Healdsburg sculptor hosting free exhibit, festival for International Sculpture Day

Some people campaign for candidates or causes, but Healdsburg sculptor T Barny is on a different crusade.

He wants to raise everyone’s awareness of the importance of sculpture.

This weekend, the 1-acre T Barny Gallery & Sculpture Gardens in Healdsburg will celebrate International Sculpture Day with a two-day exhibit and festival, featuring work by Barny and 10 other Sonoma County sculptors.

Saturday is the ninth annual International Sculpture Day, founded by the International Sculpture Center in Hamilton, New Jersey.

“We’ve been celebrating here for the past eight years, and we’ve been hosting other sculptors here for the past four years,” Barny said.

He has been sculpting on his Healdsburg property for 38 years and founded his sculpture gallery and garden in 2001.

“Our theme this year is ‘Sculptors Shape the World,’” he added. “We chose it because we believe sculpture enhances the world around us.”

The other sculptors participating this year are Laura Ames, Tom Ballard, Joel Bennett, Catherine Bohrman, Peter Crompton, Robyn Crompton, Twyla Feinbloom, Linus Lancaster, Susan Ryan and Luann Udell. Materials used include stone, bronze and ceramics.

“For our sculptors, their work ranges from figurative to abstract. Each artist is setting up a space as if it was for a booth at an art fair,” Barny explained.

In addition to the art displays, the festival — which runs through Sunday — will include some other features.

“You can make your own flavored soda water and make your own trail mix, and there will be a sculpture-making table,” Barny said.

Barny, who has worked with stone imported from 56 different countries, is emphatic about the sometimes-overlooked importance of sculpture as an art form.

As an example, he points out that at last year’s de Young Open exhibition in San Francisco, between 800 and 900 pieces of art were accepted, but only 38 were three-dimensional art, including Barny’s 22-pound Belgian marble sculpture titled, "Opacus," which stands 21 inches tall.

“Sculpture is often overlooked,” Barny said. “You can see it at museums, where people are more likely to look at flat pieces to decorate the house, because that would look good with their sofa. Sculpture is three-dimensional. It takes up space.”

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On X @danarts.