Ren Brown Collection

At the western end of Sonoma county, the Ren Brown Collection is a long-established and well-respected art gallery. Opened in early 1990, it is conveniently located on Coast Highway One at the northern end of Bodega Bay. Housed in a refurbished building with shoji and a small, serene Japanese garden, the gallery is dedicated to showing contemporary art from both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

A major focus is on modern prints by artists living in Japan, including Toko Shinoda, Daniel Kelly, Ryohei Tanaka, Sarah Brayer, Katsunori Hamanishi, Yoshikatsu Tamekaneand others. Many have works included in the collections of prominent museums, and been exhibited around the world. Some of this artwork can be found nowhere else in northern California. The original prints are done in traditional woodblock, as well as more Occidental mediums, such as serigraphy, etching, stencil, and lithography-often on fine handmade papers. Subjects and themes vary widely, and images are both abstract and representational.

Regional artists of Northern California include Micah Schwaberow, Seiko Tachibana, Bruce Johnson, Christopher Dewees, Mayumi Oda, Carol Brighton. and many more Works include sculpture, paintings, original prints, handmade paper and fine jewelry. In addition, the gallery features a varied selection of antique Japanese furnishings-tansu chests, baskets and more.

Recently we have broadened our collection of contemporary ceramic work. Artists from East and West are featured. The pieces are quite varied - functional, sculptural, stoneware or porcelain, wood-fired or salt-glazed. Some of the artists are John Chambers, Bill Geisinger, Mitch Iburg, Masahiko Ichino, Aki Katsuura and Tri Tran.

Ren and Robert chose to move to the Bodega Bay area because of a longtime love for the ocean and for Sonoma County. Finding that Bodega Bay offered a convenient location with ready public access, the two co-owners set about remodeling an existing older building. Ren’s childhood friend Halcyon Campoamor and her husband Roberto, who are architects in Berkeley, designed the renovations. They successfully incorporated Japanese design elements into the plans and have made the space particularly conducive for looking at fine art.

There are also Japanese-style gardens with a koi pond, tea house, stone garden and black bamboo grove that are occasionally open for public viewing.