Press Play Salem

Art on Exhibit this Spring in Salem

Explore art in Salem at these exhibits happening in March, April and/or May —

GRETCHEN SCHUETTE ART GALLERY

See fine art on display in the Gretchen Schuette Art Gallery at Chemeketa Community College, 4400 Lancaster Dr NE, where they host a variety of exhibitions by diverse regional and national artists each year. The gallery is located in building 3 on the college campus at 4000 Lancaster Dr. NE. It is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday. Info: 503-399-2533.

Galactic Ping-Pong by Kathryn Cellerini Moore.

March 30 through April 29
Galactic Ping-Pong — Interdisciplinary Artist Kathryn Cellerini Moore is mounting a technology-intensive exhibition that includes installations in two spaces: Chemeketa’s Gretchen Schuette Gallery and the Media Production Studio. “This immersive, multimedia experience is like a science-art walk,” said self-professed nerd and space-maker Kathryn.

Kathryn has been working with materials from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), an international consortium of scientists dedicated to creating and updating a detailed map of the universe, primarily Assistant Professor and Astrophysicist Sarah Tuttle at the University of Washington, to create her site-specific installation using a collection of SDSS astronomical observation plates. Themes running through both of the exhibits in the show include astronomy, the blurring of microscopic and cosmic scales, and providing a slightly otherworldly experience for introspection. Kathryn hopes the viewer will question the scale of the things they encounter. Her microscope videography footage, which will be projected onto the plates, are abstracted visages of everyday substances that inspire curiosity. And the overarching question  —as we create technologies that help us see amazing things and help us humans understand where we fit within large ecosystems, how do we harness that enthusiasm and wonder and become the stewards our planet needs us to be? Reception with the Artist: 12 to 1:30 p.m. April 6.

May 11 through June 3
2022 Student Art Show featuring art made by Chemeketa students over the past two years.


HALLIE FORD MUSEUM OF ART

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is Oregon’s third-largest art museum. It features works by Pacific Northwest and Native American artists, a diverse collection of traditional European, American and Asian art, as well as artifacts that date from antiquity. Frequently changing exhibitions include lectures, special events, tours, artist demonstrations and educational opportunities for children and adults.

The museum is located at 700 State Street and is open 12 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Cost to explore is $6, $4 for seniors (age 55 and older) and $3 for educators and students 18 and older. Admission is free for everyone on Tuesdays. For more information, visit willamette.edu/arts/hfma, or call 503-370-6855.

Arvie Smith (American, b. 1938), “Blondie,” 2015, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in., Collection of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Maribeth Collins Art Acquisition Fund, 2017.016.

Through March 26, 2022
Arvie Smith: Scarecrow — Arvie Smith (American, born 1938) is a nationally recognized Portland, Oregon African American painter and professor emeritus from the Pacific Northwest College of Art who explores issues of race, identity, and systemic racism in his work. Organized by director John Olbrantz, the exhibition features 26 paintings that span a twenty-five-year period on loan from public and private collections throughout the United States, including the Portland Art Museum and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, among others.

Through April 23, 2022
Depth of Field: Selections from the Bill Rhoades Collection of Northwest Photography — 

For the past 24 years, collector Bill Rhoades of Madras, Oregon has donated hundreds of examples of Northwest art to the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, including paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, Native American art, and most recently, photography. Organized by curator Jonathan Bucci, the exhibition presents a range of Northwest photographs donated by Rhoades over the past few years, including works by Robert Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Jim Lommasson, Mary Randlett, and Terry Toedtemeier, among others.

April 16 through May 14, 2022
Senior Studio Art Majors 2022: murmuration — Each spring, the museum highlights the work of senior art studio majors at Willamette University. The exhibition represents the culmination of their four years at Willamette and features work in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and mixed media.

