Artists, assemble!
Assemblage art headlines First Weekend in Toledo
Every month, Toledo showcases the arts during First Weekend. This event is an opportunity for gallery goers to talk to local artists and connect on a personal level with their work. First Weekend starts off the month on Saturday and Sunday, May 1 and 2, with new and exciting shows from local galleries, studios and a small but mighty museum.
The month’s feature is the assemblage art of Janet Runger at Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio. Using forgotten objects turned into treasure, Runger takes her audience into a world of fantastical creation. Viewers will find that the longer they gaze at her masterful sculptures, the more they will find something new and enchanting. Also featured at Crow’s Nest are the works of Val Bolen, Alice Haga, Paula Teplitz, Jeff Gibford and Tish Epperson.
Crow’s Nest Gallery & Studio is located at 305 N. Main Street and is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Friday through Sunday. For more information, call 541-207-8088.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art will be opening part two of their Permanent Collection features. Included in this exhibition are new additions and reframed works, shown to the public for the first time within the Schoolhouse Exhibit space. Highlighting this exhibition are watercolors by C.E.S. John, Dick VanRyper and two limited edition prints by Michael Gibbons.
Marilyn Murdoch, of Murdoc Collections Gallery in Portland, has gifted the collection with a 1988 oil painting, “Reflections of Hot Lake” which represents an early Gibbons’ style of quick and gestural brush strokes, capturing the natural vegetation during a hot October day at a location 10 miles from LaGrande.
Also on show for first-time viewing is a unique 1960s oil painting by David McCosh — an example of the highly original Oregon landscapes he explored with a directness and sense of personal discovery. YRMA is proud to show this selection of restored and framed works made possible through donations from its membership. The additions to the Permanent Collection Exhibit will run through June 27.
The Yaquina River Museum of Art is located at 151 NE Alder Street, open every weekend from noon to 4 pm. For more information, go to www.yaquinarivermuseumofart.org or call 541-336-1907.
Across the street from the museum, Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery will have a special spotlight on “Vineyard Landscape.” Selected by Flying Dutchman Winery in Otter Rock to be the limited-edition label for a 2013 Oregon Syrah, this painting features a dramatic background of wind-blown trees for which Gibbons was noted, while the foreground registers the warm rich earth tones of Oregon’s grape country. Flying Dutchman is now offering this Syrah to the public after seven years of aging. For more information about the wine, go to www.dutchmanwinery.com.
Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery is located at 140 NE Alder Street and is open every weekend from noon to 4 pm. For more information, go to www.michaelgibbons.net.
Down the street from Michael Gibbons’ Signature Gallery, Ivan Kelly will be featuring his iconic big game paintings, maritime works and sweeping coastal landscapes. Featured works include “Lupin & Driftwood, Beverly Beach” a moody springtime depiction of the rugged coast with a beam of sunshine glinting off the freshly bloomed lupin. Ivan Kelly Studio-Gallery is located at 207 E Graham Street, open from 11 am to 4 pm on Saturday and from noon to 4 pm on Sunday. For more information, go to the Ivan Kelly Gallery page on Facebook.