Horn and Quicksilver synonymous with art

Where does the search begin for some of the most original and provocative art in Sonoma County?

In Forestville. Where else?

That's where ground-breaking gallery owner and influential local arts advocate Khysie Horn owns and operates an art showcase, the Quicksilver Mine Co.

Horn's Sonoma County history dates back nearly three decades, including stints at venues in Guerneville and Sebastopol. Since 2003, she has focused her efforts on Quicksilver, named for an old mercury mine in the Russian River area.

Over the years she has established a solid reputation for discovering and promoting some of the county's most independent and imaginative artists.

"It's about finding somebody who's doing something you haven't seen before, or a local artist whose work hasn't been seen much," said Horn.

Monty Monty, the Santa Rosa assemblage artist whose "Dangerous Toys" exhibit closes Sunday, is a good example. His current work combines bits of vintage tools and machines with old wood and metal to create imaginative but deadly-looking "toys:" a knife mounted on a skate and titled "Roller Blade"; a Raid insecticide can with a wooden handle, titled "Death Rattle."

"There are three kinds of galleries,"Monty said, "a gallery that promotes itself, a gallery that promotes its clientele and a gallery that promotes the artists. Khysie promotes the artists."

This is Monty's third solo show at Quicksilver, an association he considers a big success. "Khysie and I are approaching 100 sales of my work," he said.

Horn is a petite, soft-spoken woman of 58 who contends she'd rather listen to others than talk about herself. On a recent afternoon she did just that. She and Monty sat at a picnic table on the patio behind the gallery, easily lapsing into an affable banter that demonstrated their comfort with each other.

"At some galleries, the staff may not know much about the artists' work," Monty said. "You can come into this gallery and get your questions answered."

And what sort of questions do gallery visitors ask about Monty's work?

"All kinds," Horn said with a laugh. "Mostly, &‘What's going on in his head?'"

"It's crowded in there," Monty answered, lightly tapping his painter's cap.

Sebastopol sculptor Michael Cooper offered his own assessment of Horn's virtues. His full-sized wood and metal vehicles go on display at Quicksilver Nov. 19.

"Khysie is a gem," he said. "For cutting-edge art, Sonoma County is still a tough place. So she's a breath of fresh air taking a chance on artists like me, who won't sell a damn thing."

Horn's crusade on behalf of local artists goes beyond her own place. Five years ago, she helped two dozen galleries start the Sonoma County Gallery Group to promote local artwork, she and served as president for the first three years.

Born in Connecticut, Horn became a citizen of the world at age 6 when her parents sold their house, bought a 41-foot sailboat and set off down the Atlantic coast.They sailed around the world, including a passage through the Panama Canal and long stops in New Zealand and Hawaii.

Her parents broke up along the way, and Khysie continued to travel with her father, an expert in aeronautics and oceanography and a part-time teacher. ("Khysie," by the way, is an old family name.)

She credits him with influencing her commitment to arts and crafts. "I've always been interested in handcrafts,"Horn said. "To keep me occupied on the boat, my dad had a junk box, and we'd make things."

After working in a Massachusetts institution for the developmentally disabled and earning a bachelor's degree in management of human services at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, Horn moved to Sonoma County, where she had visited friends.

She got started by selling gifts, cards, books and locally handmade crafts, then gradually turned her attention to fine arts.

"I just love following the artists," said Horn. "I can't think of anything more interesting than working with the people who make these things."

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at 521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. See his ARTS blog at http://arts.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.