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The Mystery of Process: Carol Dalton & Monique Rutherford
September 27, 2025 - November 9, 2025
September 25 – November 9, 2025 | NY2CA Gallery, Benicia, CABenicia, CA — This fall, NY2CA Gallery invites the public to experience The Mystery of Process, a two-artist exhibition that pairs the wood-fired ceramic sculptures of Monique Rutherford with the mixed media paintings of Carol Dalton. On view from September 25 through November 9, 2025, the exhibition honors not only the finished works of art, but the powerful, unpredictable paths that shape them.
An Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, September 27, from 5–7 PM, featuring live music by Arturo.
Both artists embrace transformation as the heart of their practice. Rutherford works in clay, surrendering her sculptures to the demanding ritual of the anagama kiln—a wood-fired process that lasts for days, sometimes weeks. Flames, ash, and accident leave their traces on the surface of each piece, reminding us that beauty often comes from what cannot be controlled. For Rutherford, the work is as much about silence, instinct, and surprise as it is about form.Dalton, by contrast, turns to the shifting landscapes of the Bay Area for inspiration. Her daily walks along the Carquinez Strait and hikes through coastal hills inform paintings that distill the shimmer of light, the pull of water, and the changing hues of the seasons. Working on wood panels, she layers paper, pigment, and texture, scraping and sanding until her surfaces hum with the quiet resonance of memory.
Together, Rutherford and Dalton reveal how process itself becomes the subject of art—how instinct, time, and elemental forces shape not only clay and paint, but also our perception of transformation.The Mystery of Process will be on view September 25 – November 9, 2025, at NY2CA Gallery, 617 First Street, Benicia, CA. Gallery hours are Thursday–Sunday, 12–5 PM.
