July 2, 2021 — There’s a new addition to the art scene in Ukiah. The Deep Valley Arts Collective, which held online shows during the lockdown, is opening a gallery called Medium for the First Friday art walk today. The introductory show, in the freshened up former Radio Shack in the Pear Tree shopping center, is called Prologue, in anticipation of much to come.
For Chris Pugh, one of the three founding members, it’s been a long-time dream that crystallized during the isolation and unemployment of the pandemic.
The work upholds the promise of multiple mediums, starting with a paper doll sculpture that looks fully prepared to start doing somersaults. There’s an electrically powered kinetic piece designed by a retired engineer, and a large painting of a woman in a tight dress, reclining behind some foliage that looks a little dangerous...