is included in Momentum, an exhibition capturing a moment in the evolving landscape of the Northern California art scene. Thirty-nine artists were selected by 2026 guest juror Demetri Broxton for this snapshot of the region's diverse artistic community, spanning a range of perspectives, genres, and media. Fellow PRS member Jeff Key is also included. Exhibition Dates: August 20 - September 19, 2026
Kathleen King, "Beyond Settler Time," 2024, discarded mirrors, twisted wire fencing, 37" H x 23" W x 7" D. Connecting floor and wall, past and future, the piece reflects and deflects, with generational trauma, wisdom, and the spirits of ancestors passing through its cracks and openings. To learn more about Kathleen King's work, follow Gearbox Gallery on Instagram: @gearboxgallery
Mary Curtis RatcliffMary Curtis Ratcliff presents Fabric Femmes, three large figurative fabric collages inspired by the traditional costumes of Greek village women. The works draw together Ratcliff's family history and life as a sculptor, incorporating antique objects inherited from her mother, from whom she first learned sewing and three-dimensional design. Exhibition Dates: September 11 - October 17, 2026
Mary Curtis Ratcliff, "Drama Queen," 2026, mixed media, 42.75" x 35.5" x 2.25" To learn more about Mary Curtis Ratcliff's work, follow her on Instagram: @marycurtisratcliff
Helen LessickHelen Lessick curated and will moderate an International Sculpture Center panel, Sculpting Time in Public, bringing together sculptors who use time itself as part of their material palette. Lessick will share her own work centered on glacial watersheds, alongside Matthew Vivirito (WI), who works with sustainably harvested timber; Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong (NY), who will present a month-long performed sculpture series exploring policy; and George Berlin (IL), who will show a nocturnal, time-based sculptural light projection. Event Date: October 23, 2026
Helen Lessick, "Watershed," 1998, glacier ice carved into a house form and exhibited in an altered commercial display freezer
Helen Lessick, "Watershed (return)," 1998, glacier ice sculpture, slightly diminished,
Jane B GrimmJane B Grimm has work in Seed, a group show of paintings and sculpture depicting flowers. Exhibition Dates: September 26 - November 6, 2026
Jane Grimm, "Rhapsody XIV," 2025, ceramic Grimm is also included in Strictly Sculpture, a juried show of sculptural ceramics created by members of Ruby's Clay Studio. Exhibition Dates: October 2-30, 2026
Additionally, Grimm will participate in Art Launch, a group show of ArtSpan artists taking part in the 2026 SF Open Studios. Exhibition Dates: October 18-27, 2026
Jane B Grimm, "Nebula I," 2026, ceramics To learn more about Jane B Grimm's work, visit janebgrimm.com and follow her on Instagram: @jane.grimm or Facebook: facebook.com/jane.grimm.54
Barry BeachBarry Beach is included in the Marin Open Studios Showcase Exhibit, featuring work from Marin Open Studios artists, curated by Louise Victor. The exhibition continues through early January, with an opening reception held August 26. Exhibition Dates: August 17, 2026 - January 7, 2027
Barry Beach, from the Folded and Layered series, "[Starburst]," 2026, reclaimed wood and cardboard,
Barry Beach, from the Accumulation series, "[Fortress]," 2025, reclaimed wood, To learn more about Barry Beach's work, follow him on Instagram: @barrybeachartwork
Jeff KeyJeff Key presents The Vessel Series, a solo exhibition featuring sculptures from his ongoing "100 Vessels: Theories of Evolution" series, begun over thirty years ago. Though abstract, the pieces allude to the vessel as a cross-cultural, at times totemic form representing human presence and the cycle of life. The "Theories of Evolution" subtitle points to where humanity is headed as a species and how our actions affect the planet; the works are constructed primarily from wood and flax, natural materials Key adopted for both health and political reasons when he began the series. Exhibition Dates: September 12 - October 24, 2026
Jeff Key, Orchard Galleries exhibition announcement
Jeff Key, "Vessel #52, Stride," 2016, wood, 60" x 28" x 49" To learn more about Jeff Key's work, follow him on Instagram: @jeffmkey or visit his blog
Joseph SluskyJoseph Slusky has a painting included in a group show of new work at Office 1708, with an opening reception held August 27. Exhibition Dates: August 27 - September 26, 2026
