Melinda Cootsona
A native Northern Californian, Melinda Lomax Cootsona received her BFA from the California College of the Arts in Oakland in 1981. Melinda has been included in exhibitions at The Bakersfield Museum of Art, San Luis Obispo Plein Air Painting Competition and the Triton Museum where she won an Award of Merit.
Her abstract figurative work, with its use of lines and composition, is a nod to her BA in Architectural Interior Design and the influences of Bay Area figurative arts like Diebenkorn and Park. Her process always begins as an abstract, with multiple layers of shapes, lines, patterns and colors built up numerous times before she even considers the ultimate “subject matter.” Often her paintings depict private moments in a personal life.
“What you see in the final layer of my work is a culmination of the multitude of decisions that lie beneath. My work is meant to be both known and unknown; recognizable and mysterious.”
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Holiday Open House
December 2 - 16, 2023Burlingame, CA - As the holiday season unfolds, Studio Shop Gallery is thrilled to announce its much-anticipated Holiday Open House, a celebration of art, community, and seasonal cheer. The event...Read more -
Body WORKs
Melinda Cootsona, Goli Mahallati, Daniel Ochoa & Hugh Leeman September 14 - October 1, 2022Body WORKs - four artists celebrate humanity Delving into the many ways there are to see one another, Studio Shop Gallery presents “Body WORKs,” a show of figurative paintings highlighting...Read more -
Re-Emergent
May 1 - August 31, 2020Other pieces in the exhibition include figurative works by artists Melinda Cootsona, Seaglass and Zoey Frank, Peter Reading. Both depict characters in moments of repose and reflection, yet the paintings...Read more -
Art Palm Springs 2020
February 14 - 17, 2020Read more
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Strength & Grace
Melinda Cootsona November 8 - 24, 2019Melinda Lomax Cootsona is a native of Northern California. Born and raised near Stanford University, she has been greatly influenced by the Bay Area artistic tradition. She received her BFA...Read more -
Art Market San Francisco 2019
April 25 - 28, 2019The Studio Shop Gallery is excited to be exhibiting at Art Market San Francisco this year at Fort Mason. We will be showcasing five of our esteemed artists, Roland Petersen,...Read more -
Approaching the Figure
Melinda Cootsona September 18 - October 3, 2015Featuring the artwork of Linda Christensen, Melinda Cootsona and William Rushton, three artists who are inspired by the Bay Area Figurative School artists of the mid 20th century such as...Read more
EDUCATION
1981 BFA, Interior Architectural Design, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
Body WORKs, Group Figurative Show, Studio Shop Gallery, Burlingame, CA
2019
Strength and Grace, Studio Shop Gallery, Burlingame, CA
Mill Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM, “John Chang and Melinda Cootsona
2018
Go Figure, Tim Collom Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2017
Spotlight, Mill Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Powder and Smoke, Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Reconfigured, New Realism in the 21st Century, Mill Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
Wax, Jen Tough Gallery, Vallejo, CA
2013
A Sense of Place, Studio Shop Gallery, Burlingame, CA
2010
City People and Country Roads: New Work by Melinda L. Cootsona, Thos. Moser Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007
A Painter’s View: New Work by Melinda L. Cootsona, Thos. Moser Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006
Shadow and Light: New Work by Melinda L. Cootsona, Thos. Moser Gallery, San Francisco, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019
Art Market Fort Mason, The Studio Shop Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2018
John Chang and Melinda Cootsona, Mill Contemporary, Santa Fe, N
Honoring the Legacy of David Park, Santa Clara University Gallery, Santa Clara, CA
Juried by John Seed, DeWitt Cheng, Dr. Andrea Pappas, Jessica Phillips
2017
Honoring the Legacy of David Park, Juried Exhibition, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
John Chang and Melinda Cootsona, Mill Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2016
Engaged, Studio Shop Gallery, Burlingame, CA
2015
Approaching the Figure, Studio Shop Gallery, Burlingame, CA
Embodiment, Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
SF Fine Art Fair, Seager Gray Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2014
Figures in Abstract, Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
SF Fine Art Fair, Seager Gray Gallery, San Francisco, CA
New Artists Show, Pryor Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
2013
The Summer Show, Tim Collum Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Summer Salon, Donna Seager Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Bay Area Figurative Works, Epperson Gallery, Valona, CA
2012
Figures and Faces, Pacific Art League, Juror: Hung Liu, Palo Alto, CA
How We See, Studio Shop Gallery, Burlingame, CA
SF Fine Art Fair, San Francisco, CA
Fresh Works 2, Harrington Art Gallery, Juror: Kim Anno,Pleasanton, CA
Expressions West 2012, Coos Art Museum, Juror: Douglas Russell, Coos Bay, OR
2011
Go Figure: An Exhibition of Five Contemporary Bay Area Figurative Artists, Studio Shop Gallery, Burlingame, CA
2009
Tiny Show, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2008
Castilleja Alumnae Art Exhibition, Seipp Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
2007
On The Strait Edge: Landscapes of the Bay Area, Hilliard Architects, San Francisco, CA
2006
No Empty Walls, Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA
2005
Plein Air, Eriksen Gallery, Half Moon Bay, CA
2004
Waters Of Life, Golden Oak Gallery, Saratoga, CA
Emerging Artists, Pieces Gallery, Healdsburg, CA
2003
Gallery Artists – Group Show, Eriksen Gallery, Half Moon Bay, CA
San Luis Obispo Plein Air Painting Festival, San Luis Obispo, CA
2001
Alliance of Visual Arts, Triton Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
ICA, Monoprint Exhibit, Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2001-2011
Scene On The Strait, Martinez, CA
SVOS Open Studios, Silicon Valley, CA
PUBLICATIONS
American Art Collector, Alcove Books 2012
American Art Collector, Alcove Books Vol. 2
American Art Collector, Alcove Books Vol. 1
Art of Northern California, Alcove Books
AWARDS
2012
Award of Merit, Fresh Works 2, Juror Kim Anno, Harrington Gallery, Pleasanton, CA
2001
Award of Merit, Alliance of Visual Arts, Juror: George Rivera, Triton Museum, Santa Clara, CA
Second Place, From The Mind’s Eye, Pacific Art League, CA
CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
Sigma Partners, Menlo Park, CA
Velogic, Sunnyvale, CA
Arizona Realty, Scottsdale, AZ
