Explore art & culture this August in Salem at these exhibits —
Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Hallie Ford Museum, 700 State St, 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.
Note: Through August 31, The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is offering free admission to all active military personnel and their families, as well as military retirees and veterans, throughout the summer as part of the Blue Star Museums Program.
Artwork by Dennis Evans
Through August 31
Dennis Evans: Apocrypha explores the myriad artistic accomplishments of this celebrated Seattle mixed media and performance artist. Born in Yakima, Washington in 1946, Evans studied chemistry, ceramics, and design at the University of Washington, where he received his BS, BFA and MFA degrees in 1969, 1973, and 1975, respectively. This exhibition chronicles Evans’s artistic career over the past fifty years, from his early performances and installations of the 1970s and ‘80s to his autonomous works and collaborations with his wife, glass artist Nancy Mee, in the 1990s and 2000s.
Artwork by Gary Westford
Through November 16
Gary Westford: Lifeline (phases of the moon) and The Artist’s Eye: Selections from the Gary Westford Collection — These paired exhibitions offer visitors an intriguing look into the artist’s recent work as well as an opportunity to explore his passion for collecting art, and his ongoing contribution to the museum's permanent collection. Westford is a Salem narrative painter and conceptual artist who explores environmental, social justice, and amendment rights issues throughout his work.
At 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
Artwork by Don Bailey at Level 2 Gallery
Through September 30
Don Bailey: America Replated — Don Bailey, born in 1954, is a Hupa tribal member who was raised on the Hoopa Valley Reservation of California. A graduate of Western Oregon University and the University of Oregon, he taught art for 40 years at Chemawa Indian School, the oldest continually operating federal boarding school for Native students in America. From that vantage point, Don has witnessed the ways bureaucracy imposes itself upon native communities but also the ways irony and humor can be empowering in the face of that stranglehold.
Don’s America Replated works is a series of paintings which each began with an archival (late 19th century/early 20th century) black and white photograph of Native Americans. These photographs, taken by non-Native photographers, were presented to the public as “documents of a vanishing race.”
“I have re-contextualized the often static, sometimes staged portraits with layers of color, traditional native design and landscapes real and imagined. I aim to give the portraits of our ancestors a timelessness and, in the spirit of whil-xolik (story-telling), invite the viewers of my work to consider the lives of people who have never vanished.”
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 presents curated rotating exhibits featuring regional artists.
Artwork by Don Bailey in the Art Hall
Through September 30
Don Bailey: Whil-xolik (Tell Me a Story) — An extension of Don’s work on exhibit at Level 2 that highlights a juxtaposition of images. “In each painting, you might see images from 19th and early 20th century photographs of Native Americans, references to the work of other artists, buildings and landscapes I’ve known and imagined, and objects familiar and strange.”
At 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
Note: Salem on the Edge will be closing its doors in Salem on September 28, 2024. The last featured artist show will be David George Andersen, September 4-28. (Watch for more about that next month)
Zackery McRae, “THIRTY’, oil on canvas, 40.5” x 36”
Through August 31
See work by featured artist Zachary McRae. Behold! Accretions of thought and time excavated intuitively by compulsive hands working delicately to brush each artifact out of the ether. The spaces stitched into the surfaces emit planes bulging to challenge laws of capacity, and faces both sallow and transfigured by spirits of long inhabitance. The world within comes out to refract back and hijack all automatic factories of free form feelings.
Plus two long-time Salem artists — Guest artist Craig Klyver's works are small but powerful. And visiting artist Brigitta Postma, who paints landscapes, and who doesn’t like a landscape!?
SALEM ART ASSOCIATION
Salem Art Association (SAA) at Bush Barn Art Center & Annex, 600 Mission St. SE. For more information, call 503-581‑2228 or visit salemart.org.
Through August 25
Material Girl: Kay Worthington — This exhibition looks back from the platform of age to see the coherence in the artist’s eye. A love of clothing and fashion, color and combinations – especially unlikely ones – has always been a part of what delights Worthington’s eye and sets her in motion as an artist. The sureness of her watercolors is apparent. Her use of personal storytelling and the ability to carry us beyond her own narrative through drawing and painting and collage gives these pieces interest and relevance.
The Art of Drag – Learn something you didn’t know about Drag! Featuring performances in the exhibition space in A.N. Bush Gallery on July 26, August 9, and August 23 and focused interviews that highlight local drag artists’ individual paths to becoming a drag professional. Join us this summer to learn from many community members who contributed their vision and inspiration to produce this stunning exhibition.
This exhibition shares the creation and the performance of Drag, with featured interviews and confessionals by drag professionals and performances from the rich drag ecology of the Willamette Valley region and beyond! The two-month exhibition at Salem Art Association shares the art, humor and making that goes into the production of drag with wigs, costumes, informational displays, timelines of drag history and featured performers and organizations that support and celebrate drag across the Willamette Valley region.
Through September 29
Somos Oaxaca: Portraits of Life, Art and Livelihoods is a photography project of working people in Oaxaca, Mexico. It consists of black and white portraits of artisans and workers who decided to stay in their homeland with their families and the culture they love instead of migrating northward in search of the American Dream. Among those photographed are weavers, sculptors, feather artists, mezcal producers and curanderas. They are talented, hardworking people who take great pride in what they do to earn a living.
Artists in Action Gallery
During August, Artists in Action Art Gallery presents a special feature of the work of Patricia Young and Anna Davis. Artists in Action Gallery is located inside Elsinore Framing at 444 Ferry St SE. Info: AiAArtGallery.org.
Artwork by Patricia Young
Patricia Young
Born in Portland, Oregon, Patricia's been interested in art since childhood. Patricia excelled in art throughout primary and secondary school, and then studied Fine Art at the University of Oregon, and Art Education at Western Oregon University. Patricia is a representational painter, painting primarily landscapes. “I love painting outdoors, en plein air. My love of French Impressionism has always influenced the way I approach my paintings. Color and light are the elements I strive to capture. I paint in acrylic, oil and watercolor.”
Artwork by Anna Davis
Anna Davis
Anna Davis is a multimedia digital artist and photographer currently residing in Salem. “In my studio practice I merge traditional craft and analog practices with cutting-edge software and coding. I explore seemingly contradictory concepts, such as how technology accelerates biodiversity loss but also holds the key to restoration. This fusion has become a fundamental aspect of my creative expression. The process of making the art and the materials used are as important to me as the concept being explored and the end result. Most recently my work has focused on the history of sailing, women sailors, queer identity, celestial navigation, and knit sweaters as metaphors for personal journeys.”