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ABOUT
THE GALLERY
 At
the western end of Sonoma county, the Ren Brown Collection
is a long-established and well-respected art gallery. Opened
in early 1990, it is conveniently located on Coast Highway
One at the northern end of Bodega Bay. Housed in a refurbished
building with shoji and a small, serene Japanese garden, the
gallery is dedicated to showing contemporary art from both
sides of the Pacific Ocean.
A major
focus of the gallery is on modern Japanese prints by living
artist, including Toko
Shinoda, Ryohei
Tanaka, Yuji
Hiratsuka, Iwao
Akiyama, and others. Many have works included in the
collections of prominent museums, and have been exhibited
world-wide. Some of this artwork can be found nowhere else
in northern California. The original prints are done in traditional
woodblock, as well as more Occidental mediums, such as serigraphy,
etching, stencil, and lithography--often on fine handmade
papers. Subjects and themes vary widely, and images are both
abstract and representational.
Regional
artists of Northern California (Micah
Schwaberow, John
Chambers, Robert
Devee, Christopher
Dewees, Noriko
Hasegawa, and others) are also featured at the Ren
Brown Collection. Works include sculpture, watercolors, woodcuts,
acrylic paintings, serigraphs, monotypes, handmade paper,
baskets, original jewelry and ceramics. In addition, the gallery
features a varied selection of antique Japanese furnishings--tansu
chests, step chests, trunks and more.
Address:
1781 Highway One, Bodega Bay.
Hours: Open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 to 5,
closed Monday & Tuesday.
Mailing
Address: P.O. Box 156, Bodega Bay, CA 94923.
Phone: (707) 875-2922, or toll-free in Northern California
1-800-585-2921.
E-mail: rbc4art@renbrown.com
 ABOUT
REN BROWN
Interest in the Far East has long been a part of founder Ren
Brown’s life. A third generation Japanophile, he lived in
Tokyo as a child, and has made numerous trips ever since.
His first exhibit of contemporary Japanese prints was held
while a college student in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, in the
mid 1960’s. In 1980 Ren established Anshin Art as a part-time
business located in Berkeley and devoted exclusively to Japanese
prints. When his former partner decided she no longer had
time to devote to the project, Robert DeVee joined Ren Brown,
and the idea of a full-time gallery along the Sonoma Coast
began to gel. Since establishing this gallery Ren has given
talks at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and offered
instruction to various art and civic groups as well as college
classes about the contemporary print movement in Japan. He
continues to make frequent trips to Japan to discover new
artists.
ABOUT ROBERT DeVEE
Robert DeVee has been a successful painter for over twenty-five
years. Since traveling to Japan and learning of the contemporary
print movement, he has also begun to do monotypes and serigraphs.
Ren and Robert chose the Bodega Bay area because of a longtime
love for the ocean and for Sonoma County. Finding that Bodega
Bay offered a convenient location with ready public access,
the two co-owners set about remodeling an existing older building.
Ren’s childhood friend Halcyon Campoamor and her husband Roberto,
who are now architects in Berkeley, designed the renovations.
They successfully incorporated Japanese design elements into
the plans and have made the space particularly conducive for
looking at fine art.
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