M Stark Gallery

Call Directions Website

M Stark Gallery M Stark Gallery features contemporary fine art by Peninsula artists whose work is in dialogue with contemporary fine art movements.

Margaret Niven’s rose paintings are inspired by Cy Twombly (1928-2011). Twombly was an American painter, sculptor, and p...
10/13/2026

Margaret Niven’s rose paintings are inspired by Cy Twombly (1928-2011). Twombly was an American painter, sculptor, and photographer best known for his large-scale works featuring expressive, scribbled marks, calligraphic lines, and references to classical mythology and poetry. Twombly’s Rose Series is a group of five monumental paintings created in 2008, near the end of his career, and first exhibited at Gagosian Gallery in London in 2009.

Niven’s rose paintings are on view through November 1 in Niven’s solo exhibition “Protected Landscapes” at M Stark Gallery HMB, 727 Main Street, Half Moon Bay.

Pink Roses for Cy, 2026, oil paint and collage, 12 x 30 inches, $900
Red Roses for Cy, 2026, oil paint and collage, 10 x 30 inches, $900
Margaret Niven

We invite you to visit M Stark Gallery HMB in Half Moon Bay to see “Until Then,” inspired by Glenwood Open Space Preserv...
10/06/2026

We invite you to visit M Stark Gallery HMB in Half Moon Bay to see “Until Then,” inspired by Glenwood Open Space Preserve, one of fourteen paintings in Margaret Niven’s solo exhibition, “Protected Landscapes,” on view through November 1.

Glenwood Open Space Preserve in Scott’s Valley is one of many landscapes protected by Land Trust Santa Cruz County Land Trust Santa Cruz County.

Pictured: Niven, Until Then, 2026, oil and collage, 30 x 60 inches

M Stark Gallery
727 Main Street
Half Moon Bay
Open Saturdays 11-5, Sundays 11-4, First Fridays 4-6
Margaret Niven

Join us in the gallery on Saturday, November 14, at 11:00 a.m. for this free public program.DBFrankel Enterprises, a pio...
10/05/2026

Join us in the gallery on Saturday, November 14, at 11:00 a.m. for this free public program.

DBFrankel Enterprises, a pioneering book publisher and podcast producer, proudly presents Fierce Voices: Women Reflecting on the Pleasures and Indignities of Aging. The book includes the reflections of 37 women from across the United States who offer their insights about aging. Topics they address include “Finding a Lifeline in Friendships,” “Family and Laughter,” “Leaving a Legacy,” and “Retaining Agency and Autonomy,” among a number of other concerns.

Fierce Voices is available now on Amazon.

Hosted by M Stark Gallery HMB, 727 Main Street, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019

M Stark Gallery HMB and Margaret Niven have collaborated to offer “Cypress Grove” for $20, a fine art print of the magic...
10/05/2026

M Stark Gallery HMB and Margaret Niven have collaborated to offer “Cypress Grove” for $20, a fine art print of the magical cypress tree tunnel at Moss Beach’s Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.

100% of the proceeds from this print go to the Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve 501c3. Available in the gallery now.

All of Niven’s artworks depicting images of the tree tunnel in her solo show “Protected Landscapes” sold opening weekend. You can see them on view in the gallery through November 1.

Dear Gallery Friends,I am delighted to announce that Birgitta Bower’s second solo exhibition with M Stark Gallery opens ...
10/05/2026

Dear Gallery Friends,

I am delighted to announce that Birgitta Bower’s second solo exhibition with M Stark Gallery opens next month. I discovered Birgitta’s work hanging in a group show at our local nonprofit collective, Coastal Arts League, when I first arrived in Half Moon Bay five years ago. Birgitta’s process is attentive and methodical, and she usually finishes only about two pieces per year. In “Wild and Wooly II,” we will be presenting her two new 2026 pieces: Tidepooling and Queen Anne’s Lace. The eleven others on view will be masterworks from her archives.

