Art Exhibitions
The Throckmorton Theatre Gallery brings visual art into conversation with theater, music, comedy, and community—creating a vibrant cultural space where creative disciplines intersect.
October 2026 ART EXHIBIT
Steve emery
Lyrical Paintings & Fabric Works
Steve has continuously searched for meaning, striving to express within the language of art some profound reflection of universal humanity beyond words. His artistic journey is marked by a pursuit of understanding and connection, seeking to capture the essence of shared human experiences.
Artist Statement
My approach to painting went through changes during the pandemic. It changed in response to the constantly emerging new charts, graphs. I attempted to reclaim colors and curves which were negatively portrayed. Areas became more “painterly”, calligraphic, textural.
Then, in 2024, a friend won a sewing machine in a raffle and already had 2 superior machines, so I excitedly became the recipient, proceeding to teach myself to sew. At first, I got fabric my mother cleared out of her hope chest, so I practiced on fabrics I recognized from clothing she’d made for us as kids. As friends found out I’d taken up sewing, I received other fabric donations and honed my skills, especially at seam-ripping!
A friend from my freshman year at UCSC, a fellow art student, had settled in NY, and become a quilt-maker, a collector of antique kimonos, and a shopper of fabrics from throughout the world. She was very supportive of my new venture and sent me a box of her selected fabrics. It was like opening the best birthday/Christmas present ever! Layer after layer of fabulous fabrics; batiks, elegant, screen printed, colorful, playful, inspiring.
After deciding they were too precious, I showed them off for a couple weeks, before I dove right in and constructed the 18 x 80” runner, having a great time sewing the strips of batik, then cutting it vertically to re-arrange slightly different on each side.
My next piece was a piece that kept growing, ending up 58 x 82” using fabrics which I’d use the patterns in between more graphic images. After a few others, I began having puzzle dreams, the similar process of piecing fabrics and jigsaw puzzles became obvious, fun and compulsive in a creative way.
I did the piece “Night Garden” and realized, I’d learned the craft, but now had a more artistic direction. From this piece on, I have worked very similar to how I have always painted, which is starting without a destination, but somehow through trying different paths, find my way to something which is meaningful to me and still beautiful.
Art Exhibit Curator
Ian Day is a Southern California-based digital artist and photographer. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, his mother was an artist who encouraged his early passion for drawing. He began his art education at age six, taking lessons at the Joslyn Art Museum where his mother taught. His advanced training includes a BFA from the School of Art at University of Iowa and an MFA from Northwestern University, where he was a teaching assistant to Jack Burnham and was appointed a post-graduate instructor for several years.
Following graduate school, Ian turned to art direction for commercial and corporate clients. His career evolved into producing and directing film and video for Fortune 500 companies. His independent productions were featured in several film festivals and his screenplays received competitive awards and recognition from such artists as Robert Altman and Raymond Carver. In more recent years, Ian served on the Mill Valley Arts Commission, volunteered at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito and is currently curating art exhibits for the Throckmorton Theatre Gallery in Mill Valley.
Ian works primarily in the digital art and photography realm, although he has past experience as a painter and printmaker. More recently he has begun experimenting with encaustics, utilizing some of his photographic images in the process. His foray into infrared photography has yielded a fresh direction for his engagement in the visual arts. Ian’s work has been exhibited throughout the Midwest and West Coast.
Throckmorton Theatre’s Art Exhibits typically run for a month, starting with the First Tuesday ArtWalk. Throckmorton hosts an Artist Reception during the First Tuesday ArtWalks from 5-7pm. Following the opening reception, art can be viewed during the theatre’s business hours or by appointment.
If you wish to make an appointment or have questions about the art show, please email Barb Nimmons or call (415) 383-9600.
If you are an artist seeking to exhibit your work, please contact Throckmorton’s curator Ian Day.
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