Concentric Circles: Tracing the Radiance of Bay Area Figuration

Pamela Walsh Gallery is pleased to announce the forthcoming exhibition, Concentric Circles, a major survey of works by the founding members of the Bay Area Figurative Movement and the artists who radiated outward from their groundbreaking vision. This special exhibition revisits the fertile artistic period of 1950-1965, when a group of San Francisco Bay Area painters, led by David Park, Elmer Bischoff, and Richard Diebenkorn, dared to pursue figurative art at the height of Abstract Expressionism.

The Bay Area Figurative Movement emerged as a distinctly regional response to the sweeping dominance of Abstract Expressionism, both on the West Coast and in New York. These artists, seeking to revitalize the art world with fresh meaning, shifted from abstraction to figuration—not as a rejection of modernity but as an exploration of its depths. This movement marked a return to the human form and everyday scenes, blending gestural abstraction with intimate depictions of life’s quiet moments. San Francisco became the epicenter of this innovative fusion, birthing a style that was at once personal and profoundly influential.

At the heart of this exhibition are the works of luminaries such as Richard Diebenkorn, Raimonds Staprans, Nathan Oliveira, Paul Wonner and Manuel Neri. These artists imbued their canvases with the textures of lived experience, portraying familiar subjects with bold gestures, visceral paint application, and an abiding sensitivity to form and light. The resulting artworks celebrate the beauty of the everyday while maintaining the dynamism and spontaneity that Abstract Expressionism championed.

This exhibition also features works by other influential artists such as Wayne Thiebaud, Roland Peterson, and Henrietta Berk, whose contributions further enriched the movement’s legacy. Together, these artists illustrate the breadth and depth of a pivotal moment in American art history.