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Gallery 9 featured artist for July 2025 is Abby Zhang - "California in Brushstrokes"
Abby’s latest work showcases the beauty of California's diverse landscapes through the traditional practice of plein air painting. Working directly from observation, she captures the ever-changing light, color, and atmosphere of the San Francisco Bay Area's natural environments with fluid, expressive brushwork.
"My goal is to evoke the feeling of being there," Abby explains, "to offer not just a view, but a memory—something familiar and felt."
The featured paintings draw inspiration from many of the Bay Area's cherished open spaces, including Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, the Baylands and Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, Pescadero and San Gregorio beaches, and the historic farmlands of Gilroy. Abby's approach focuses on capturing fleeting impressions—a gust of wind in tall grass, coastal fog drifting over the beach, or the quiet stillness of marshlands at dusk.
Trained by master painters Boris Kokhno and Alexander Zimin of the Russian Academy of Arts, Abby blends classical discipline with the spontaneity of impressionism. Her work is also influenced by Eastern aesthetics, particularly Japanese and Chinese principles of simplicity, impermanence, and reverence for nature.
This is Abby's first Solo Show in Gallery 9, but her paintings have been featured in prestigious exhibitions including the Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, the Salon International, and the California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition.
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 12th, 1:30–5:00 pm
Event Links
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3118751-0
