Peju Welcomes Bay Area Abstract Artists To Winery Gallery For Fall-winter Art Show

Oct. 27, 2009 - PRLog -- Rutherford, Calif. – Peju Winery is pleased to announce the opening of its upcoming fall-winter art exhibit featuring the works of three talented Bay Area abstract painters, all capturing the intrigue of life, people and figures in their original oil abstract expressions. Connie Millholland, Paul Tapia and Cynthia Duncan will spend the afternoon at Peju on Sunday, November 1, 2009 from 1-4 p.m. to kick off the opening of their show which runs through January 25, 2010. Guests are invited to mingle with the artists and enjoy wine and small bites while viewing the range of the gallery’s paintings. Winery guests are able to view the exhibit at their leisure during Peju’s daily tasting room hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Millholland, Tapia and Duncan make social statements and interpret thoughts, emotions, energies and subjects through their simplified and abstract forms. The three artists take a bold approach to creating their works, utilizing significant amounts of vibrant, rich paint spread over canvas through methodical strokes.

In 2007, Peju began to showcase top artists from the Bay Area and beyond on a three-month rotating basis. Past artists have showcased sculpture, painting, photography, illustration, charcoal drawing, giclée and contemporary doll art.  

When Tony and Herta Peju founded Peju Winery more than 25 years ago, the couple incorporated their passion for wine, art, architecture and horticulture into the structure, style and hospitality at Peju’s Rutherford Estate. The family has committed to surrounding guests with an inventive and artistic experience from the wine glass, to the tasting room, to the gardens.  

“We believe that wine can be made by the book, but when it’s made using an artistic approach, it becomes superb,” Tony Peju said about the relationship between wine and art.  “Making wine is an art, and art in an extension of wine. It is natural for us here at Peju to patronize the arts.”

There is no charge to attend the November 1 artist reception or to view the Peju art exhibit.  All pieces of artwork are available for purchase.

Editor’s Note:  For full artist bios or images of their artwork, please contact Katie Vandermause at kvandermause@peju.com or 707-302-1162.

About Peju Winery:
It was the love of farming and a passion for wine that brought the Pejus to the Napa Valley more than 25 years ago. After selling their nursery business in Southern California to purchase a 30-acre wild, overgrown vineyard in Rutherford, Tony and his wife Herta embarked upon a journey to transform the land and its bounty from a vision into a reality. The family’s humble winemaking efforts began inside their garage, then a makeshift tasting room, and have since grown into one of Napa Valley’s most notable landmarks and a celebrated 35,000-case wine operation. Lisa and Ariana Peju have also joined the family business, paving the way into the future. Our vineyards are a combination of certified organic and sustainable, with the goal of achieving organic certification for all in the next few years. In addition, we are one of only 13 wineries to earn certification as a Napa Green Winery and Bay Area Green Business. Still focused on our early commitment to produce high-quality wines for a wide range of palates, we pride ourselves on offering the majority of our wines directly to guests in the tasting room and through the Peju Wine Club. Our tasting room, art exhibit and gardens are open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and are located at 8466 St. Helena Hwy, Rutherford, Napa Valley. For more information, visit www.peju.com or call 800-446-7358.

About the Artists:

Connie Millholland – Abstract Painter
Throughout Connie Millholland’s art education, art career and 31 years of teaching, she has always been fascinated with design. Millholland’s inspiration to become an artist began in elementary school. She went on to pursue art education in college, and afterwards began to seek out higher quality instruction at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and from individual artists who taught within their studios. It allowed her to develop skills through specialized classes and small group instruction. She found a mentor in her figure drawing instructor, who had a very identifiable philosophy and process. Millholland then spent several years evolving through trial and error, experimented in different mediums and tried many different painting styles. She also focused on social statement art done in surrealistic and semi-abstraction forms. Millholland’s thrust is to present unique paintings which require constant evolution and transition into the new. Millholland lives and works in Benecia, Calif.

Paul Tapia – Abstract Painter
Paul Tapia was born in San Francisco in 1940. At an early age he excelled in art class. He also stood out in sports, but his interest in art never waned. He turned down several five-figure major league bonus offers for his pitching talents and even turned down an offer to play quarterback for John Madden after setting national passing records as a high school quarterback. Tapia’s career evolved through the 1960’s with gallery exhibitions and many juried awards. At age 26 he was featured in “Who’s Who in Art in America.” As his reputation widened he had his own TV show in his hometown of San Francisco, “Talkin’ About Art with Paul Tapia.” He taught formal and classical composition at the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Art, and continues to share his art knowledge through lectures at colleges around the country. Tapia is a master of working wet on wet, and he is always in complete control of the paint to canvas process, taking pride in producing “pure, clean color” and illumination effects. Tapia currently resides in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Cynthia Duncan – Painter
International abstract expressionist Cynthia Duncan has painted in the abstract since she was a child, finding it the most succinct way to interpret the many facets of her thought and emotion, as well as her observations of human interaction and the intangible energies of the world around her. She expresses herself in vibrant, rich paintings of oil on canvas, as well as watercolor on paper. Duncan attended Georgetown University before transitioning to the Heatherly School of Fine Art in London. She has exhibited extensively in galleries throughout the United Kingdom and the United States and has a growing following of discerning international collectors. Duncan’s art accomplishments have also been covered in The Herald Newspaper in the UK, San Francisco Business Times and Art in America Magazine. Some of her featured works have also been presented in the Catalog of Artist’s work in the Tate Gallery Library, London; the Catalog of Artist’s work in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Research Library; and the cover art for the 2005/2006  Yankee Holiday travel brochures in Boston, MA. Duncan currently has a studio at the Industrial Center Building in Sausalito, Calif.

# # #

Established in 1982, Peju Province Winery is a family-owned boutique winery located in the heart of the Napa Valley. Visitors can enjoy organically and sustainably grown estate wines, gardens, art and wine and food events. Open daily 10-6.