Arts Profiles
A Storybook Beginning
Talk about coming in hot. Devyn Defoe may have just published her debut novel, but already she’s attracting the attention of everyone from Publishers Weekly to Pulitzer Prize nominees. The Sacramento-born author of Burnside talks about finding inspiration in local literary greats, returning to her hometown and more.
The Darkly Whimsical World of Suzanne Adan
Over six decades after first showing her work, the Crocker Art Museum is launching a major career retrospective of Sacramento artist Suzanne Adan. Touching on themes from mortality and sex to humor and truth (or the lack thereof), the multimedia artist’s pieces have been collected by the likes of art doyenne Marcy Friedman and Tower Records founder Russ Solomon. Now at 80, it appears that Suzanne Adan is flying high.
Bittersweet Symphony
What’s it all mean? That’s the existential question that multi-instrumentalist Christian Gates—better known by his stage name, The Philharmonik—posed after navigating a series of personal struggles. The search for answers ultimately led the “one-man orchestra” to enter—and win—NPR’s career-catapulting Tiny Desk Contest in 2024. Now, as the Sacramento singer-songwriter explores his spiritual side in his new album, Transcendentalism, he continues his quest for deeper meaning.
The Picasso of Positivity
He is the most prolific public artist in Sacramento, with hundreds of works—from large-scale commissioned murals to decidedly uncommissioned guerrilla pieces—beautifying the urban landscape. Now, J.M. Knudsen is expanding his vision for a more creative city. As one of his influences, Pablo Picasso, said: “Action is the foundational key to all success.” But for all Knudsen’s ambitious goals, the core of his message for us all remains deceptively simple: “YOU ARE GREAT.”
Where She Was From
Life for E.A. Hanks, who grew up in the Fabulous Forties as the daughter of Tom Hanks, may have looked like it was coming up roses. Too often, though, the reality was anything but, as the self-described “Sacramento girl” details in her poignant new book, "The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road", which follows a childhood shaped by her mother’s mental illness and a writer’s search for the truth, thorns and all.
The Art of Appropriation
A new museum retrospective spotlights the late Sacramento painter and professor Wayne Thiebaud as a master student of art history. From da Vinci to Picasso, great artists have always studied and copied their predecessors on the way to creating their own singular masterpieces. As this exhibit shows, Thiebaud is still teaching. The lesson: Imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery.
A Mainstage Milestone
Ever since its earliest days as an ambitious theatrical upstart, Capital Stage has leaned into thought-provoking fare to carve out its niche in the Sacramento theater scene. Now, as it prepares for its 20th anniversary season, the resilient midtown troupe is taking steps to ensure that its next act is bigger and bolder than ever.
The Art of Gratitude
When his wife embarked on an arduous cancer journey, Dave Webb—a Davis-based multimedia artist—walked alongside her, processing his emotions through film, images, words and music. A new exhibition at the Pence Gallery, the grateful chair, chronicles the couple’s shared experience of going to the brink and coming back.
A Hunger for Healing
A Roseville cancer survivor reflects on the restorative power of writing and illustrating her debut children’s tale, The Mochi Makers. In this case, a picture book is worth a thousand words.
Q&A with Distance Runner Fiona O’Keeffe
Davis native Fiona O’Keeffe crossed the finish line of her first marathon with a new U.S. Olympic trials record and a spot in the 2024 Paris Games.
Madame Director
Born in the same year that the B Street Theatre was launched, Lyndsay Burch has risen from an intern at the local troupe to succeeding co-founder Buck Busfield as its artistic director. Now she’s crafting an ambitious future that Sacramentans—and, yes, Australians and Scots—are lining up for. Because for B Street, all the world is suddenly a stage.
Going Going Gonzo
He has directed over 400 music videos, is learning seven languages, and started performing stand-up comedy during the pandemic. Oh, and he just landed his first solo show at the Crocker Art Museum, featuring his wildly colorful, surrealistic photography. Meet retrofuturist Raúl Gonzo—the ultimate one-man band of creative expression.
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