This year’s senior art students include: 

  • Robbie Daugherty, Reno, Nevada
  • Ali Mackie, Santa Cruz, California
  • Madison Munro, Salem, Oregon
  • Ellie Ossana-Galen, Columbia, Missouri
  • Sarah Powell, Mount Vernon, Ohio
  • Billy Ullmann, Greer, South Carolina
  • Minna Zhou, Salem, Oregon

Chelsea Couch: boots, bullets, britches, & bologna — Each spring, the museum pairs its annual senior studio art majors’ exhibition with a small solo exhibition of recent work by one of the faculty members in the art department. This year, the exhibition will focus on recent work by visiting Assistant Professor of Art Chelsea Couch, who teaches sculpture, video art, performance art, and time-based media. Chelsea Couch received an MFA in Studio Art from University of Oregon and a BFA in Painting & Drawing from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Within “boots, bullets, britches, & bologna,” Couch explores contemporary concepts through materials and forms traditionally used for safety, protection, and packaging, while framing it through their identity as a queer non-binary person. 

April 16 through May 28, 2022
Putin’s Big Parade  — Jim Riswold is back to continue his battle against bullies, and this time his sharp wit is taking aim at Putin with “Putin’s Big Parade.” All prints are for sale as a fundraiser, and all proceeds and donations will go to the Hallie Ford Museum’s Ukrainian Relief Fund which supports Ukrainian refugees through ICOM (International Council of Museums) Poland.

The inspiration for this two-part photographic exhibition came around the end of February, 2022 as Putin began to invade Ukraine. Riswold says, “I had an idea while chopping vegetables. I nicknamed it ‘Putin on Parade.’ Long story short. Concept to getting new toy soldiers and a **** ton of sunflowers and blue forget-me-nots- we get it done, thanks to ‘Team Putin is a ****head’—Neil DaCosta, Birte von Kampen, May Arnold-Picard, Kyle Pero, and Phil Bard.”

Riswold goes on to say, “Part One is more about the Russians trouncing into Ukraine. The Russian army is overrated. It’s a motley collection of outdated equipment, poor morale (due to 30% conscription rate), outdated tactics, etc. Part Two focuses more on the Ukrainians and what’s happening to them — destruction, orphans, refugees, confused cows, etc.” 

The primary impetus for Riswold’s artwork has been to use his scathing humor, satire, and sense of the absurd to skewer, ridicule, and ultimately deflate the potency of notorious characters as well as history’s most impactful bullies, including  Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Mao Zedong, General George Custer, Vladimir Lenin, and Kim Jong Un, and now Putin. He works with a wide variety of photographers, printers, costumers, and even framers to create his artwork, and for him, the text or narrative that he writes to accompany his staged photographs are just as important as the photographs themselves. His work prominently features a host of plastic toys, and dolls, modeled after some of history’s most despicable figures and villains. 

May 7 through August 13, 2022
April Waters: Water-Ice-Sky, Antarctica — In 2018, Salem artist April Waters — known for her works that focus on water and contemporary women leaders — turned her attention to Antarctica. As a grantee of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers Program, Waters traveled to Palmer Station to observe, study, photograph, and sketch the ocean, icebergs, and Maar Glacier.

After witnessing firsthand the beauty and harsh realities of a landscape facing monumental change, coupled with profound implications for the entire globe, Waters returned to her studio to transform her sketches, photographs and experiences into paintings of the earth’s southernmost continent.

“As Antarctica is undergoing dramatic changes in response to climate change,” said marine biologist Dr. Kim Bernard of Oregon State University. “I hope that those who experience the paintings that April Waters has created from her Antarctic expedition feel awed and inspired to protect this place.”

The exhibition features a range of Antarctica paintings created over the past three years as well as text panels and ephemera that describe her journey and the science being conducted at Palmer Station, and includes a full-color brochure with an essay by art writer Bob Hicks.


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: www.oregonartistsseries.com 

 

Distorted Peripheral, Kristin Kuhns, 2022, mixed media

Through May 31, 2022
Woven Journals — See a collection of mixed media studio work created since the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic by West Salem artist Kristin Kuhns. While staying close to home, she and her family took comfort in their regular walks through Minto Brown Park, a familiar place of respite and for exercise in Kuhns’ life for years.  The works in this exhibit chronicle familiar elements from Minto Brown with a subtext of living during a global pandemic. The pieces weave contrasting images of comfort and disturbance, and written notes and thoughts are journaled within the woven patterns. 


