Library Public Art Galleries
The Lafayette Library and Learning Center Art Galleries
The Lafayette Library and Learning Center features two gallery spaces that are designed to support rich and diverse artistic expression, provide the opportunity for local artists to display their works, and to encourage the appreciation of the visual arts in Lafayette's cultural center.
Exhibits are held in the Community Hall Gallery, located in the Don Tatzin Community Hall (adjacent to the library), and in the Homework Center within the library. Exhibits are selected by the City of Lafayette Public Art Committee.
Spring Exhibitions
The Public Art Committee is excited to announce its spring exhibitions: Surface by Mary Stets Chabolla, now on view in the Community Hall Gallery and the Homework Center, and Hearing Shapes, Seeing Sounds, an exhibition by sculptor John Poole, on view in the Display Case.
Surface features abstract paintings created with oil and cold wax, a medium that allows the artist to build rich layers of color and texture. Through a process of applying, scraping back, and rebuilding paint, shapes emerge and dissolve, suggesting fragments of landscape, movement, and memory. Guided by intuition and the evolving surface of each work, the paintings explore the balance between control and spontaneity while sharing a subtle continuity of color and form across the exhibition.
Poole’s sculptural works explore the intersection of sound, form, and storytelling. Drawing from his background as both a musician and maker, his pieces transform materials into expressive objects that suggest rhythm, memory, and narrative. Blending humor, imagination, and personal history, the works invite viewers to experience shapes as if they carry sound—and sounds as if they have physical form.
These exhibitions are on view at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center from February 26 through May 31, 2026.
An artist reception will be held Monday, May 11, from 5–6:30 pm in the Community Hall Gallery. Come meet the artists!
Exhibition Statement
Surface is a collection of abstract paintings created in oil and cold wax that reflect my ongoing fascination with layering, texture, and the tension between control and letting go. I began this body of work as a way to explore how surfaces hold traces of what came before, while responding to the flow of newly introduced shapes, veils, and contrasts that contribute to and enhance the abstract composition.
Each piece is built through many layers that are applied, scraped back, and rebuilt. Shapes emerge and dissolve, suggesting fragments of place, movement, and memory, without resolving into fixed narratives. As I work, there is an internal flow that is largely unplanned, guided by intuition and a responsiveness to what is unfolding on the surface.
While each painting stands on its own, together they share a subtle continuity of color, texture, and form, allowing them to function as a cohesive exhibit.
What I love most about this medium is the way the paintings’ final story reveals itself through the visual language of form, color, and texture, when the push and pull of these elements comes to rest.
Artist Bio
I am an abstract artist with a multidisciplinary background that includes printmaking, painting, jewelry making, and photography. I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Louisiana State University in 1981, specializing in printmaking. After college, I eventually moved to California, where I raised my three children. Always looking for a creative outlet, I began making one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry, which I sold at in-home trunk shows.
When I became an empty nester, I turned my focus to painting—specifically to plein air. Painting outdoors, responding to the landscape and light in real time, was both rewarding and challenging. I attended several workshops with award-winning plein air painters, including Frank Serrano, Kevin Courter, and Lynn Gertenbach.
After many years of painting plein air, I found myself increasingly drawn to a more abstract approach to the landscape. For me, it was a shift that offered more freedom from subject matter while remaining compositionally rigorous. I was introduced to oil and cold wax by Anne Hebebrand, an internationally recognized contemporary abstract painter and one of the most influential educators in the cold wax medium. Through ongoing workshops with Anne, she has remained a mentor to me, and her guidance continues to inform my exploration of this medium. In addition to Anne’s in-person workshops, I have taken online courses with renowned oil and cold wax artists Jerry McLaughlin and Rebecca Crowell, whose expertise and personal critiques have also helped to enrich my work.
For inquiries: Email mschabolla@gmail.com
How to Apply
Exhibits are selected by the City of Lafayette Public Art Committee. Artists interested in displaying artwork must submit a complete Exhibit Packet, including executed Art Gallery Release, an exhibition statement and an artist biography. Please contact Public Art Liaison Jenny Rosen for more information.
The exhibition calendar is divided into three seasonal shows—Winter, Spring, and Fall—with a fixed deadline application process. Application deadlines are as follows:
- September 15 for Winter (November - January)
- January 15 for Spring (March - May)
- June 15 for Fall (August - October)
Applications shall be reviewed by the Public Art Committee at its regular monthly meetings. Scheduling of exhibitions is dependent upon availability. No alternate works may be substituted for accepted works.
Space and Guidelines
The Community Hall gallery features approximately 32 linear feet of exhibition space. The Homework Center features approximately 20 linear feet of exhibition space. Works may be installed in a single row or salon-style. All two-dimensional artwork must be suitably framed and equipped with hanging apparatus (D rings and wire) that will enable the artwork to be installed on the Gallery’s picture rail hanging system. Work that is fragile in nature or whose framing or display arrangement is of questionable durability may be rejected. Absolutely no nails, hooks, and/or mounting tape will be allowed to install any exhibit at the Gallery.
Location
The Don Tatzin Community Hall and the Lafayette Library and Learning Center are located at 3491 Mt Diablo Blvd, Lafayette, CA 94549
Hours
The Homework Center is open to the public during library hours. The Community Hall Gallery is open to the public only during public events occurring in the Community Hall.