Arts Benicia Gallery

Wood and mixed media sculptures, drawings and collage by East Bay artists John Abduljaami, Deborah Barrett, and Stan Peterson will be featured in Arts Benicia’s upcoming exhibit Zoolatry- a curious menagerie, on view March 10 through April 22 at the Arts Benicia Gallery. The opening reception will be Sunday, March 18th from 3 to 5 pm.

Zoolatry means “animal worship” or “excessive attention paid to animals”. (The title applies to the curators’ decision to show work in this exhibit that features animals, insects or anthropomorphic creatures, rather than to any obsessions on the part of the three artists). As figurative artists, the three utilize human forms in much of their work, but the pieces chosen for Zoolatry focus on the artists’ concerns with other animal species, their symbolism, and with human relationships to them. While very different in scale and style, the works in the exhibit share a captivating and disarming spirit, resulting from the thoughtful, profound tenderness evident in the artists’ approach to their subjects.