SALEM ART ASSOCIATION

Founded in 1919, the Salem Art Association aims to engage the community in the appreciation of the arts through contemporary art exhibitions and events, arts education for youth and adults, and the preservation and interpretation of our shared cultural heritage.

Events and exhibits are located in the Bush Barn Art Center & Annex at 600 Mission St. SE. Visit the center 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Masks and social distancing required. There is no charge to visit, but donations are accepted. For more information, call 503-581‑2228 or visit salemart.org

Through March 26
Young Artists’ Showcase — Now in its 13th year, the Young Artists’ Showcase features artwork by hundreds of students. 

Rivers Series #2 | Sara Swanberg —This exhibit offers a narrative of years of experiences coming together. In the 90s, Sara Swanberg began white water rafting with friends developing a great love of rivers – the experience of flows at various levels, the feel of the easy and graceful turns and thrill of the deadly drops of rapids. Soon after working for a time with Oregon wood sculptor Roy Setziol, Sara became mesmerized by the grains of various wood types which often mirrored the wild and graceful flows of river water. The sculptures are the result of a love of rivers, white water rafting, clay and wood grain.

Through April 23
Traces — Like messages to the future and from the past, the traces of nine different paths converge. As mark makers of varying sorts, the Band of Artists Collective use the indications of their existence as persons in their artwork. An interest in superimposing experience, idea, image and color onto canvas, paper, wood and fabric is the shared language of any group of artists, this group included. This exhibit features the work of Elizabeth Bauman, Dayna Collins, Nancy Eng, Lucy Hewitt, Bonnie Hull, Susan Napack, Jessica Ramey, Katy Vigeland and Kay Worthington.

I Love Color — Brighten your day with a colorful selection of artwork from the SAA Permanent Collection. Guest Curator Shawna Merrill presents a joyous exhibition featuring every color of the rainbow. Me Encantan los Colores (I LOVE COLOR) and so will you!

Reminiscences is Park’s exploration of the memory, trauma, fear, and anxiety associated with death. “Speculating about the meaning of life and death often reveals that they do not need to be extraordinary to be significant,” said Park. “With the current pandemic, we would all be deliberating the concept of mortality. The intensity of this inevitable shadow forces us to accept the prospect of death, and this acceptance has an impact on how we live.

Mi cuerpo es mi hogar — Searching for the meaning of home is one of the themes in Stephanie Juanilla’s show Mi cuerpo es mi hogar. For most of my life, I’ve searched for the meaning of home. Attempting to understand whether home is a place, a person or a feeling. As much as my concept of home is tied to my family and community, I also believe that home is inside each of us,” said Juanillo.

April 1 through 30
Salem Art Association hosts Artist in Residence: Ryan Hopper in the Annex at Bush Barn Art Center — “My artwork is done in oil paintings, a printmaking processes that capture both land and animals with a decorative element to be incorporated in homes and public spaces. There is nothing like being surrounded by nature’s beauty….” 

April 27
Lunch and Learn — Salem Art Association is hosting a monthly virtual series for you to hear from some of our community’s most amazing artists and curators. Join us for lunch and learn, 12 to 1 p.m. April 27. April’s featured speaker is Frank Miller, photographer of the upcoming exhibition Object Lessons. RSVP to laura@salemart.org for a Google Calendar invite link to attend.

April 28 – May 28
Object Lessons | Frank Miller — Object Lessons is a series of photographs that uses extreme close-ups and lighting to explore the effects of time on organic and human-made objects. Reception: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 6

Photographing small objects involves a lot of challenges. Depth of field—the degree to which the focus extends into the photo—reduces as the camera moves closer. This shallow focus acts as a visual cue that gives us a feel for the size of the object and is often why miniatures in low-budget movies look fake. I eliminate any clues to the size of the subjects so that size becomes irrelevant.