Joseph Slusky, "PION," 2026, acrylic on wood panel, 12" x 12" x 1" Slusky is also included in the Richmond Art Center's 90th Anniversary Exhibition, celebrating nine decades of the Center's history, with an opening reception held August 29. Exhibition Dates: September 2 - November 19, 2026
To learn more about Joseph Slusky's work, follow him on Instagram: @josephslusky
Alyssa JamesPRS student member and former PRS intern Alyssa James recently installed two metal sculptures at Cary Hill Sculpture Park during her summer work-trade artist residency at Salem Art Works in upstate New York. "Practicing Freedom," a gestural found-object sculpture, marks her first outdoor installation. "SAWflower" was created as an outdoor counterpart to her smaller sculpture "Seaflower," which appeared in Embodied, an exhibition of work by the summer residents, before the larger piece was installed on the Salem Art Works property. On View: August 2026 - August 2027 Location: Salem Art Works, 19 Cary Ln, Salem, NY 12865 For more information: salemartworks.org
Alyssa James, "Practicing Freedom," 2026, steel and found objects,
Alyssa James, "SAWflower," 2026, steel, sawblade, patina, and slate, 4'6" x 4'6" x 3'8"
Alyssa James, "Seaflower," 2026, steel and patina, 16" x 15" x 18" To learn more about Alyssa James' work, follow her on Instagram: @alyssajamesarts
Susana Arias Susana Arias is participating in Confluence, a two-person exhibition pairing her sculptures with wall assemblages by Glenn Carter, at MK Contemporary. Visit this exhibitin before it closes! Exhibition Dates: August 7 - September 13, 2026
Susana Arias, "Ghost Ship Adrift," high-fired ceramics with steel chain on granite and steel base, 4 7" x 32" x 17" To learn more about Susana Arias' work, follow her on Instagram: @susanaariasarts
Vicki GunterVicki Gunter's piece "Bloom 7" is among thirty works selected for Visions in Clay, an annual juried exhibition. The piece is part of Gunter's ongoing project Bloom, Flowers Made You, an expansive installation which pairs fifty ceramic California native wildflowers and their pollinators, chosen by community input and surrounding life-size Blooming Spirit and Soil Spirit sculptures that represent the cycles of death creating life. A curator's talk on August 27 will feature the work of ceramic artist Viola Frey. Gallery Exhibition: August 27 - October 2, 2026
To learn more about Vicki Gunter's work, follow her on Instagram: @vickigunter or Facebook: vickigunter.75
Rose SelleryRose Sellery presents Fragile Strength, a solo exhibition of work that navigates the charged terrain between beauty and brutality, fragility and strength, and tradition and rebellion. Through humor, irony, and unflinching confrontation, Sellery explores themes of innocence and loss, societal pressure, resilience, and survival, inviting viewers to reflect on how lives, particularly women's lives, are shaped, constrained, celebrated, and discarded. Exhibition Dates: August 29, 2026 - January 3, 2027
Exhibition Flyer- Rose Sellery, "Pearl," 2026, pearls, epoxy clay, hanger, 40" x 17" x 12"
Rose Sellery, "The Break Up," 2018, reconstructed tempered glass, 31" x 31" x 12"
Rose Sellery, "Tension," 2012, vintage shoes, epoxy clay, steel, acrylic, 5" x 28" x 13". Photo: r.r. jones To learn more about Rose Sellery's work, follow her on Instagram: @rose_sellery or Facebook: facebook.com/rose.sellery
Manuel VasaureManuel Vasaure is participating in Sculpture is: In the Garden, the twentieth annual outdoor sculpture exhibition presented by Pajaro Valley Arts in partnership with Sierra Azul Nursery and Gardens. Now in its second decade, the exhibition has become one of the Central Coast's most celebrated showcases for contemporary sculpture, bringing together artists, community members, and visitors in a setting where art and landscape exist in dialogue. The show runs June 1 through October 31, 2026. Exhibition Dates: June 1 - October 31, 2026
Manuel Vasaure, Ascending Blue, marine-grade epoxy, steel rods, enamel pigment, 3' x 3' x 6' To learn more about Manuel Vasaure's work, follow him on Instagram: @manuelvasaure
|
MEMBERSHIP & PARTICIPATIONPARTICIPATE IN PRS
MEMBERSHIP IN PRS & ISCMembers of Pacific Rim Sculptors receive a 20% discount when joining the International Sculpture Center, publishers of Sculpture magazine (ISC, www.sculpture.org). Just enter "PRS" as the Chapter Code. The online version of Sculpture magazine is now available at SculptureMagazine.Art, which includes archived issues. Also check out the ISC Website Sculpture.org member resources; add photos of your works annually for review by collectors, gallerists, curators, and corporate buyers. |
Reminders to PRS members:
|