by Stephanie Block
St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery has always been a beautiful place to spend the day, but this month they have really raised the bar—or chair, ahem—turning the whole property into an interactive sculpture garden featuring over 30 custom-made, terroir-inspired “SEATs”, artfully arranged across the wide lawn, pétanque court and demonstration vineyard. The exhibit, called “Take a SEAT @ St. Supéry” (#StSuperySEAT), is part of Arts Council Napa Valley’s #ArtsinApril celebration and is curated by the renowned studio of Delaney + Chin. The exhibit runs now through April 30, 2016.
This stunning exhibition allows visitors to roam the extensive property at St. Supêry, just off Highway 29 in Rutherford, encountering adventures in furniture along the way like Tom Segura’s hand-made kayak, “The Penguino,” which is moored at the base of the flagpoles. Famed restorer Michael Engle’s rare 1941 Cushman vehicle is parked by the demonstration vineyard. There are even heated SEATs, thanks to Galanter & Jones. And at the property’s entrance, to announce the entire exhibit and tie it all together, is Delaney + Chin with Eugene Ganchenko’s eight-foot corkscrew abstraction.
“Winemaking is an art form. There is a natural affinity between crafting wine and creating art in all disciplines,” says Topher Delaney, artist and curator. “St. Supéry’s long-standing focus on education with commitment to inspire and enlighten resonates with Delaney + Chin. Artists are sharing their talents in an active winery setting rather than a museum. This exhibition rewards the curious.”
The adventure continues inside the tasting room, where guests can enjoy a portfolio of elegant, sustainably-grown estate wines. Upstairs in the art gallery are even more fabulous works of art. Kana Takahashi invites people to make their mark on her bench and add red yarn. Gyöngy Laky’s twig-and-nail word sculptures spelling “IF” and “BLUR” are extremely evocative and a gorgeous series of watercolors and drawings by Jessica Abbott Williams of Berkeley’s Brushstrokes Studio graces the main hallway and stairwell.
But wait, there’s more! Not only can visitors interact with all this artwork every day in April, but on Sundays there are workshops with the artist. Jessica Abbott Williams leads attendees through the winery grounds to find vines and flowers with which to make meditative drawings. Tom Segura teaches hand-tooling, and David Swaim’s Fold School presentation leaves his class one chair richer when they make their own cardboard furniture. Sign up for these workshops online before they sell out.
Wine country already beckons this season with lovely weather and vineyards abloom after bud break. St. Supéry’s magnificent Take a SEAT exhibit is just the cushion on the seat.
Reserve a spot at a Sunday workshop at stsupery.com/artsinapril or by calling the St. Supéry estate concierge at 707.963.4507.
Now through April 30, 2016.
Connect with St. Supéry via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest with the hashtag #StSuperySEAT to follow St. Supéry’s DailySEAT, highlighting a unique chair and its story every day throughout the month. Use #ArtsinApril to connect with the overall Arts Council Napa Valley event.
Stephanie Block (@stephanieblock) is an award-winning writer and St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery’s (@stsupery) social media maven and wine educator. She took her WSET Level II, Level III Harvest Bootcamp, and French Wine Scholar program at the Napa Valley Wine Academy. She has also been a social media strategist for national gender equality entities and has engaged in humanitarian work around the world. A former travel and entertainment editor, Stephanie has ordered wine in almost eighty countries and lived in six.
