Visual Arts: Page 32

Pressing On

In the Schnitzer’s new exhibit, Under Pressure, more than contemporary art is on display, but also a challenging reflection of our times

Visual Arts
‘The Pastoral or Arcadian State: Illegal Alien’s Guide to Greater America,’ Enrique Chagoya, 2006

Playing devil’s advocate, I ask art collector Jordan Schnitzer how contemporary art can possibly fulfill us in an age of flickering screens and attention spans. Immediately I regret siding with the devil, even if only momentarily. Schnitzer’s response is so passionate, so righteous and, frankly, so absolutely correct that his indignation at the thought that art could ever be irrelevant reverberates through the phone.  Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

Comedian Brian Regan is beloved for the same reasons Jerry Seinfeld became a household name: He does observational comedy without relying on profanity to edge-up his act. But don’t confuse “clean” jokes with boring — fellow funnyman and f-bomb launcher Marc Maron has said Regan is the favorite comedian of other comedians. Need a refresher or an introduction? Regan’s appearance on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Seinfeld’s latest show, is a good start (watch at wkly.ws/1vj). See Regan’s act 7:30 pm Thursday, Jan. Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

The theater community, and Eugene at large, is mourning for Mark Lewis, the beloved Emmy-winning storyteller, actor, author, teacher and father who passed suddenly Sunday, Dec. 7. Lewis’ talents will be remembered near and far for his voiceover work with Disney Imagineering on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride; for Word Pictures: Storytelling with Mark Lewis; for his appearances on Grimm and Northern Exposure; and for teaching presentation skills at the UO’s School of Journalism and Communication. Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

KLCC’s arts and culture reporter Eric Alan hosts the Dec. 5 First Friday ArtWalk starting at 5:30 pm at Eugene Piano Academy and hitting stops MECCA, MODERN, Oh So Jo and The Gallery at the Watershed. Keep an eye out for the beautiful modern and almost Fauve-like painting of Shelley Roenspie at Oh So Jo as well as new works by Adam Grosowsky — stunning gestural large-format oil portraits  — at Karin Clarke Gallery (off the guided walk). Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

You may not know the artist, but you know the art: The Memorial Wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Maya Lin was a 21-year-old Yale undergrad when her design was selected for the memorial in 1981. Continue reading →

Artist Spotlight: Meesha Goldberg

Visual Arts
‘Keeper,’ oil on canvas. Meesha Goldberg. Photo by Trask Bedortha.

Suspended deep in a block of ice, her long braids coiled around a pair of hand axes, Meesha Goldberg is determined to break free. This is not a magic trick. It’s a self-portrait. You wouldn’t guess from her work that Goldberg has been painting for only about two years, but discipline and nocturnal solitude have aided her well, along with a background in figure drawing and poetry that translates vividly to the canvas. Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

Très chic: It’s time for the 10th Annual ArtChics Benefit sale 4 to 9 pm Friday, Nov. 7, and 11 am to 4 pm Saturday, Nov. 8, at 76 W. Broadway (the old Saturday Market office); a portion of proceeds will go to the Pearl Buck Center, a nonprofit that provides recreational and education programs to those affected by disabilities. Continue reading →

Art at the Watershed

Visual Arts

After a long career in psychotherapy and philosophy, Amy Isler Gibson switched gears in April 2012 and opened The Gallery at the Watershed, which features some of the most important contemporary art in Lane County. Gibson’s artist roster is full of seasoned pros like Bill Brewer, Abbas Darabi, Wesley Hurd and sculptor Randy Ortiz. Now, she and a board of directors have started a nonprofit foundation to educate the community about engaging with the arts with classes such as “Composition Through the Eyes of an Artist” and “The Powers of Visual Art. Continue reading →