To do this I use a technique often used in scientific photography called focus stacking, in which the camera is moved in tiny increments through the range of the photo, taking a shot at each stop. These photos are then put into a piece of software that extracts the sharpest portions of each, and then combines them into a single image. For extreme close-ups, such as insects, a photo can take hundreds of individual layers to achieve the deepest focus, though I usually get by with around 50 or 60.

It’s a time-consuming process, made easier using automated track, that usually takes about an hour or two depending on the image. Using such a slow and deliberate process forces me to concentrate on making one single image, instead of shooting many and picking a favorite. I find it oddly refreshing to be able to work slowly. In the internet age, it seems almost a luxury to focus deeply without constant distraction.

Through May 31
Artist-in-Residence: Michael Hernandez — Hernandez says the work he’ll be producing in his residence will consist of experimental abstract expressions in various sizes and mediums (primarily acrylic paintings) in combination with drawings and transfers. The transfers are typically design foundations that utilize typography and graphics that the compositions are built upon.

Through June 25
Black Matter — The traveling exhibition Black Matter showcases contemporary Oregon-based black artists in an effort to address an imbalance in representation. Their voices should be heard, not because they are black, but because they are human beings with unique life experiences. It is essential to lift up the contributions of black artists above systematic oppression in life and in art. Black artists should be recognized as individuals, without the filter of what the Western art canon tells us black art is or should be. The goal of the exhibition is to broaden cultural awareness of and appreciation for art by black artists in Oregon. This exhibit offers black artists the opportunity to share artwork that expresses what’s in their hearts and minds without the requirement of a political agenda. Black artists are continuously expected to make art about race, racism, and social injustice. The artwork in this exhibition expresses more than their experience of living in a state and country rooted in systematic racism; their art speaks to the experience of being human. Reception: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 6

Salem Art Association at Bush Barn Art Center & Annex, 600 Mission St. SE. Visit the center 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For more information, call 503-581‑2228 or visit salemart.org.

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

Stephanie Brockway “Fitting In” Reclaimed wood 26” x 45”

March 2 through 26
Featured artist Stephanie Brockway is a creator of carved wood curiosities. She was featured on OPB’s Oregon Art Beat in 2018. Come see her exhibit Urban Folk Art for a fun escape featuring interactive found objects using reclaimed wood and paintings with a twist. 

Christopher St. John “Warm” Watercolor and ink on paper 6” x 7”

April 1 through 30
Featured artist Christopher St. John’s exhibit Kinship is his fascination with cross-species kinship with the life around us and using art to explore and engage in that connection. Each of the animals in this exhibition represents an imagined intersection between animal and human species. Would it surprise us to learn that animals regard us as their kin? 

Guest artist Carlee Wright shares “The Circus of Upcycled Fashion,” (below) a collection of clothing crafted by deconstructing and reconstructing Crown Royal bags. Through her art, Carlee aims to change the way people see waste and to help them reconsider their consumption practices and impact on our planet, all while encouraging a sense of wonder and awe.

May 6 through 30
Eugene artists Rebecca Mannheimer and Sarah Sedwick will share the featured artist wall. Rebecca Mannheimer is an abstract artist. The content in most of her work is about narrative, which comes from personal history that she explores in her work. ​Sarah Sedwick is an oil painter. Her work focuses mainly on still life and portraiture, painting from direct observation.  

GALLERY 444

Located within Elsinore Framing & Fine Art Gallery at 444 Ferry St. SE, Gallery 444 hosts monthly exhibits highlighting artists from in and around Salem. Info: 503-581-4642, elsinoregallery.com

March 5 through 26
Prelude To Spring-Floral Art Show — A juried showing of floral works by local and nationally-known artists. Opening Reception: 3 to 5 p.m. March 5

April 1 through 29
Spring Fling Art Show — Featuring the work of Artists in Action that engages the concept of either spring or fling in any sense of the word – or both! Opening Reception: 3 to 5 p.m. April 1

May 7 through 28
High Desert Art League — See the world of this collective of 13 Bend, Oregon-area artists who paint and sculpt in a variety of media. Opening Reception: 3 to 6 p.m. May 7.

For more arts events, check out the Press Play Salem monthly calendar.

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