Anatomy of a Painting
A closer look at Kehinde Wiley's 'La Source'
“La Source” is part of a series of paintings Wiley did called The World Stage: Haiti — the New York-based artist has also done World … Continue reading
Visual Arts: Page 24
All That Glitters is not Gold
UO professor and 2016 Hallie Ford fellow Anya Kivarkis crafts jewelry sculptures that flip capitalism on its head
In the United States we are taught at a young age to desire impractical shiny things under the premise that more luxury equals a life lived successfully. But if our desire for an upper-class aesthetic is a social construct, what part of the goods we consume is real? A sculpture in progress Continue reading
Gallery Interrupted
Catching up with artist and curator Aunia Kahn on the contemporary plight of the art gallery
Eugene has an artistic reputation. At least, that’s what Aunia Kahn found when she was researching where to relocate her St. Louis gallery. Kahn had always wanted to live on the West Coast, she says, and after months of research she decided Eugene would be the rightful home of the Alexi Era Gallery. Continue reading
More Like an Animal
Dee Dee Cheriel brilliantly captures the human condition in her phantasmagoric paintings
Artist DeeDee Cheriel tells me a story about giving up cigarettes. “I was incredibly grumpy, just more like an animal than a human,” Cheriel says. … Continue reading
Denim and the City
Vanessa Froehling takes her street-wear line to Portland’s FashioNXT runway week
Local designer Vanessa Froehling has denim on the brain. Stonewashed, herringbone print, chambray, stretch and black denim, to be sure. In her home studio, Froehling flips through hangers of designs, including sailor-style high-waisted women’s shorts, a men’s blazer and a women’s jumpsuit. Continue reading
ArtsHound
The Outsiders Ball — a mash-up of art, fashion, music and philanthropy — is about to celebrate its third year. “I really wanted to start helping out abuse shelters,” says Tracy Sydor, host and local photographer (and occasional EW photo contributor), of the benefit’s origins. Sydor discovered Womenspace, a local nonprofit working to end domestic violence, and proceeds from the event have gone to the organization every year. Continue reading
ArtsHound
In a state like Oregon, where art classes are absent from a stunning portion of public schools, art nonprofits fill the gaps, tasked with cultivating communities and our youth in culture beyond football season. These art bodies are typically scrappy and chronically underfunded. To survive a decade is commendable. But to endure 40 years? That is nearing immortality. Lane Arts Council, Lane County’s arts nonprofit stalwart seated in Eugene, celebrates its ruby anniversary 6 to 9 pm Friday, Sept. 16, at the International Cafes at Fifth Street Public Market. Continue reading
ArtsHound
¡Viva La Cultura! If you lived in town for an extended period, you’ll notice a sort of pipeline runs between Oaxaca, Mexico, and Eugene, Oregon, with locals, snowbirds, writers and artists crossing paths back and forth across the border. Additionally, Lane County has a slow-but-steadily growing Hispanic population, increasing from 7.4 percent in 2010 to 8.5 percent in 2015, according to the most recent U.S. Census data. Continue reading
Art & Craft
Brooklyn transplants with Eugene ties set up a modern-day apothecary and gallery downtown
The day after Erika Fortner graduated from art school in New York, she headed straight to Berlin to work on a $5 million 80-foot long mural for banking behemoth Goldman Sachs. She wasn’t alone; Fortner was one of about 30 art assistants in the employ of abstract painter Julie Mehretu, a 2005 MacArthur “genius” grant awardee who Goldman Sachs commissioned in 2007 to create “Mural.” Continue reading
Molding Mount Olympus
Bas-relief sculptor Mike Leckie
Mike Leckie was lugging an armful of his hand-cast sculptures of athlete Ashton Eaton up the stairs at the 2012 Olympic Trials at Hayward Field when someone from above offered him a hand. It was Eaton himself, the new world-champion decathlon runner. Oddly enough, Leckie was bringing the sculptures up the stairs as a gift to Eaton and his mother for the racer’s new 2012 world record. Continue reading