Artist Bill Weber opens a new gallery

AFTER PRESENTING shows for years at local galleries, artist Bill Weber will open a new gallery in Brentwood and will present his first show Saturday.

The Weber Gallery will partner with MCM Framing on Harvest Park Drive, where the gallery will be located.
For five years Weber hosted art shows in Brentwood featuring some of the biggest and brightest artists of today and the past.
"When the city closed their building that the previous gallery was in, I knew I had to find another location," Weber said.

The Harvest Park location offers enough room for Weber to continue to offer large showings of multiple artists at a time. For his opening the gallery will feature Castro Valley artist Bill Sala as the main artist, but there will also be works from Stanley Mouse, Frank Lloyd Wright, Maxfield Parish, Geoff Allen and a special piece by Albrecht Durer. All told there will be about 80 pieces displayed, Weber said.

All of the pieces vary in style. Sala offers his works of surreal paintings, which he describes as being similar to that of renowned artist Salvador Dali. Sala has been an artist for the past 50 years. Most of his work has been shown through galleries in Mendocino and Fort Bragg area. His prints, which will be for sale, are anywhere in size from 8-by-10 inches to 30-by-40 inches.

Weber said that Mouse is a great fan of Sala's work and wanted to be shown with him. Mouse is mainly remembered for his album cover work for rock bands such as the Grateful Dead, Journey, Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

Having the gallery also gives Weber the chance to feature legendary artist Frank Lloyd Wright. Weber said he was able to get part of Wright's collection from a friend who was interested in selling some of the works he had collected.

"Some of the pieces date back to 1893," Weber said. "They are mostly buildings he designed. There are about 10 altogether."
Weber said that a special piece that will be on display would be an Apocalypse Woodcut by legendary artist Durer that dates back to 1504. Durer was a German painter, printmaker and theorist.

Weber works with varied art forms himself. Over the lifespan of his art career, he has worked on murals, paintings, sculptures and digital art. He is perhaps best known for his murals that can be seen in personal homes and on city streets like in San Francisco. One of his most famous murals, which he calls "Jazz Mural," is located in San Francisco and encompasses two sides of a building. Other pieces range from building fronts to wall spaces in homes. He still is available to do murals and special painting projects.

He also has a series of surreal canvases that he has painted under the name of El Gallo. Each of the paintings has a different theme. Two of the most well-known are "Birth of a Planet" and "Energy Consuming Life." Reproductions of some of Weber's murals and art can be found in several books and publications.

The Weber Gallery's regular hours will be Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A special artist reception for this show has been planned for April 11 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the gallery. For more information, call 925-634-7742.

If you go
WHAT: Weber Gallery grand opening
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 21; reception is set for 4 to 8 p.m. April 11 at the gallery.
WHERE: 700 Harvest Park Road, Brentwood
INFO: 634-7742