I am absolutely ashamed to admit that I had never visited The Napa Valley Museum except to attend an event. Its embarrassing because I consider myself to be a supporter of the arts, and I often complain that “Napa doesn’t have enough culture”. What a f-ing hypocrite! Excuse my French. Seriously though….I do feel it is our duty as locals of Napa to support the arts here - not just with dollars we donate, but by actively participating. My husband and I try to attend every production at Lucky Penny, our wonderful local black box theater, as well as many performances as possible at Napa Valley College. I also love to bring visitors to Di Rosa Center, the contemporary art preserve, (which pairs nicely with champagne tasting at nearby Domaine Carneros). We are huge fans of the Napa Valley Film Festival (see my past posts here), and we dip our feet into Festival Napa Valley. So what the heck took me so long to visit the Napa Valley Museum? Well, thank you to Lucy Liu for the push . . .I finally made it and I am here to persuade you to go before it moves on at the end of April! (All of you who are already supporters of this museum, thank you for that!) What an amazing feat that our little regional museum was able to bring this meaningful exhibit here- one of the first public exhibits of her art.

Some of you may vaguely be aware of the museum if you have attended an event at the Lincoln Theater. (The parking lot just in front of the museum fills up fast during a popular Lincoln Theater event.) Maybe you even said to yourself, “oh, I should check that out someday”! It is so easy and convenient that there are really no excuses. A visit here would be a perfect activity to pair with lunch at one of the amazing restaurants in Yountville (Redd Wood, R&D, Bouchon, Bistro Jeanty). The museum is small, so depending on your schedule you can be in and out in under an hour if needed….but of course if you have more time you’re welcome to stay longer.

Upstairs, the main gallery of the museum showcases its special rotating exhibit. I do fully admit that is solely the draw of Lucy Liu that brought me in. I was curious to see if she could be both a beguiling and talented actress as well as able to create amazing art. I suppose each of us has the ability to create art, but there are only a few who can produce art that effects others. I was skeptical. Part of me wanted to not like her work. Oh wow though. I really REALLY loved this exhibit! I am not an art critic so I won’t even try to do that here, but just trust me and go. The exhibit includes a video of her working, with her own commentary (and that beautiful voice she has). I was fascinated by the stories she tells through her art and by her use of found objects and the themes that tie various pieces together. In a video at the beginning of the exhibit, you can see her at work as she explains her process and that she only recognized the recurring themes that unify her after she had made them and some time had passed. She works in various media, from large format oil paintings to sculpture, prints, and mixed media collage and she has a self-confessed fascination with the anatomical spine.

My favorite part of the exhibit is the separate area that is slightly walled off due to its X-rated subject. You may want to leave the kids home, although I am all for a healthy dose of erotica! In this separate area, hang massive oversized oil paintings and drawings that borrow inspiration from Japanese erotica art (Shunga). Seeing these erotic images, traditionally in miniature but here in such a large format creates a completely different emotion to the viewer! This could actually be a great exhibit to bring your significant other to see, to add a little spark to your date night. (Funny story: I grew up with erotica art hanging in our home - my mom collected it and Shunga and Kama Sutra art adorned our bathroom walls. We even had a walrus penis hanging on the wall…but I do digress). Please note that the photo here has been cut off from the waist down! I wasn’t sure if I would get in trouble for posting the entire artwork with all its erotic detail!

If you visit, be sure to go downstairs to the permanent exhibit about the history of Napa Valley, “Land and People of Napa Valley”. This occupies a small foyer and is a simple presentation of some of the main highlights of the development of the valley. You can quickly get an understanding of the various populations and industries that have shaped the region - each has their own dedicated “history case”. I was fascinated by each case, but particularly the one about the Jews of The Valley. In the other room there is a rotating exhibit of classic works on long-term loan by The Yates Art Foundation. This organization brings fine art to local museums like this one - so you can see some original works of Picasso, Chagall and other masterworks. Pretty amazing to be able to experience these pieces of art with no lines and no crowds! Finally, if you are like me and love the museum store of the MOMA, you will be happy to know they even have their own mini MOMA shop here. Great to shop here and support the museum! Note that the museum hours are 11am-4pm Wed-Sunday and the price of admission is $15. If you miss the Lucy Liu exhibit, the next one arrives May 6th and will be an exhibit about Bottlerock! (Here is a reminder to check out my past blog post about Bottlerock!