Concentric Circles:
Tracing the Radiance of
Bay Area Figuration
Exhibition Dates: May 2 – June 22, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, May 2, 5–7 PM
Panel Talk: Saturday, May 10, 4 PM
540 Ramona Street
Palo Alto, CA
Pamela Walsh Gallery is pleased to announce Concentric Circles: Tracing the Radiance of Bay Area Figuration, a major survey exhibition showcasing the pioneering artists of the Bay Area Figurative Movement and those who radiated outward from their groundbreaking vision. This wide-ranging exhibition revisits the pivotal period of 1950–1965, when a group of San Francisco Bay Area painters, led by David Park, Elmer Bischoff, and Richard Diebenkorn, defied the dominance of Abstract Expressionism and reclaimed the figure as a vital subject of modern art.
At the heart of this exhibition are works by influential artists including Richard Diebenkorn, Nathan Oliveira, Elmer Bischoff, Theophilus Brown, Paul Wonner, Manuel Neri, and Joan Brown. These artists, while diverse in approach, shared a bold commitment to merging gestural abstraction with intimate, often deeply personal figuration. Their work reframed the language of postwar painting, balancing expressive brushwork with the quiet poignancy of everyday life.
Concentric Circles also features artists who helped carry this tradition forward—Wayne Thiebaud, Henrietta Berk, Bruce McGaw, Roland Petersen, Raimonds Staprans, Frank Lobdell, and James Weeks—revealing the movement’s remarkable breadth and continued relevance.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the gallery will host a Panel Talk on Saturday, May 10 at 4 PM, featuring Matt Gonzales, Emilio Villalba, and art historian Ted Barrow. Together, they will explore the legacy of the movement, its resonance with contemporary practice, and its continued evolution through the work of new generations.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog featuring an original essay by Steven A. Nash, noted art historian, former Director of the Richard Diebenkorn Foundation, and former Chief Curator at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. In his essay, The Legacy of Bay Area Figuration, Nash reflects on the origins and enduring influence of the movement, noting:
“What started as a rebellion became a tradition—one that regularly morphed by absorbing a wide diversity of individual voices and different takes on figurative aesthetics.”
Concentric Circles is more than a historical survey—it is a tribute to the enduring power of community, influence, and the human form. These artists remind us that even in the face of prevailing trends, art can return to the body, to observation, and to lived experience, without losing its edge or its urgency.
Pamela Walsh Gallery, founded in 2019, is located in a historic 1929 Birge Clark building in downtown Palo Alto. The gallery represents a diverse roster of contemporary artists and the Nathan Oliveira Estate, and is a proud member of the San Francisco Art Dealers Association, with Pamela Walsh currently serving on its Board of Directors.
