The InstigatorSeptember art highlights include recent work from the Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts at Hallie Ford Museum of Art; “A Window to Discovery” by Dayna Collins (shown above); and work by Lillian Pitt at Salem Art Association’s Bush Barn Art Center, and more…
HALLIE FORD MUSEUM OF ART
Hallie Ford Museum, 700 State Street and is open 12 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Cost to explore is free for children, students 18+ and educators (with school ID); $8 adults, $5 seniors, and free for everyone on Tuesdays. For more information, visit willamette.edu/arts/hfma, or call 503-370-6855.
John Hitchcock (Comanche, born 1967), “Shouting Lightning from Their Eyes (Winter Birds),” 2021, lithograph, 34 x 25 inches, collection of the Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts, CSP 21-106.
Through December 2
Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts Biennial features a selection of over 20 contemporary prints created by artists Emily Arthur, Jeremy Okai Davis, John Hitchcock, Lehuauakea, Cory Peeke, Ralph Pugay, Wendy Red Star, and Fox Spears during their recent residencies at the Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts (CSIA). The Hallie Ford Museum of Art serves as the repository for the Crow’s Shadow Print Archive and as a dimension of the collaborative agreement with CSIA, hosts biennial exhibitions. This exhibition has been organized by the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in partnership with the CSIA, and curated by Rebecca Dobkins, professor emerita of anthropology at Willamette University and curator of Indigenous art at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.
September 19 through December 16
The Hallie Ford Museum of Art at 25: Highlights from the Permanent Collection — The Hallie Ford Museum of Art opened its doors for the first time in October 1998, and over the past quarter century has built an encyclopedic collection of Western and non-Western art and has mounted a dazzling array of temporary exhibitions intended to instruct, inspire, and delight. Over the years, the development of the permanent collection has been guided by Hallie Ford Museum of Art staff and its faculty-curators, as well as by the generosity, vision, and largesse of its many donors and patrons.
To celebrate its remarkable history and growth over the past twenty-five years, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art’s director, curators, outside scholars, and others have teamed up to mine the collection to reveal its many hidden treasures, often for the first time.
The exhibition represents a visual journey through the museum’s diverse permanent collection, featuring close to 100 works by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Northwest artists, as well as works from around the world, including ancient, traditional, and contemporary art, and pieces from the recently acquired Museum of Contemporary Craft. Visitors are invited to make their own visual connections between the thoughtfully juxtaposed works of art.
Sense of Place at Level 2 Gallery
LEVEL 2 GALLERY
Level 2 Gallery at the Salem Convention Center is curated by the Oregon Artists Series Foundation. Located on the second floor of the center, it features changing exhibits of work by established and emerging artists of the region. The Gallery is accessible Monday through Friday during regular business hours, during special events or by appointment by calling 503-589-1700. Info: oregonartistsseries.com
Through September 11
Sense of Place: Landscapes by Four Artists— Sense of Place brings together four artists who look at real and imagined locations through different lenses. Through their eyes, Place can be an area with definite or indefinite boundaries or areas within a particular spot or locality. A Sense is an awareness or recognition of something; the stimulus may be subjective and the entire process may be real – or mental and intellectual.
Through the paintings of Eugene artists Margaret Coe and Jon Jay Cruson, Nancy Lindburg working in Salem, and Matthew Dennison in Portland and the North Oregon Coast, this exhibit explores and depicts specific places and the relationships of those artists and their environments. It also examines how humans interact with the natural and built environment and the ways that locations and places have an impact on people.
The works of art collectively reflect the subjective senses of the artists reacting to places ranging from the isolated Dakota prairie of Nancy Lindburg’s youth, to the Pacific Northwest highways that Jon Jay Cruson likes to explore, to Margaret Coe’s elegant Italian cityscapes, and the lush Oregon fauna living close by Matthew Dennison. The works create or preserve memorable experiences that make each place distinctively different.
September 20 through January 22
Miraculous Occurrences: Paintings by Gary Westford — “As an artist, I construct visual narratives that speak to our time, and yet, are timeless and universal. I’m committed to making good paintings that show a love for the medium of oil paint, and to a vision that is both clearly realized and open to interpretation,” says Gary Westford. “These Miraculous Occurrences paintings bear witness, as narratives, for what I have seen and experienced over time.”
