www.montereycountynow.com APRIL 17-23, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 33 ART There is a new gallery in Pacific Grove—480 Lighthouse Gallery—created to promote local and regional artists. It is committed to aiding their success, keeping the commission taken by the gallery minimal, at 10 percent. “We’re not really looking to make profits,” says Elizabeth Rodriguez, the gallery manager. Despite this humble approach, the 10,000-square-foot space (in what was previously Hambrook’s auction house) is now the largest art gallery on the Monterey Peninsula. And the collection is diverse. Inside one can find any art medium except photography—and perhaps textile works, although the gallery is open to the latter. The gallery opened in August 2024, located on the commercial fringe of Lighthouse Avenue. Its space astounds most everyone who happens to open the door, including the artists. When the gallery first reached out, some artists seemed skeptical, expecting a small, obscure place, Rodriguez recalls. It’s easy to understand the awe. The space is vast, bright and temple-like—white walls, light hardwood floor, two stories—simply laid out and well-illuminated by sun and lamps. “Pacific Grove needed this,” Rodriguez says with a smile. It’s a pleasure to wander among pieces, each having enough space to be admired individually. But there are the recognized names of local artists— Elizabeth Wrightman, Ekaterina de la Torre, Donald Neff, Cheryl Kampe, Jill Casty, Shagufta Khan, Edi Matsumoto, William Wyman, Lee Cox, Becky Olvera Schultz and Nancy Donaldson, to name just a few (close to 300 are represented). Each of them has a piece or a couple of pieces displayed, and the gallery seems, in a way, a walkable catalogue of the best art in Monterey County and its surroundings. According to Rodriguez, there is room for another 50 to 60 artists and their pieces. “We’ve sold quite a few by now,” she adds. “We are pretty happy with how it’s going.” Artists are excited, too. Wrightman calls it impressive. Olvera Schultz used the word “awe,” pointing out that her works, many of them indigenous masks, are hard to find in local galleries. “It has it all, including abstract, realism, Native American and impressionism,” Olvera Schultz says. 480 Lighthouse Gallery is at 480 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove. Open 11am-3pm Tuesday-Sunday. 915-7848, 480Lighthouse.com. DANIEL DREIFUSS Size Matters A massive Pacific Grove gallery shows the works of some 300 artists, with space for more. By Agata Popęda Artist Becky Olvera Schultz praises 480 Lighthouse Gallery for its selection, as well as its “beautiful hardwood floors and professionally mounted art and lighting.” TASTEsavor. enjoy. pouring daily from 12pm SCHEIDVINEYARDS.COM ESTATE WINERY & TASTING ROOM 1972 HOBSON AVE., GREENFIELD 831.386.0316 CARMEL TASTING ROOM SAN CARLOS & 7TH 831.626.WINE (9463)
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