Same Blue as the Sky
Barbara Stauffacher Solomon, Elana Cooper (courtesy of Creativity Explored), Garry Knox Bennett, Isaac Vazquez Avila, Jeffrey Sincich, Kate Greenberg, Nobuto Suga, Squeak Carnwath
January 22 - March 1, 2025
Same Blue as the Sky is a biennial exhibition co-curated by Studio AHEAD @studioahead and Mariah Nielson @mariah_nielson that celebrates Northern California’s unique cultural heritage and gives thanks to the artists who inspire the studio.
In this second iteration, Same Blue recognizes the historic freedom and independence that artists have found in Northern California, but turns toward the shared experience of our densely populated and expressively-built cities. In her quintessential book Green Architecture, San Francisco architect and graphic designer Barbara Stauffacher Solomon argued that “landscapes with buildings are where history takes place.” While geography might shape human behavior and to some extent our ideas, “people are not statues or animals set in the scenery...[t]hey shape the landscape of facts to the landscape of their imagination when they inhabit it.”



Isaac Vazquez Avila
Carved Effigy Motivated by Toltec Columns, 2025
Red wood, Sequoia wood, acrylic paint, spray paint
96 × 24 × 17 inches

Isaac Vazquez Avila
Carved Effigy Motivated by Toltec Columns, 2025
Red wood, Sequoia wood, acrylic paint, spray paint
96 × 24 × 17 inches

Nobuto Suga
Barchan, 2025
Wood (deodar cedar)
42 × 46 × 17 inches

Squeak Carnwath
Night and Day, 1985
Charcoal on paper
100.5 × 85 × 3 inches framed

Garry Knox Bennett
Tablelamp #11, 2000
Wood, PVC, matte gold plated brass, fiberglass, Colorcore laminate, paint, lamp parts
58.5 × 18.25 × 30 inches

Isaac Vazquez Avila
Popular Bird, 2025
Wood, acrylic paint, molding paste
22 x 10.5 × 1.5 inches

Isaac Vazquez Avila
Popular Bird, 2025
Wood, acrylic paint, molding paste
22 x 10.5 × 1.5 inches

Isaac Vazquez Avila
Franciscan Skull, 2025
Reclaimed wood, house paint, epoxy, grit
8 × 6 × 8 inches

Isaac Vazquez Avila
Franciscan Skull, 2025
Reclaimed wood, house paint, epoxy, grit
8 × 6 × 8 inches

Isaac Vazquez Avila
2 Headed Moonrise, 2025
Reclaimed wood from San Francisco Bay dock, molding paste, acrylic paint
20 × 3 × 11.5 inches

Isaac Vazquez Avila
2 Headed Moonrise, 2025
Reclaimed wood from San Francisco Bay dock, molding paste, acrylic paint
20 × 3 × 11.5 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Chicken Sculpture, 1999-2000
Claro walnut, rosewood, oak, stain
21 × 20 × 7.5 inches

Nobuto Suga
Corridor, 2025
Wood (deodar cedar, douglas fir)
42 × 61 × 11 inches

Jeffrey Sincich
Around the Corner, 2025
Cotton fabric, quilt batting, wooden panel, walnut artist frame
72.5 × 144.5 × 1.375 inches

Jeffrey Sincich
Around the Corner, 2025 (detail)
Cotton fabric, quilt batting, wooden panel, walnut artist frame
72.5 × 144.5 × 1.375 inches

Kate Greenberg
Lean Chair, 2020
California elm, stainless steel, cotton, foam
28 × 25 × 34.5 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Chair with Yellow and Latticed Back, 2005
Rosewood, Alaskan yellow cedar, enamel paint
45 × 18 × 29 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Chair #851, 2004
Mahogany, G-10 (laminated fiberglass), steam bent wood, Alaskan yellow cedar, paint
32 × 24 × 27 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Chair #851, 2004
Mahogany, G-10 (laminated fiberglass), steam bent wood, Alaskan yellow cedar, paint
32 × 24 × 27 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Bandsawn Container (Purple), 2015
Parallam (laminated construction material), walnut, pigmented epoxy, paint
7 × 10.5 × 7.5 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Bandsawn Container (Purple), 2015
Parallam (laminated construction material), walnut, pigmented epoxy, paint
7 × 10.5 × 7.5 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Bandsawn Container (Green), 1996
Douglas fir, pigmented epoxy, paint
6 × 13 × 9.5 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Bandsawn Container (Green), 1996
Douglas fir, pigmented epoxy, paint
6 × 13 × 9.5 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Bandsawn Container (Yellow), 2015
Parallam (laminated construction material), walnut, pigmented epoxy, paint
7.5 × 9 × 8.5 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Bandsawn Container (Yellow), 2015
Parallam (laminated construction material), walnut, pigmented epoxy, paint
7.5 × 9 × 8.5 inches

Garry Knox Bennett
Bandsawn Containers

Isaac Vazquez Avila
Untitled, 2025
Reclaimed wood, house paint, metal, granite
10 × 6 × 22 inches

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
Vineyards of People, 1985
Colored pencil, graphite, photograph print, double-sided tape
11 × 8.5 inches

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
Super Cloud Over S.F., 2015
Colored pencil, graphite, photograph print, double-sided tape, typewriter ink, vellum
11 × 8.5 inches

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
Staircase Alta Plaza Park #1 1970
Colored pencil, graphite, photograph print, double-sided tape, typewriter ink, vellum
11 × 8.5 inches

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
Staircase Alta Plaza Park #2, 1970
Colored pencil, graphite, photograph print, double-sided tape, typewriter ink, vellum
11 × 8.5 inches

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
Treasure Island, 1986
Colored pencil, graphite, vellum
11 × 8.5 inches

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
Treasure Island, 1986
Colored pencil, graphite, vellum
11 × 8.5 inches

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
This is Not a Ping Pong Table, 1990
Oil on canvas with removable net
108 × 60 inches

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
This is Not a Ping Pong Table, 1990
Oil on canvas with removable net
108 × 60 inches

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
This is Not a Ping Pong Table, 1990 (detail)
Oil on canvas with removable net
108 × 60 inches

Nobuto Suga
Boardwalk_One to Ten, 2025
Wood (deodar cedar, douglas fir)
126-129 × 22.5 × 4.5 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2024
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2024
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2023
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2024
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2023
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2024
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2024
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2023
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2024
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2023
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2024
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2024
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2023
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2024
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2023
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2023
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2023
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2023
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Elana Cooper
Untitled, 2023
Ink on paper
22.5 × 15 inches

Kate Greenberg
Anthophila Tennis, 2025
Pearwood, silvered poplar, coated steel, aluminum, birch plywood, lacquer, rubber
108 × 60 × 35 inches

Kate Greenberg
Anthophila Tennis, 2025 (detail)
Pearwood, silvered poplar, coated steel, aluminum, birch plywood, lacquer, rubber
108 × 60 × 35 inches

Squeak Carnwath
Sum Equations, 1981
Oil on canvas
96 × 72 inches