Gary Westford was born in Oakland, California, and moved to Oregon in 1979. An artist and curator, he lives and works in Salem. He received an MA in painting from the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied with Elmer Bischoff, Joan Brown, and Robert Colescott. His paintings and mixed media constructions have been shown in over thirty regional, national, and international juried exhibitions in the US and Canada. He credits the work of Surrealist painter Rene Magritte, poet W. H. Auden, composer Erik Satie and filmmaker Stanley Kubrick among his artistic influences.
Sense of Place in the Art Hall
ART HALL @ Salem Public Library
A year-round gallery space under the guidance of the Salem Public Art Commission, the Art Hall at the Salem Public Library features the Salem Reads Art Exhibit each February as part of Salem Reads: One Book, One Community. During the rest of the year, the Oregon Artists Series Foundation will present curated rotating exhibits featuring regional artists.
Through September 11
Sense of Place: Landscapes by Four Artists— This show is a companion to the work on display at Level 2 at Salem Convention Center.
September 20 through January 24
Miraculous Occurrences: Paintings by Gary Westford — This show is a companion to the work on display at Level 2 at Salem Convention Center.
SALEM ON THE EDGE
From fine art, up-and-coming artists, graffiti muralists and more, Salem on the Edge features work by PNW artists in a variety of media both for purchase and in rotating exhibits. Stop in and visit at 156 Liberty St. NE. Info: salemontheedge.com
Dayna Collins, “Fanciful Thoughts”, plaster, oil and cold wax on panel, 30″x40″ 2023
Through September 30
See new work by featured artist Dayna Collins. Dayna takes a jump into the deep end of color as she paints her responses to a series of “what if I do this” questions, savoring the endless possibilities of pushing color in new directions that cause a gasp of delight and an element of surprise.
Tammy Jo Wilson “Oceans Apart” Oil on canvas. 24″ x 24″ 2023
Guest artist Tammy Jo Wilson is a black female artist and curator residing in Portland. Tammy Jo is the director of the Bush House Museum in Salem.
Additional visiting artist, Brad Earl of Sisters, Oregon, will have his artwork in the gallery for the next couple of months. “I’m an architect and self-taught artist, with a somewhat whimsical spin on streetscapes and scenes of everyday life, including old Typewriters and Tractors.”
SALEM ART ASSOCIATION
Salem Art Association at Bush Barn Art Center & Annex, 600 Mission St. SE. Visit the center 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 12 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 503-581‑2228 or visit salemart.org.
September 5 through 30
Zine Show — Explores zines from across Oregon. This exhibition is part of a greater year-long project that includes workshops, a community zine project with downtown and area businesses, an internship, zine art kits and an on-site Artist in Residence.
Through September 30
Zine Artist in Residence | Victoria Timm — Victoria “Tory” Timm is a Salemite zinester, extraordinarily queer, neurodivergent and anti-capitalist. Her zines can usually be found at Book Bin, Blast Off! Vintage, or the Art Department. Tory will be in the Studio throughout the month of September creating zines and engaging with our zine exhibition. Hours to be determined. Find her on Instagram @vickkunst
Through October 29
Zaptoec Weaving: Francisco Bautista — I am Francisco Bautista, the fourth generation Master Weaver in my family. My wife, Laura, and I were born in Teotitlán del Valle, a Zapotec village in Oaxaca, Mexico. We have always been fascinated by the infinite possibilities of crossing threads. We use only hand-spun, hand-dyed wool, and weave each of our works on a foot pedal loom. The vibrant colors you see in our weavings come from our own natural and aniline dyes. Together we work to ensure that the quality achieved by the Master Weavers of old will continue to live on in each piece we weave.
The Art of Lillian Pitt: Past and Present — Lillian Pitt is a Pacific Northwest Native American artist whose ancestors lived in and near the Columbia River Gorge. The focus of her work is on creating contemporary fine art pieces that delight today’s art lovers, and at the same time, honor the history and legends of her people.
Through October 21
Murmurations | Anne Kresge & Mike Nord — A gathering of visual/sound experiences. “The visual work for this exhibition evolved over time from concept to dreaming to exploring materials to creating. The theme represents the coalescing and dispersing of forces and elements.” — Anne Kresge. “The Murmurations soundscape aims to transform the Annex Gallery environment into one that is sonically enveloping and time-based. This is intended to heighten viewers’ interaction with Ann’s works in the space and their connection to the coalescing and dispersing that creates murmuration.” — Mike Nord.
GALLERY 444
At Gallery 444, located within Elsinore Framing at 444 Ferry St. SE, see work by Paul Griffitts and Jim Hockenhull during September. Info: 503-581-4642, elsinoregallery.com
