Peju Winery Unveils New Art Collection Featuring Diverse Works From The Bay Area And Beyond

July 23, 2010 - PRLog -- Rutherford, Calif. – Glass, paint and geometrics take center stage at Peju Winery’s upcoming Fall Art Show which kicks off with an opening reception on Sunday, August 1, 2010. Guests are invited to mingle with featured artists Terri Albanese, Paul Tapia and Phillip Dizick on August 1 from 1-4 p.m. and to enjoy wine and small bites while viewing the range of their compositions, which will be on display through October 25. The public is invited to visit the exhibit at their leisure during Peju’s daily tasting room hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Albanese, Tapia and Dizick each channel their life experiences, thoughts, emotions, energies and subjects through extremely diverse and distinct styles of art. Albanese creates an illusion of paint by piecing together brilliant colors and textures of cut glass; Tapia through striking, methodical and rich abstract forms applied on large canvas; and Dizick through his collection of paintings that depict the female form, and graphically designed geometrics that exercise the mind.

In 2007, Peju began to showcase top artists from across the nation 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 nearly 30 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 is an extension of wine. It is natural for us here at Peju to patronize the arts.”

There is no charge to attend the August 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 Peju family to the Napa Valley more than 25 years ago. After selling their nursery business in Southern California to purchase a 30-acre 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. The Peju 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, Peju is one of only 22 Napa County wineries to earn certification as a Napa Green Winery and Bay Area Green Business. Still focused on an early commitment to produce high-quality wines for a wide range of palates, Peju takes pride in offering the majority of its wines directly to guests in the tasting room and through the Peju Wine Club. The 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:

Terri Albanese – Glass Artist
Terri Albanese joins the Peju art show from Powell, Ohio, where her intriguing glass mosaics have received both domestic and international praise. The inspiration for her medium began with a trip to Italy, where breathtaking mosaics inspired her to begin specialized study at the Miami Mosaic Academy in Miami, Fla. There she developed a style that was new, fresh and truly unique – “painting with glass.” Albanese’s hand-cut glass art is created one piece at a time – taking a hard, rigid, sharp and unforgiving material like glass, cutting it into long thin strips, and transforming it into a refined and inspirational piece of art. The handcrafted glass offers depth, brilliance, opacity, transparency, reflection and refraction while the magnificent colors and textures allow her to create pieces with movement, depth, highlights and shadows, subtle variations and dramatic contrast. Albanese’s pieces tell a story and are created for those who want to reveal something about themselves, their personal interests and their love for original art.

Paul Tapia – Abstract Painter
Paul Tapia was born in San Francisco in 1940 and at an early age 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 exhibition and many juried awards. At age 26 he was featured in “Who’s Who in Art in America.” His reputation widened while hosting a 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.

Phillip Dizick – Sculptor, Painter, Photographer, Geometrics
Phillip Dizick creates forms expressing mind, body, and soul in multiple mediums – sculpture, paintings photography and geometric forms. One of Dizick’s major concepts has always been the growth and development of the female. He focuses on female spiritual evolution, capturing the essence of her being, her personal development and growth, self-awareness, love, and empowerment. Through movement in landscape, Dizick depicts the close relationship between Mother Nature and the human female. Dizick’s concepts and artwork are seen throughout the Peju property, where he has worked artistically for more than 10 years. Some of his permanent pieces in the Peju gardens include, “Lady on a Bench”, “Repose”, and “Balance Movement.” Dizick also hand-carved Peju Winery’s cherry wood entrance doors with an image of a Greek female figure blending water and wine. Dizick currently resides and works from his home studio in San Rafael, Calif.

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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.