Image: Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco
Dolby Chadwick Gallery is presenting ‘To Know the Dark,’ an exhibition of recent work by Mayme Kratz, on view October 1–31, 2026. The opening reception is scheduled for Thursday, October 1, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The gallery’s listed address is 210 Post Street, Suite 205, San Francisco, California 94108.
For more than three decades, Kratz has arranged seedpods, branches, animal bones and other organic materials gathered in and around her home in Phoenix, Arizona, and during walks through the desert, suspending them within layers of colored resin. She selects particular discoveries for the memories or longings they awaken, then sands the resin to a smooth, matte finish that encourages slow, attentive looking.
The ‘Dark Garden’ series evokes the mysterious sensory richness of nighttime, including its fluctuating light, subtle fragrances and sounds. ‘Dark Garden 21,’ 2026, combines resin, rabbit brush, poppy seeds and fig beetle elytra on panel. ‘Vanishing Light 58,’ 2026, is made with resin, San Felipe Dysodia and Gecko on panel.
The gallery’s exhibition account says that, following emergency surgery and a long recovery, Kratz thought differently about light and mortality. Unable to lift heavy materials or stand for long periods, she devoted herself to the series, patiently fitting each pod into place.
Kratz was born in 1958 in San Diego County, and her work has been exhibited at the San Jose Museum of Art, Phoenix Art Museum and Tucson Museum of Art.