In the words of Stanford arts and culture educator Peter Tokofsky PhD who wrote a beautiful essay about Birgitta for her first exhibition here in 2024, “…self-taught and outsider artists…push the boundaries of convention in their search for new forms of expression that capture their vision… Self-taught artists and their unexpected techniques help expand our understanding of art.”

“Bob’s Pumpkin Patch” is on view in the gallery this month as a preview. I can imagine this piece going to someone who loves Halloween and this time of year very much! One of my favorite elements of “Bob’s” is that the squash blossoms in the lower left protrude about three inches from the canvas, and the stem of the middle pumpkin protrudes two inches. Plus, there are lots of lively tendrils. What other easter eggs can you find? We recommend hanging this piece year-round in a place where you can get up close to see the detail.

See you in the gallery,

Marianna

Pictured: Birgitta Bower, Bob’s Pumpkin Patch, 2021, wool, yarn, and embroidery thread on wool backing, 29 x 31 inches, $1,800. Squash blossoms lower left extend three inches out of picture plane, middle pumpkin stem two inches.

Wild and Wooly World

I had a wonderful conversation with a visitor in the gallery yesterday. We talked forest ecologist Suzanne Simard’s 1997...
09/28/2026

I had a wonderful conversation with a visitor in the gallery yesterday. We talked forest ecologist Suzanne Simard’s 1997 landmark discovery that carbon moves between trees through shared mycorrhizal fungal networks.

Older “mother trees” can send carbon, nutrients, and water to younger or shaded seedlings — sometimes over distances of 100+ feet. When a tree is attacked by insects or stressed by drought, it releases chemical signals through the fungal network. Neighboring trees detect these signals and activate defenses in advance. Some studies suggest trees may adjust resource sharing depending on whether connected neighbors are “relatives.”

Thank you, Maureen, for expanding my appreciation of “Summer Shade” by Margaret Niven. This painting is on view in Niven’s solo exhibition “Protected Landscapes” through November 1.

Pictured: Summer Shade, 2024, oil paint and collage on panel, 20 x 48 inches, $3,000

Congratulations Coastside Farmers’ Markets on TWENTY-FIVE years! WOW! Oh, how I love your fruits, veggies, flowers, and ...
09/27/2026

Congratulations Coastside Farmers’ Markets on TWENTY-FIVE years! WOW! Oh, how I love your fruits, veggies, flowers, and more! Founder/Director Erin Tormey is a Coastside treasure. I’m proud to be a sponsor of this institution that is an important part of our community, featuring local farmers, ranchers, and fishermen. Plus bakers and more!

Pro tip: For those of you who want to avoid traffic when driving to Half Moon Bay on a Saturday, hit the road early and arrive when the farmers market opens at 9AM. After coffee and breakfast, visit the shops in our historic downtown, everyone’s open by 11AM, including M Stark Gallery HMB.

Join us this Friday, September 25, at 5PM to hear Margaret Niven speak about her collection “Protected Landscapes” on vi...
09/20/2026

Join us this Friday, September 25, at 5PM to hear Margaret Niven speak about her collection “Protected Landscapes” on view at M Stark Gallery through November 1.
727 Main Street, Half Moon Bay, 94019 | mstarkgallery.com | 415-407-8743

Margaret Niven is known for her immersive images the green world—soft foliage; the quiet understory of plants; the dappled patterns of tree canopies; and the shifting shadows they cast. Her work celebrates the beauty of our coast, preserved through environmental stewardship.

Niven received her BFA and MFA in Art from UC Berkeley. She is a lifelong art educator, serving at West Valley College, Saratoga; Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey; University of California Santa Cruz, Porter College; Palma High School, Salinas, and more. She is the chair of the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission and director of art in the Scotts Valley Library. She lives in Scotts Valley and works in Santa Cruz.

Pictured: Despues de la Lluvia, 2025, collage of linocuts and oil paint on canvas, 36 x 30 inches, $4,000

Address

727 Main Street
Half Moon Bay, CA
94019

Opening Hours

Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 4pm

Telephone

+14154078743

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when M Stark Gallery posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category